AMERICAN
WOMEN OF
SCIENCE
SINCE 1900
TIFFANY K. WAYNE
/
American Women
of Science since 1900
American Women
of Science since 1 900
Tiffany K. Wayne
Q ABC-CLIO
Santa Barbara, California • Denver, Colorado • Oxford, England
Copyright 2011 by ABC CLIO, LLC
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wayne, Tiffany K., 1968
American women of science since 1900 / Tiffany K. Wayne,
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978 1 59884 158 9 (hard copy : alk. paper) ISBN 978 1 59884 159 6 (ebook)
1. Women scientists United States Biography Dictionaries. 2. Women scientists United
States History 20th century Dictionaries. 3. Women in science United States Biography
Dictionaries. 4. Women in science United States History 20th century Dictionaries.
I. Title.
Q141.W42 2011
509.2'273 dc22 2010026838
ISBN: 978 1 59884 158 9
EISBN: 978 1 59884 159 6
15 14 13 12 11 12 3 4 5
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Contents
List of Essays and Entries, vii
Acknowledgments, xvii
Introduction, xix
Issues, 1
Disciplines, 61
A-Z Entries, 179
Women Nobel Prize Winners in the Sciences, 999
Scientists by Discipline Index, 1001
Chronology, 1019
Index, 1-1
List of Essays and Entries
Issues, I
History of American Women
in Science
Is There a Science Gene?
The Impact of Feminism on Scientific
Research
Science and Technology Education
for Girls
Women and Science in College and
Graduate School
Jobs for Women Scientists: Academia
Jobs for Women Scientists:
Government
Jobs for Women Scientists: Industry,
Business, and Nonprofit Research
Work/Life Balance for Women
Scientists
Minority Women in the Sciences
Disciplines, 61
Aerospace and Astronautics
Animal Sciences
Anthropology and Archaeology
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Biochemistry
Biology
Biomedical Sciences
Botany
Chemistry
Computer Sciences and Information
Technology
Crystallography
Economics
Engineering
Environmental Sciences and Ecology
Genetics
Geography
Geology
Mathematics
Medicine
Meteorology
Neuroscience
Nutrition and Home Economics
Ocean Sciences
VII
viii | List of Essays and Entries
Paleontology
Physics
Primatology
Psychology and Psychiatry
Sociology
Zoology
A-Z Entries, 1 79
Aberle, Sophie Bledsoe
Abriola, Linda M.
Ackerman, Bernice
Adams, (Amy) Elizabeth
Adelman, Irma Glicman
Agogino, Alice M.
Ajzenberg-Selove, Fay
Altmann, Jeanne
Altmann, Margaret
Ancker-Johnson, Betsy
Anderson, Gloria (Long)
Anderson, Mary P.
Angier, Natalie
Anslow, Gladys Amelia
Apgar, Virginia
Archambault, JoAllyn
Attneave, Carolyn (Lewis)
Austin, Pauline Morrow
Avery, Mary Ellen
Avery, Susan K.
Baber, Mary Arizona "Zonia"
Baca Zinn, Maxine
Baetjer, Anna Medora
Bahcall, Neta
Bailey, Florence Augusta Merriam
Banfield, Jillian F.
Baranescu, Rodica
Bartoshuk, Linda
Bascom, Florence
Bates, Grace Elizabeth
Bateson, Mary Catherine
Beall, Cynthia
Beattie, Mollie Hanna
Bell, Gwen (Dru'yor)
Benedict, Ruth Fulton
Benerito, Ruth Rogan
Benesch, Ruth Erica (Leroi)
Benmark, Leslie Ann (Freeman)
Bennett, Joan Wennstrom
Berenbaum, May Roberta
Berezin, Evelyn
Berger, Marsha J.
Berkowitz, Joan B.
Bertell, Rosalie
Blackburn, Elizabeth
Bliss, Eleanor Albert
Blodgett, Katharine Burr
Bonta, Marcia (Myers)
Boring, Alice Middleton
Boyd, Louise Arner
List of Essays and Entries | ix
Braun, Annette Frances
Braun, (Emma) Lucy
Bricker, Victoria (Reifler)
Brill, Yvonne (Claeys)
Briscoe, Anne M.
Britton, Elizabeth Knight
Brody, Jane Ellen
Brooks, Carolyn (Branch)
Brooks, Matilda Moldenhauer
Broome, Claire Veronica
Brothers, Joyce Diane (Bauer)
Brown, Barbara B.
Brown, Rachel Fuller
Brugge, Joan S.
Buck, Linda B.
Buikstra, Jane Ellen
Bunce, Elizabeth Thompson
Bunting (Smith), Mary Ingraham
Burbidge, (Eleanor) Margaret
Butler, Margaret K.
Cady, Bertha Louise Chapman
Caldicott, Helen Mary (Broinowski)
Calloway, Doris (Howes)
Cannon, Annie Jump
Carey, Susan E.
Carothers, (Estrella) Eleanor
Carr, Emma Perry
Carson, Rachel Louise
Caserio, Marjorie Constance (Beckett)
Charles, Vera Katherine
Chase, (Mary) Agnes Meara
Chasman, Renate (Wiener)
Chesler, Phyllis
Chilton, Mary-Dell (Matchett)
Chory, Joanne
Clark, Eugenie
Clarke, Edith
Cleave, Mary L.
Cobb, Geraldyne M.
Cobb, Jewel Plummer
Cohn, Mildred
Cole, Johnnetta (Betsch)
Collins, Eileen
Colmenares, Margarita H.
Colson, Elizabeth Florence
Colwell, Rita (Rossi)
Conway, Lynn Ann
Conwell, Esther Marly
Cordova, France Anne-Dominic
Cori, Gerty Theresa Radnitz
Cowings, Patricia Suzanne
Cox, Geraldine Anne (Vang)
Cox, Gertrude Mary
Crane, Kathleen
Crosby, Elizabeth Caroline
Daly, Marie Maynard
Darden, Christine V Mann
Daubechies, Ingrid
Davis, Margaret Bryan
Davis, Ruth Margaret
DeFries, Ruth
De Laguna, Frederica Annis
Delgado, Jane L.
Delmer, Deborah
De Planque, E. Gail
Densen-Gerber, Judianne
x I List of Essays and Entries
DeWitt-Morette, Cecile Andree Paule
Diamond, Marian Cleeves
Dicciani, Nance Katherine
Dick, Gladys Rowena Henry
Donnay, Gabrielle (Hamburger)
Downey, June Etta
Drake, Elisabeth (Mertz)
Dreschhoff, Gisela Auguste-Marie
Dresselhaus, Mildred (Spiewak)
Dunbar, Bonnie J.
Earle, Sylvia Alice
Eastwood, Alice
Edinger, Tilly
Edwards, Cecile Hoover
Edwards, Helen Thom
Ehrlich, Anne (Fitzhugh) Howland
Elders, (Minnie) Joycelyn (Jones)
Elion, Gertrude Belle
Ellis, Florence May Hawley
Elmegreen, Debra Meloy
Emerson, Gladys Anderson
Esau, Katherine
Estrin, Thelma Austern
Evans, Alice Catherine
Faber, Sandra (Moore)
Farquhar, Marilyn (Gist)
Farr, Wanda Kirkbride
Fausto-Sterling, Anne
Fedoroff, Nina Vsevolod
Ferguson, Angela Dorothea
Ferguson, Margaret Clay
Fink, Kathryn Ferguson
Fischer, Irene (Kaminka)
Fisher, Anna L.
Fitzroy, Nancy (Deloye)
Flanigen, Edith Marie
Flugge Lotz, Irmgard
Fossey, Dian
Fowler Billings, Katharine Stevens
Fox, Marye Anne (Payne)
Free, Helen (Murray)
Friend, Charlotte
Fromkin, Victoria Alexandria (Landish)
Fuchs, Elaine V.
Furness, Caroline Ellen
Gaillard, Mary Katharine (Ralph)
Gantt, Elisabeth
Gardner, Julia Anna
Garmire, Elsa (Meints)
Gast, Alice P.
Gayle, Helene Doris
Geiringer (Von Mises), Hilda
Geller, Margaret Joan
Gerry, Eloise B.
Giblett, Eloise Rosalie
Gibson, Eleanor Jack
Gilbreth, Lillian E. Moller
Gill, Jocelyn Ruth
Gleitman, Lila R.
Glusker, Jenny (Pickworth)
Goeppert-Mayer, Maria
Goldberg, Adele
Goldhaber, Gertrude Scharff
Goldman-Rakic, Patricia
Goldring, Winifred
Goldwasser, Shafrira
List of Essays and Entries | xi
Good, Mary (Lowe)
Goodenough, Florence Laura
Gordon (Moore), Kate
Gordon, Ruth Evelyn
Graham, Frances (Keesler)
Graham, Norma
Graham, Susan Lois
Grandin, Temple
Granville, Evelyn (Boyd)
Grasselli (Brown), Jeanette
Graybiel, Ann Martin
Greene, Laura
Greer, Sandra Charlene
Greibach, Sheila Adele
Greider, Carol W.
Griffin, Diane Edmund
Gross, Carol A. (Polinsky)
Gross, Elizabeth Louise
Guthrie, Mary Jane
Guttman, Helene Augusta (Nathan)
Haas, Mary Rosamond
Hahn, Dorothy Anna
Hamerstrom, Frances (Flint)
Hamilton, Alice
Hamilton, Margaret
Hammel, Heidi
Harris, Jean Louise
Harris, Mary (Styles)
Harrison, Anna Jane
Harrison, Faye Venetia
Harrison-Ross, Phyllis Ann
Hart, Helen
Harvey, Ethel Browne
Haschemeyer, Audrey E. V.
Hatfield, Elaine Catherine
Hawkes, Kristen
Hay, Elizabeth Dexter
Hazen, Elizabeth Lee
Hazlett, Olive Clio
Healy, Bernadine Patricia
Helm, June
Herzenberg, Caroline Stuart
(Littlejohn)
Hewlett, Sylvia Ann
Hibbard, Hope
Hicks, Beatrice Alice
Hockfield, Susan
Hoffleit, (Ellen) Dorrit
Hoffman, Darleane (Christian)
Hollingworth, Leta Anna Stetter
Hollinshead, Ariel Cahill
Hopper, Grace Murray
Horner, Matina (Souretis)
Horning, Marjorie G.
Horstmann, Dorothy Millicent
Howard (Beckham), Ruth Winifred
Howes, Ethel Puffer
Hoy, Marjorie Ann (Wolf)
Hrdy, Sarah C. (Blaffer)
Huang, Alice Shih-Hou
Hubbard, Ruth (Hoffman)
Hughes Schrader, Sally (Peris)
Hutchins, Sandra Elaine
Hwang, Jennie S.
Hyde, Ida Henrietta
Hyman, Libbie Henrietta
xii | List of Essays and Entries
Intriligator, Devrie (Shapiro)
Irwin, Mary Jane
Jackson, Jacquelyne Mary (Johnson)
Jackson, Shirley Ann
Jameson, Dorothea A.
Jan, Lily
Jeanes, Allene Rosalind
Jemison, Mae Carol
Johnson, Barbara Crawford
Johnson (Masters), Virginia
(Eshelman)
Johnston, Mary Helen
Jones, Anita Katherine
Jones, Mary Ellen
Kalnay, Eugenia
Kanter, Rosabeth (Moss)
Kanwisher, Nancy
Karle, Isabella Helen Lugoski
Karp, Carol Ruth (Vander Velde)
Kaufman, Joyce (Jacobson)
Keller, Evelyn Fox
Kempf, Martine
Kenyon, Cynthia J.
Kidwell, Margaret Gale
Kieffer, Susan Werner
Kimble, Judith
King, Helen Dean
King, Mary-Claire
Klinman, Judith (Pollock)
Knopf, Eleanora Frances Bliss
Kopell, Nancy J.
Koshland, Marian Elliott
Kreps, Juanita (Morris)
Krim, Mathilde (Galland)
Krueger, Anne (Osborn)
Kiibler-Ross, Elisabeth
Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf, Doris
Kurtzig, Sandra L. (Brody)
Kwolek, Stephanie Louise
LaBastille, Anne
Ladd-Franklin, Christine
Laird, Elizabeth Rebecca
La Monte, Francesca Raimond
Lancaster, Cleo
Lancefield, Rebecca Craighill
Leacock, Eleanor (Burke)
Leavitt, Henrietta Swan
Ledley, Tamara (Shapiro)
Leeman, Susan (Epstein)
LeMone, Margaret Anne
Leopold, Estella Bergere
Lesh-Laurie, Georgia Elizabeth
L'Esperance, Elise Depew Strang
Levelt-Sengers, Johanna Maria Henrica
Leverton, Ruth Mandeville
Leveson, Nancy G.
Levi-Montalcini, Rita
Lewis, Margaret Adaline Reed
Libby, Leona Woods Marshall
Linares, Olga Frances
Lippincott, Sarah Lee
Liskov, Barbara Huberman
List of Essays and Entries | xii
Lochman-Balk, Christina
Loeblich, Helen Nina Tappan
Long, Irene (Duhart)
Long, Sharon (Rugel)
Love, Susan M.
Lubchenco, Jane
Lubic, Ruth (Watson)
Lubkin, Gloria (Becker)
Luchins, Edith Hirsch
Lucid, Shannon (Wells)
Lurie, Nancy (Oestreich)
Maccoby, Eleanor (Emmons)
Macklin, Madge Thurlow
MacLeod, Grace
Macy-Hoobler, Icie Gertrude
Makemson, Maud Worcester
Maling, Harriet Mylander
Maltby, Margaret Eliza
Marcus, Joyce
Margulis, Lynn (Alexander)
Marlatt, Abby Lillian
Marrack, Philippa Charlotte
Martin, Emily
Marvin, Ursula Bailey
Mathias, Mildred Esther
Matson, Pamela Anne
Matthews, Alva T.
Maury, Antonia Caetana de
Paiva Pereira
Maury, Carlotta Joaquina
McCammon, Helen Mary (Choman)
McClintock, Barbara
McCoy, Elizabeth Florence
McCracken, (Mary) Isabel
McFadden, Lucy-Ann Adams
McNutt, Marcia Kemper
Mc Sherry, Diana Hartridge
McWhinnie, Mary Alice
Mead, Margaret
Medicine, Beatrice A.
Meinel, Marjorie Pettit
Mendenhall, Dorothy Reed
Menken, Jane Ava (Golubitsky)
Michel, Helen (Vaughn)
Micheli-Tzanakou, Evangelia
Mielczarek, Eugenie Vorburger
Miller, Elizabeth Cavert
Mintz, Beatrice
Mitchell, Helen Swift
Mitchell, Joan L.
Mitchell, Mildred Bessie
Moore, Emmeline
Morawetz, Cathleen (Synge)
Morgan, Agnes Fay
Morgan, Ann Haven
Moss, Cynthia Jane
Murray, Sandra Ann
Napadensky, Hyla Sarane (Siegel)
Navrotsky, Alexandra A. S.
Nelkin, Dorothy (Wolfers)
Neufeld, Elizabeth (Fondal)
New, Maria (Iandolo)
Nice, Margaret Morse
Nichols, Roberta J.
Nickerson, Dorothy
Nielsen, Jerri Lin
xiv | List of Essays and Entries
Nightingale, Dorothy Virginia
Northrup, Christiane
Novello, Antonia (Coello)
Ocampo, Adriana C.
Ochoa, Ellen
Ogilvie, Ida Helen
Osborn, Mary Jane (Merten)
Ostrom, Elinor
Owens, Joan Murrell
Palmer, Katherine Hilton Van Winkle
Pardue, Mary Lou
Parsons, Elsie Worthington Clews
Partee, Barbara (Hall)
Patch, Edith Marion
Pate-Cornell, (Marie) Elisabeth
Lucienne
Patrick, Jennie R.
Patrick, Ruth
Patterson, Flora Wambaugh
Payne, Nellie Maria de Cottrell
Payne-Gaposchkin, Cecilia Helena
Payton, Carolyn (Robertson)
Pearce, Louise
Peckham, Elizabeth Gifford
Peden, Irene (Carswell)
Peebles, Florence
Pennington, Mary Engle
Pert, Candace Dorinda (Bebe)
Petermann, Mary Locke
Phillips, Melba Newell
Pitelka, Dorothy Riggs
Pittman, Margaret
Pool, Judith Graham
Poole, Joyce
Pour-El, Marian Boykan
Pressman, Ada Irene
Prichard, Diana (Garcia)
Prince, Helen Walter Dodson
Prinz, Dianne Kasnic
Profet, Margie
Quimby, Edith Hinkley
Ramaley, Judith (Aitken)
Ramey, Estelle Rosemary White
Rand, (Marie) Gertrude
Ranney, Helen Margaret
Ratner, Sarah
Ray, (Marguerite) Dixy Lee
Rees, Mina Spiegel
Reichard, Gladys Amanda
Reichmanis, Elsa
Reinisch, June Machover
Reskin, Barbara F.
Resnik, Judith A.
Richardson, Jane S.
Ride, Sally Kristen
Riley, Matilda (White)
Rissler, Jane Francina
Rivlin, Alice (Mitchell)
Roberts, Edith Adelaide
Roberts, Lydia Jane
Robinson, Julia Bowman
Roemer, Elizabeth
Rolf, Ida P.
Roman, Nancy Grace
Romanowicz, Barbara
Rose, Flora
List of Essays and Entries | xv
Rose, Mary Davies Swartz
Rosenblatt, Joan (Raup)
Rowley, Janet Davison
Roy, Delia Martin
Rubin, Vera (Cooper)
Rudin, Mary Ellen (Estill)
Rudnick, Dorothea
Russell, Elizabeth Shull
Sabin, Florence Rena
Sager, Ruth
Saif, Linda
Sammet, Jean Elaine
Sarachik, Myriam Paula
(Morgenstein)
Savitz, Maxine (Lazarus)
Scarr, Sandra (Wood)
Scharrer, Berta Vogel
Schwan, Judith A.
Schwarzer, Theresa Flynn
Scott, Juanita (Simons)
Seddon, Margaret Rhea
Sedlak, Bonnie Joy
Seibert, Florence Barbara
Semple, Ellen Churchill
Shalala, Donna Edna
Shapiro, Lucille (Cohen)
Shaw, Jane E.
Shaw, Mary M.
Sherman, Patsy O'Connell
Shields, Lora Mangum
Shipman, Pat
Shockley, Dolores Cooper
Shoemaker, Carolyn (Spellmann)
Shotwell, Odette Louise
Shreeve, Jean'ne Marie
Simmonds, Sofia
Simon, Dorothy Martin
Simpson, Joanne Malkus (Gerould)
Singer, Maxine (Frank)
Sinkford, Jeanne Frances (Craig)
Sitterly, Charlotte Emma Moore
Slye, Maud Caroline
Small, Meredith F.
Smith, Elske (van Panhuys)
Solomon, Susan
Sommer, Anna Louise
Spaeth, Mary Louise
Spelke, Elizabeth
Spurlock, Jeanne
Stadtman, Thressa Campbell
Stanley, Louise
Stearns, Genevieve
Steitz, Joan (Argetsinger)
Stern, Frances
Stickel, Lucille Farrier
Stiebeling, Hazel Katherine
Stokey, Nancy
Stoll, Alice Mary
Stroud-Lee, F. Agnes Naranjo
Stubbe, JoAnne
Sudarkasa, Niara
Sullivan, Kathryn D.
Sweeney, (Eleanor) Beatrice Marcy
Talbot, Mignon
Taussig, Helen Brooke
Taussky-Todd, Olga
xvi | List of Essays and Entries
Taylor, Kathleen Christine
Tesoro, Giuliana (Cavaglieri)
Tharp, Marie
Thomas, Martha Jane (Bergin)
Thompson, Laura Maud
Thornton, Kathryn (Cordell)
Tilden, Josephine Elizabeth
Tilghman, Shirley M.
Tinsley, Beatrice Muriel (Hill)
Tolbert, Margaret Ellen (Mayo)
Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes
Treisman, Anne
Turkle, Sherry
Tyson, Laura (D'Andrea)
Uhlenbeck, Karen (Keskulla)
Van Rensselaer, Martha
Van Straten, Florence Wilhemina
Vaughan, Martha
Vennesland, Birgit
Villa-Komaroff, Lydia
Vitetta, Ellen Shapiro
Waelsch, Salome Gluecksohn
Walbot, Virginia Elizabeth
Wallace, Phyllis Ann
Warga, Mary Elizabeth
Washburn, Margaret Floy
Watson, Patty Jo (Andersen)
Wattleton, (Alyce) Faye
Way, Katharine
Weertman, Julia (Randall)
Weisburger, Elizabeth Amy (Kreiser)
Weisstein, Naomi
Westcott, Cynthia
West-Eberhard, Mary Jane
Westheimer, (Karola) Ruth (Siegel)
Wexler, Nancy Sabin
Wheeler, Anna Johnson Pell
Wheeler, Mary F.
Whitman, Marina (von Neumann)
Whitson, Peggy A.
Widnall, Sheila (Evans)
Wilhelmi, Jane Anne Russell
Williams, Anna Wessels
Williams, Roberta
Witkin, Evelyn Maisel
Wood, Elizabeth Armstrong
Woods, Geraldine (Pittman)
Woolley, Helen Bradford Thompson
Wright, Margaret H.
Wrinch, Dorothy Maud
Wu, Chien-Shiung
Wu, Ying-Chu (Lin) Susan
Yalow, Rosalyn Sussman
Young, Anne Sewell
Young, Roger Arliner
Zoback, Mary Lou
Acknowledgments
I want to thank my editors at ABC-CLIO — Steven Danver for presenting this project
to me; James Sherman for keeping me going on it; and Kim Kennedy-White for
seeing it through to completion.
My most sincere thanks go to Martha J. Bailey, the author of the two earlier
ABC-CLIO volumes on American women scientists, whose research provided
the foundation for my work here and who is, technically, the co-author of many
of the biographical entries. Her work on women scientists began more than
15 years ago, and I hope she is proud to have her name still attached to the project.
Thanks to Kally Kedinger and Michelle Delgado for tracking down scientists and
citations, and handling my last-minute and often confusing research requests with
grace and professionalism. Appreciation goes also to all of the scientists who
responded to our email queries and provided up-to-date information on their work.
My family has shown unwavering enthusiasm and patience for my often slow-
going work. David Wayne has encouraged me in all of my pursuits and has always
given me the freedom and the space (mental and physical) to do my work. So
many of the women scientists profiled here trace their own passions and interests
back to childhood, and I hope that Miles and Lillian — with their love of nature
and animals, and their innate curiosity about the world — will read this book and
be inspired to hold onto those passions and to continue to dream big.
XVII
Introduction
Nineteenth-century astronomer Maria Mitchell noted in an 1875 address to the
Association for the Advancement of Women (of which she was the first president)
both "how much women need exact science" and "how much science needs
women" (Wyer 2001, 3). Her words could not be truer today. Science and technol-
ogy are more important than ever to our society as we become a postindustrial
high-tech "knowledge" society. It is important that science takes women into
account, but women want and need to participate in the creation of that knowledge
as well.
Women have reached the heights of achievement in the sciences and hold some
of the most visible positions. Several women scientists now serve as presidents of
major research universities, and in 2009, President Barack Obama appointed
women scientists as directors of government research agencies such as the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). Women have soared, so to speak, to the stars with
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as astronauts, shuttle
pilots, and members of the International Space Station. Women scientists serve on
international advisory councils, affecting policy on everything from global
warming to public health, and have founded and led biotechnology, pharmaceutical,
and computer software companies. Women are professors, deans of medical and
engineering schools, directors of research centers, inventors, and Nobel Prize
laureates. A girl growing up in the twenty-first century will seem to have no lack
of role models, no limits to her own interests and pursuits.
The history of women in science, however, is the history of not only individual
achievement, but of social attitudes, institutional barriers, and legislative and
policy initiatives. It is important to realize that access, beginning with the early
education and recruitment of girls and young women into the sciences, is the first
step to women's success in the sciences. Women have fought hard for that access
and for opportunities for gainful employment, confronting the attitudes of employ-
ers, coworkers, family members, and society at large, many of whom have been
XIX
xx I Introduction
resistant to change. From the belief that women are not as interested or as capable
in science as men, to society's inability (or refusal) to create family-friendly work-
places, women have been engaged in a century-long struggle for access to educa-
tion and careers in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(collectively known as "STEM").
While individual women have achieved the pinnacles of success, women as a
group are still underrepresented in professional recognitions, such as with member-
ship in the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Engineering.
In 2009, for example, only 1 1 women out of 72 new members were elected to the
National Academy of Sciences. Likewise, although several high-profile women have
won Nobel Prizes in the sciences — and 2009 was a particularly good year for
women, with three American women scientists (and one Israeli woman scientist)
named as winners — in the history of the Nobel Prize, only 35 women have won in
any category out of a total of 789 prizes awarded; of these 35 women, only 15 have
been in the sciences.
The past several decades have seen steady increases in the numbers of women
earning science degrees and entering science and engineering professions, but
there is still a small percentage of women at the highest levels. In 2006, women
earned 38.4% of STEM doctorates. The numbers and percentages vary greatly
by field, with women earning nearly 50% of Ph.D.s in the biological sciences,
56% in anthropology, and greater than 70% in psychology, the most popular field
for women in the sciences. But women earn significantly lower percentages of
doctorates in other disciplines, including only 20% of doctorates in combined
engineering fields and only 16.6% of Ph.D.s in physics (NSF Table F-2). 1 There
are also fewer women the higher up the academic career ladder one goes. In
2006, women made up 31% of all science and engineering faculty, but only 25%
of tenured faculty and only 19% of full professors in science and engineering
fields (NSF Table H-25).
In her 1988 AAAS presidential address (speaking more than 100 years after
Maria Mitchell), Sheila Widnall outlined the problem of this "leaky pipeline" that
has come to define women's representation in the sciences. The problem begins as
early as high school, when boys and girls still have nearly equal interests and
grades in subjects such as math. By the end of high school, boys will slightly
Note that these numbers include only Ph.D.s, or research based fields, and do not include profes
sional degrees of M.D., D.D.S., D.Pharm., or Psy.D.; nor do they include second doctorates, so that
persons changing or combining fields may only be counted in the first field. It is worth noting that
inclusion of these other degrees and occupations might significantly alter the overall numbers of
women in science related fields. See notes on "Survey of Earned Doctorates" at http://www
.nsf.gov/statistics/srvydoctorates/.
Introduction | xxi
outnumber girls in completion of higher-level mathematics courses, but the first
major split occurs when choosing a college major, with nearly three times as many
boys selecting science and engineering paths. A high percentage of women who
do major in STEM subjects will complete their degrees and go on for a master's
degree, but another drop or split occurs between men and women who continue
on for the doctorate. Widnall created a hypothetical scenario (based on the current
statistics) in which, out of 2,000 ninth graders (1,000 boys and 1,000 girls) taking
comparable high-level mathematics courses, 140 men and 44 women will go on to
major in STEM in college; of these, 46 men and 20 women will receive bachelor's
degrees, but only 5 men and 1 woman will receive the science or engineering
Ph.D. (Widnall 1988). The particular struggles facing women at each of these vari-
ous stages along the educational and career path are addressed separately in the
"Issues" section that follows.
The gender wage gap, glass ceiling, and work/life balance are not just issues for
women in the sciences, but affect women across the professions. Women's access,
opportunity, and success in the professions is intertwined with other issues in
twentieth-century American history, such as social and economic changes,
government needs and policy, and the rise of feminism. The larger question of
"women in science" is actually twofold; it is the question of women's presence
and representation in scientific disciplines and employment, as well as the ques-
tion of what effect women's presence has on science itself. There are, therefore,
both quantitative and qualitative questions to consider when talking about women
in the sciences. The statistics show that the numbers of women in STEM disci-
plines and careers has steadily increased over the course of the twentieth century,
but we must also consider how women (and feminism) have changed science itself
in terms of the questions asked, the methodologies used, and the new knowledge
discovered.
The present volume addresses both aspects of this history and the status of
American women in science since 1900 by looking across the century at the work
done by more than 500 individual women, and their innovations and contributions,
as well as the challenges they faced in pursuing that work. The book includes the
following sections: "Issues" (ten essays on specific topics related to American
women in science, such as education, employment sectors, minority women, etc.),
"Disciplines" (entries on the presence and impact of women in 29 different scientific
fields, such as biology, chemistry, physics, etc.), and the biographical entries from
AtoZ.
This work is an update, revision, and expansion of Martha Bailey's original
two-volume biographical dictionaries, American Women in Science: Volume I
(1994) and American Women in Science: 1950 to the Present (1998). The present
volume focuses only on those scientists who lived and had significant career
xxii | Introduction
activity after 1900, updating or revising many of Bailey's original entries and add-
ing new entries on significant early women scientists not included in Bailey's
original volumes. Carrying the story of American women in science forward, this
volume also updates the career information and accomplishments of many scien-
tists still working since Bailey's report of 1998, and adds entries on a new genera-
tion of scientists emerging in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
Reaching back to the nineteenth century, Bailey included many more women
who were not necessarily professionally trained as scientists or did not conduct
scientific research, but who supported scientific work through writing, indexing,
cataloging, or popularizing scientific information. In preparing the present vol-
ume, however, I eliminated many entries on women who were certainly pioneers
in their fields, but who did not hold regular positions as researchers or teachers
of science; these were usually in fields opened to and heavily dominated by
women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, such as nutrition, bot-
any, ornithology, and nature writing and illustrating. Women in the earlier part of
the century often had more eclectic careers than their later counterparts — they
combined research and travel (often self-funded) with writing, illustrating, and
teaching, not only in colleges or universities, but in public schools as well. Many
(although not all) women of that crucial turn-of-the-century era did gain access
to higher education, but still were not always able (or chose not) to secure perma-
nent, formal, or regular employment. In some cases, I eliminated entries for which
there simply was not enough specific career information available. And although I
cut out much of the personal information Bailey had collected for the original vol-
umes, some of that information on individual women's experiences of combining
work and family life, advice to young women scientists, and specific instances of
discrimination or other bias over the course of their careers has made its way into
my summaries in the "Issues" and "Disciplines" sections of this book. I refer read-
ers to Bailey's Volume I for a more thorough overview of women's roles in the sci-
entific disciplines in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and, although our
projects and purposes were originally quite different, I am indebted to her recovery
of and preliminary research on many of those early scientists.
The focus in this volume is primarily on women who made significant impacts
in their fields and who received professional recognition for their work, whether
through career positions and advancement, membership in professional societies,
or scientific awards and honors. However, my criteria for inclusion itself was an
inexact science, and I also maintained a sampling of early women who worked
in less represented fields, even if they did not have significant research contribu-
tions (for example, including a few representative women as early astronomers,
entomologists, botanists, mathematicians, paleontologists, and geologists). I also
sought to emphasize women who accomplished "firsts" in their careers, to
Introduction | xxii
emphasize to readers the relatively recent history in which women scientists have
begun to break down the barriers in specific disciplines. I included many women
who were the first presidents of professional scientific societies, the first to receive
doctorates in specific disciplines, the first faculty members in specific institutions,
or women scientists who worked at high levels of government or academia, on
presidential councils, cabinets, or as university presidents. In deciding which dis-
ciplines to include, I looked to the sections of the National Academy of Sciences;
the emphasis, therefore, is on the physical and natural sciences, although some
social scientists are included. The resulting list is certainly not inclusive, and
undoubtedly there will be names or accomplishments or disciplines I have missed.
As with any reference work, the hope is that readers and students will be inspired
to further research these and other women in the history of American science.
Although the women scientists profiled here lived and worked within the spe-
cific social and political contexts of twentieth-century America, it is worth noting
that, in terms of research commitments, career paths and affiliations, and scientific
advances, a somewhat false line is drawn between the work of U.S. and non-U.S.
scientists. Indeed, many women profiled here participated in projects and profes-
sional networks that were international in scope. Non-U.S. women came to the
United States for education or jobs, and American women pursued fellowships
or visiting appointments abroad. Some of the greatest achievements by individual
women scientists of the twentieth century belong to European researchers, such as
physicist Marie Curie of France and her daughter, Irene Joliet-Curie, both of
whom won Nobel Prizes; English crystallographer Rosalind Franklin; German
physicist Lise Meitner; or British primatologist Jane Goodall. While these figures
are not included in the present volumes, other foreign-born women who spent
the majority of their careers or achieved their highest successes employed in
American institutions are included. Of course, women scientists around the world
continue to work together through collaboration and through professional organi-
zations that recognize the broader challenges to women's education and advance-
ment in the sciences, regardless of national origin. Many other fine volumes exist
that take a broader view of women's scientific contributions and work, either
across regional boundaries or with a longer chronological view.
References and Further Reading
Abir-Am, Pnina G. and Dorinda Outram. Uneasy Careers and Intimate Lives: Women in
Science, 1789 1979. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1987.
Ambrose, Susan A. 1997. Journeys of Women in Science and Engineering: No Universal
Constants. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Bart, Jody, ed. 2000. Women Succeeding in the Sciences: Theories and Practices across
Disciplines. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.
xxiv | Introduction
Hanson, Sandra L. 1996. Lost Talent: Women in the Sciences. Philadelphia, PA: Temple
University Press.
Herzenberg, Caroline L. 1986. Women Scientists from Antiquity to the Present. West
Cornwall, CT: Locust Hill Press.
Kass-Simon, G. and Patricia Fames, eds. 1990. Women of Science: Righting the Record.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990.
Kirkup, Gill and Laurie Smith Keller, eds. 1992. Inventing Women: Science, Technology,
and Gender. Cambridge, MA: B. Blackwell.
Morse, Mary. 1995. Women Changing Science: Voices from a Field in Transition. New
York: Insight Books.
National Science Foundation. "Table F-2. S&E doctoral degrees awarded to women, by
field: 1999 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and
Engineering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics,
Survey of Earned Doctorates, 1999 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/
tabf-2.pdf.
National Science Foundation. 2006. "Table H-25. S&E doctorate holders employed in uni-
versities and 4-year colleges, by broad occupation, sex, race/ethnicity, and faculty rank:
2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering.
National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey of Doc-
torate Recipients, 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh-25.pdf.
Rosser, Sue V. 1997. Re-engineering Female Friendly Science. New York: Teachers
College Press.
Rosser, Sue V. 2004. The Science Glass Ceiling: Academic Women Scientists and the
Struggle to Succeed. New York: Routledge.
Rosser, Sue v. 2008. Women, Science, and Myth: Gender Beliefs from Antiquity to the
Present. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Rossiter, Margaret. 1982. Women Scientists in America: Struggles and Strategies to 1940.
Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Bossiter Margaret. 1995. Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action, 1940
1972. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Ruddick, Sara and Pamela Daniels, eds. 1977. Working It Out: 23 Women Writers, Artists,
Scientists, and Scholars Talk about Their Lives and Work. New York: Pantheon Books.
Schiebinger, Londa L. 1989. The Mind Has No Sex?: Women in the Origins of Modern Sci-
ence. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Stanley, Autumn. 1995. Mothers and Daughters of Invention: Notes for a Revised History
of Technology. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.
Tang, Joyce. 2006. Scientific Pioneers: Women Succeeding in Science. Lanham, MD:
University Press of America.
Introduction | xxv
Vare, Ethlie Ann and Greg Ptacek. 1988. Mothers of Invention: From the Bra to the Bomb;
Forgotten Women & Their Unforgettable Ideas. New York: Morrow.
Warren, Wini. 1999. Black Women Scientists in the United States. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, 2002.
Whaley, Leigh Ann. 2003. Women's History as Scientists: A Guide to the Debates. Santa
Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Widnall, Sheila E. 1988. 'AAAS Presidential Lecture: Voices from the Pipeline." Science
241: 1740 1745. (September 30, 1988).
Wyer, Mary et al. 2009. Women, Science, and Technology: A Reader in Feminist Science
Studies. 2nd edition. New York: Routledge.
Issues
History of American Women in Science
The history of American women's contribution to the scientific endeavor is not
merely a story of forward progression from exclusion to full participation as
equals. Rather, the history of women in science moves from early access and par-
ticipation as amateurs, to the closing of the professions through specialization and
university-based (doctoral-level) scientific endeavor in the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries, to expanded opportunities for women in education and
employment in the latter half of the twentieth century. Likewise, it is a story that
is repeated, with some variations, throughout the world, as women's contributions
to scientific knowledge vary by country and region as different social and political
circumstances influence women's access to education and employment.
In the United States, the scientific revolution of the eighteenth century brought
with it a new professional identity for scientists, and much of what had been tradi-
tional knowledge and the realm of women (agriculture, animal care, herbs and
medicines, care of the sick, and midwifery) — or at least accessible to women as
amateur observers and recorders of the natural world (through botany, chemistry,
and astronomy, for example) — slowly became the realm of self-proclaimed pro-
fessional scientists and doctors. The professionalization of scientific endeavor
led to the exclusion of women justified, ironically, by new scientific studies of
the era that proclaimed the physical and intellectual differences of men and
women and, not surprisingly, the inferiority of women's bodies and minds.
Although the first scientific organizations and scientific journals (in fields such
as natural history, botany, chemistry, and medicine) were founded soon after the
American Revolution, the first major professional societies were not founded until
the mid-nineteenth century. For example, the American Medical Association (AMA)
was founded in 1847, the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS) in 1848, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1863 (the first female
member of the NAS, Florence Sabin, was not elected until 1925), and the American
2 | American Women of Science since 1900
Museum of Natural History opened in
New York in 1869. The nineteenth cen-
tury was the era of the consolidation of
scientific interest and specialization,
with the American Dental Association
in 1859, the American Society of
Civil Engineers in 1867, and both
the American Physical Society and
the Astronomical and Astrophysical
Society of America (precursor to today's
American Astronomical Society) were
founded in 1899. The U.S. government
also established its commitment to sci-
ence by the mid-nineteenth century with
the creation not only of the NAS, but
also the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), created in 1862, and the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) in 1879.
These first formal educational pro-
grams and professional organizations
did not always exclude women specifi-
cally, but they were founded at a time
when women were generally excluded from the institutions of higher education
necessary for advancement in the professions and thus professional acknowledge-
ment. For example, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was estab-
lished in 1865 and did not explicitly deny women entry, although its first female
student, chemist Ellen Swallow Richards, was not admitted until 1 870 and female
applicants were not regularly admitted until 1883. Richards, indeed, had a special
role as an early woman at MIT and became the college's first female instructor as
well. Some organizations included many "lay" (nonprofessional) members, and
were thus more open to practicing female scientists. In 1850, Maria Mitchell,
who had been educated by her father and had discovered a comet in 1847, became
the first female member of the AAAS. Mitchell became professor of astronomy at
Vassar College, and is considered the first professional American woman scientist.
Through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many women prac-
ticed science outside of academia, working as illustrators, specimen collectors, or
popular writers on topics such as botany and ornithology. Many more women
worked behind the scenes, as lab or research assistants for male professors or as
assistants or unpaid collaborators in support of their husbands' higher-profile
careers. Still others, having studied science as undergraduates and with or without
Physician Florence Sabin was the first woman
to hold a full professorship at Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine and, in 1925, became the
first woman elected to the National Academy
of Sciences. (National Library of Medicine)
Issues | 3
Margaret Cavendish
Margaret Lucas Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1623-1673)
is considered England's first woman scientist and was a prolific writer on topics
related to science and natural history. She was one of the earliest women writers
to publish under her own name and contributed to some of the key ideas of the
scientific revolution, including the separation of religious belief from scientific
inquiry, the establishment of a scientific method, and arguments for animal rights.
As a member of "The Newcastle Circle" salon, she debated with some of the
most important philosophers of the seventeenth century, including Thomas
Hobbes and Rene Descartes. She promoted her own ideas, sometimes directly
challenging other prominent thinkers, through the publication of several works,
including Philosophical Letters: or, Modest Reflections upon some Opinions in
Natural Philosophy, Philosophical and Physical Opinions, and Observations upon
Experimental Philosophy, often sending copies of her books to university schol-
ars. She also published a Utopian romance, The Blazing World, considered one
of the earliest works of science fiction. Cavendish was the first woman allowed
to visit meetings of the newly created Royal Society of London, which did not
admit women as members until the twentieth century.
advanced degrees, taught science at the high school level or in women's colleges,
helping to establishing first-rate programs for women. The first co-educational
college was Oberlin College, founded in Ohio in 1833. Oberlin accepted not only
female students, but African American students as well, although only certain
programs were initially open to women. Swarthmore College was founded in
Pennsylvania in 1864 and was also co-educational, and the nineteenth century
saw the creation of the "Seven Sisters" East Coast women's colleges — Mount
Holyoke (1837), Vassar (1865), Smith (1875), Wellesley (1875), Radcliffe
(1879), Bryn Mawr (1885), and Barnard (1889) — several of which were begun as
female auxiliaries or annexes to male schools or programs.
The establishment of the land-grant colleges in the Midwest beginning in
the mid-nineteenth century also opened up women's access to education in
agriculture-related fields such as animal sciences, biology, nutrition, and home eco-
nomics. And although many women scientists pursued their educations and careers
as teachers at women's colleges, some advanced through positions at co-ed and black
schools. In 1879, for example, Josephine Silone Yates became the first woman to be
appointed professor and head of Natural Sciences at Lincoln University in Missouri.
The first medical colleges were established and the first scientific doctorates
were awarded in the mid- to late nineteenth century, securing formal and certifi-
cated higher education as the standard for the professional title of "scientist."
4 | American Women of Science since 1900
Women's rights activists and health reformers pushed for women's access to the
most prestigious medical colleges and helped create the first women's medical col-
leges and hospitals. The first woman to earn a medical degree was Elizabeth
Blackwell in 1849 (from Geneva College in New York). In 1857, Blackwell
opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, where she also trained
other women physicians. Only 30 years after its founding did the American Medi-
cal Association elect its first female member (AMA, "Women Physicians"). By the
turn of the century, the first women received advanced degrees in the sciences. By
1889, only 25 American women held doctorates, 6 of them science degrees; within
just a decade, by 1900, that number had risen to more than 200 doctorates awarded
to women, one-quarter of those in the sciences and mathematics (Rossiter 1982,
35-36).
Bryn Mawr College was the first women's college to offer the Ph.D., and grad-
uates often went on to careers as teachers at the women's colleges. By the early
twentieth century, schools such as Mt. Holyoke, Vassar, and Smith had built
exceptional undergraduate science programs in fields from astronomy and chemis-
try to botany and zoology, making science an acceptable course of study for
women and training a new generation of women scientists. With heavy teaching
and administrative duties, however, the female faculty at women's colleges did
not publish as often as male faculty or otherwise achieve recognition as research
scientists. It is also notable that female faculty rarely, if ever, married, as combin-
ing career and family remained a primary challenge for professional women,
including women scientists, throughout the twentieth century.
The situation for women's higher education continued to improve through the
early decades of the new century. The 1910s were a historic high for women
receiving medical degrees, and the 1920s were the first peak for women receiving
other scientific doctorates in the United States. So positive was the outlook for the
future of women scientists that the president of Bryn Mawr College declared
confidently in 1921 that "the doors of science have been thrown wildly open
to women." Indeed, throughout the 1920s, women were earning an average of 50
science doctorates a year, and that number tripled in the 1930s (Rossiter 1982,
35). The number of women earning doctorates in the physical and biological
sciences dropped between the 1940s and 1960s, finally climbing again beginning
in the 1970s with the advent of modern feminism and policies promoting equity
in education and employment.
During and immediately after World War II, the federal government had a new
commitment to scientific research in the name of military technology and then the
Cold War-era nuclear arms and space exploration races. The new government
science mandate, combined with a shortage of men due to the war, provided new
opportunities for women scientists and engineers in academic and government
Issues | 5
Hedy Lamarr
Austrian-bom actress Hedy Lamarr (1913-2000; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler)
was a beloved Hollywood star of the mid-twentieth century, but she was also an
inventor. Lamarr and her colleague, American composer George Antheil, received
a patent in 1942 for their "Secret Communications System," a method of securing
radio transmissions via a special code or frequency shifting between transmitter
and receiver that could not be intercepted by enemy forces. They developed the
system during World War II as a contribution to efforts to defeat the Nazis, but
the system was not put into use by the U.S. military until two decades later, during
the Cuban Missile Crisis of the early 1960s. By that time, the patent had expired
and neither Lamarr nor Antheil received any compensation for their invention.
Lamarr chose acting over inventing, however, and went on to have a successful
film career, appearing in dozens of films with the biggest names in Hollywood of
the 1 940s and 1 950s. The transmission technology she helped develop had enor-
mous significance as the basis of later wireless communications systems via cel-
lular phone, modems, faxes, and the Internet. In 1997, Lamarr and Antheil were
recognized with a Pioneer Award of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and
Lamarr was the first woman to receive the prestigious BULBIE Gnass Spirit of
Achievement Award for inventors.
research positions. In the 1940s and 1950s, women made their mark in medicine as
well as in the fields of nuclear science, crystallography, engineering, and aero-
space. Although the numbers of women entering science increased exponentially
in these years, the overall percentage of women among college students remained
low due to the extraordinary number of men receiving degrees through the GI Bill
for education for returning veterans. After the war, the numbers of women earning
doctorates continued to climb, but the job market for women scientists in the
1950s and 1960s was still difficult, due to social pressures (such as the postwar
emphasis on women's domestic roles) and a decreased labor need (due to the
availability of more male scientists), especially in the higher-level research posi-
tions. In this social and economic climate, women who held college degrees had
a difficult time finding jobs to fit their education, and women who did secure such
jobs faced discrimination and challenges specific to the era; for example, in an
environment with little social support or even acknowledgement of women's
workplace contributions, there was little social or political attention to issues such
as unequal pay or access to childcare.
Still, many women scientists continued to forge ahead during and after the war.
Women found careers with government research projects such as U.S. Army nutri-
tion and medical studies, crop and animal studies for the more science-oriented
6 | American Women of Science since 1900
USDA, and work on the atomic bomb with the Manhattan Project. The federal
government funded scientific research for its own projects as well as for academic
and industrial or corporate research projects. The World War II-era dislocation of
many European scientists, followed by the Cold War emphasis on scientific and
technological progress as a sign of political strength (the rise of the "military-
industrial complex"), meant that many foreign scientists found their way to the
United States for educational and employment opportunities as well.
In the 1960s and 1970s, new social and political concerns about equity brought
the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, which outlawed
discrimination, both overt and covert, that had previously been the status quo for
women in the workplace. The women's movement introduced the term "sexism"
and pushed for legislation that guaranteed not only equal access (opening up non-
traditional fields for women, such as military combat and firefighting) but also
equal treatment in educational and employment environments, challenging dis-
criminatory hiring (separate male and female job ads), unequal pay, and sexual
harassment, among other issues. These social and political changes also made it
more important than ever to track women's entrance into and progress in different
fields of study and employment. By the early 1980s, efforts were made to keep
regular statistics on women in science, to track progress (or lack thereof) in con-
crete numbers and percentages, and to bringer wider public awareness to areas
where women and minorities were underrepresented. Finally, the women's move-
ment brought attention to subtler forms of discrimination and their effect on wom-
en's educational and career pursuits. Feminist sociologists and psychologists
began to study how gender roles and expectations were ingrained in family
dynamics, childrearing practices, elementary school classrooms, and, finally, on
the job, all of which discouraged girls and women from, in this case, pursuing
science- and technology-related majors and careers in the first place.
By the early 1980s, women reached the point of earning fully half of all under-
graduate degrees awarded, and in 2006, women earned close to 58% of bachelor's
degrees in all fields combined (NSF Table C-14). In 2006, women actually earned
a slightly higher number of science and engineering bachelor's degrees than men,
but the problem extends beyond the undergraduate years in a phenomenon some
have called "the leaky pipeline"; that is, the higher up one moves through the edu-
cational and career pipeline, the fewer women are present. Despite equal numbers
of women and men receiving science-related bachelor's degrees, in 2006, women
accounted for only 38.4% of combined science and engineering doctorates (NSF
Table F-2). (Note that this includes research doctorates only, and NSF science
figures do not include the M.D., D.D.S., Psy.D., or D.Pharm. degrees.) Continuing
along the career path, women made up only 24% of employed American scientists
and engineers in all professions (NSF Table H-7) and 25% of tenure-track faculty
Issues | 7
(NSF Table H-25). Even fewer women scientists (19% in 2006) are represented
among the highest faculty rank in academia, that of full professor (NSF Table H-25).
Researchers since the 1980s have discussed the source and solutions for educa-
tional disparities and established programs to encourage girls and young women
to pursue science, engineering, and math majors and careers. While women
have gained access to science-related education, and it is no longer socially
acceptable or legal to limit the educational or vocational pursuits of girls and
women, the subtler forms of discrimination and barriers still remain for women
scientists and affect many men as well, such as the tensions between family life
and work expectations, lack of affordable childcare, or the need to change the
tenure clock in academia. The history of American women in science so far
reveals not so much a clear march of progress, but a series of forward movements
and continued obstacles, a history still being written.
References and Further Readings
American Medical Association. "Women Physicians and the AMA." Timelines AMA His-
tory. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/about-ama/our-history/timelines-ama-history/
women-physicians-ama.shtml.
"Chronology of Science in the United States, 1790 1910." http://home.earthlink.net/
~claellioU7chronmain.htm (accessed 7/24/09). Adapted from Clark A. Elliott, History
of Science in the United States: A Chronology and Research Guide. New York and
London: Garland Publishing, 1996.
Levin, Miriam R. 2005. Defining Women's Scientific Enterprise : Mount Holyoke Faculty
and the Rise of American Science. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England.
National Science Foundation. "Table C-14. Bachelor's degrees, by race/ethnicity, citizen-
ship, sex, and field: 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science
and Engineering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics,
special tabulations of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Completions Survey,
2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabc-14.pdf.
National Science Foundation. "Table F-2. S&E doctoral degrees awarded to women, by
field: 1999 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and
Engineering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics,
Survey of Earned Doctorates, 1999 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/
tabf-2.pdf.
National Science Foundation. "Table H-7. Employed scientists and engineers, by occupa-
tion, highest degree level, race/ethnicity, and sex: 2006." Women, Minorities, and Per-
sons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. National Science Foundation,
Division of Science Resources Statistics, Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System
(SESTAT). http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh-7.pdf.
8 | American Women of Science since 1900
National Science Foundation. "Table H-25. S&E doctorate holders employed in univer-
sities and 4-year colleges, by broad occupation, sex, race/ethnicity, and faculty rank:
2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering.
National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey of
Doctorate Recipients, 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh-25.pdf.
Rossiter, Margaret. 1982. Women Scientists in America: Struggles and Strategies to 1940.
Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1995. Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action,
1940 1972. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Schiebinger, Londa. 1999. Has Feminism Changed Science? Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Wyer, Mary et al. 2009. Women, Science, and Technology: A Reader in Feminist Science
Studies. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
Is There a Science Gene?
The debates over sex-based differences when it comes to scientific interest and
ability are not new. The scientific revolution of the eighteenth century brought
new credibility to explanations for the significance of differences between male
and female anatomy, skull size and shape, and brain size, among other anatomical
features, as well as the social significance of racial differences. Science, in the
name of "nature," has often been used to justify keeping women (and racial minor-
ities) from educational and professional opportunities. As social and educational
barriers to women's full participation in science have been removed, the fact
remains that there are still fewer female than male scientists. If we have reached
a historic moment of both equal access and condemnation of gender discrimina-
tion, then how to explain women's continued minority presence in science and
engineering careers? The question remains: Can the smaller numbers of women
scientists be explained by social factors alone, or are there biological or innate fac-
tors to consider? And if there are identifiable genetic or neurological differences
between the sexes, do such differences, in turn, explain differences in math test
scores or, more generally, do they explain anything about ability or aptitude for
skills required in the sciences, engineering, and math?
This was the set of questions addressed by Harvard University president
Lawrence Summers at a 2005 conference on "Diversifying the Science & Engi-
neering Workforce." While Summers addressed several possibilities to explain
the smaller numbers of women in high-level scientific research and faculty posi-
tions, the most controversial aspect of his remarks was the suggestion that there
are innate differences between the sexes that limit women's interest in and aptitude
Issues | 9
for science and math — what he called a "different availability of aptitude at the
high end." Summers specifically addressed the fact that there are fewer women
scientists the higher up the professional ladder one climbs, and came up with a for-
mula that accounted for the fact that the top-level scientists (he specifically
focused on physics, perhaps the most prestigious scientific discipline precisely
because it is seen as so difficult, thus requiring some innate talent rather than mere
education) are already smarter than the general population, so that any differences
in aptitude between the sexes among talented individuals will become more appar-
ent the higher one advances. Summers referred to the greater number of male
physicists as an "unfortunate truth" that he wished could be explained away as
"a serious social problem," but that must take into account other factors, such as
"taste differences between little girls and little boys that are not easy to attribute
to socialization." In other words, if parenting and education have changed to
encourage more girls into science, and to make opportunities available, why are
more girls not choosing science as a career path? Summers concluded that, while
negative socialization and discrimination still exist, these only compound (rather
than explaining away) the basic reality of "intrinsic aptitude, and particularly of
the variability of aptitude" (Summers 2005). Summers's remarks prompted a
series of responses from scholars and subsequent conversations and debates that
ultimately led to his resignation (WISELI 2009).
The irony is that, while science has been used in the past to limit women's
opportunities, it is more science that is needed to answer the questions. The ques-
tion of the nature (and significance) of differences between the sexes has been
taken up by twentieth-century psychologists, neuroscientists, geneticists, and
evolutionary biologists, as well as by social scientists. Not surprisingly, scientists
became interested in understanding any potential biological component to scientific
ability at the precise moment when women began entering the scientific profes-
sions in greater numbers — a case of social concerns guiding research questions.
Of course, many of those same women scientists were there to challenge and guide
the research being done with their own questions. The main areas of this research
have been in questions of genetic, hormonal, neurological, and cognitive differ-
ences between the sexes.
Despite the title of this section, there have never been found any genes related
to spatial reasoning or math skills. Interest in finding a "science gene" dates to a
study in the 1970s in which "an X-linked recessive gene was thought to cause
sex differences in spatial abilities . . . However, subsequent research, involving
larger samples, failed to replicate the initial findings" (Hines 2007, 104). Still,
other scientists continue to pursue this line of inquiry and ask how to explain the
exceptional case of a mathematical genius, for example, who rises from a negative
social, economic, or educational environment with what appears to be innate
10 I American Women of Science since 1900
talent. One recent researcher suggests that "a role for genes" should not be dis-
missed as an explanation for scientific or mathematical ability and genius, point-
ing out that while we regularly look to a biological or genetic basis for diseases
or psychological issues, we become defensive over the idea of inquiring into the
biological, genetic, or cognitive difference of sex (Haier 2007).
While genetics, specifically, has yielded few answers to this question to date,
endocrinologists have shown that hormones do affect brains differently, and that
a higher presence of male hormones (androgens), beginning prenatally, correlates
to greater spatial reasoning. Finding a firm link between sex hormones and spatial
reasoning (or verbal or mathematical ability, or IQ) is still an active and controver-
sial area of research. The current research shows that, at most, spatial skills can
vary with hormone levels within an individual; that is, they can be affected by
changes such as puberty or menstruation, although there is no clear evolutionary
advantage for having these different abilities at different times in one's life or
hormonal cycle. Some scientists find the evidence convincing for innate ability,
arguing that superior male spatial-reasoning skills may not be significant enough
to explain social phenomena, but these sex-based differences do exist across
cultures and across time, regardless of education levels. Others point out that it is
not the hormones specifically that explain cognitive differences, but rather the
activities or experiences that people seek out because of hormones; for example,
hormones may predispose a female child (but not all female children) to an inter-
est in playing with dolls, which, in turn, may develop specific kinds of cognitive
and emotional abilities that are then identified as innately "female." In the end,
then, education and environment remain the most important factors, as brains are
changed by training and experience (Ceci and Williams 2007).
Thus, hormonal and neurological aspects overlap in explaining more broadly
observed sex-based differences. Neuroscience has stepped in with new technolo-
gies, such as brain imaging, to track activity in different regions of the brain and
to track differences between men's and women's brains. Researchers have found
that men tend to be more object-oriented and women more language-oriented,
but while men and women might use different parts of their brains to problem
solve, they are capable of arriving at the same conclusions. Most researchers admit
that it is difficult to separate specific skill sets (based on test results or problem-
solving techniques) from education and socialization. For example, if differences
between boys' and girls' math test scores do not appear until high school, are boys'
higher scores explained by innate ability at this higher level, or by compounded
negative messages girls have received about their math ability? One study was con-
ducted on men and women who received the same math scores on the SAT and
found that their brains did, indeed, function differently while taking the test, even
though the scores were the same. The researchers also conducted MRIs on the
Issues | I I
students to determine whether there was a sex-dependent correlation between IQ
and brain structure. But even when IQ scores were the same for men and women,
their brains were still different (Haier 2007, 115; Ceci and Williams 2007).
The question, then, remains as to what difference, if any, sex makes, and what
the significance of that difference is. Other scientists have pointed out that if we
are interested in determining innate mathematical ability, it would make more
sense to break down the specific skill sets involved and assess children when they
are younger, since by the time students take the SAT, they are already a self-
selected group of college-bound, higher-level students. Some feminist education
researchers have pointed out other ways in which test questions and methods favor
male students, and ask whether performance on college-entrance exams even has a
direct correlation to future success (or failure) in science, technology, and math
careers. Research into sex-based brain differences has not been in vain, how-
ever. While they may not yet explain science and math ability, such findings
may provide insight into sex-based differences in diseases such as Alzheimer's,
schizophrenia, or depression (Cahill 2006).
The work of psychologists and social scientists not only adds to but overlaps
with biological and neurochemical studies of the brain. Some of the latest research
looks at the effect of playing video games, computers, and with Legos and other
building toys on boys' spatial reasoning and brain development. But this research
brings us back to the question of whether boys play those games because o/an
innate ability, or whether the games create the skills. We must also ask whether
and how interest in such activities is socially encouraged in boys or, conversely,
discouraged in girls. One study found that parents are more likely to set up com-
puters in their sons' rooms, but whether that is because boys are more interested
in computers or because parents expect sons to be more interested in computers
is still up for debate. Psychologists look at behavior differences between boys
and girls and ask which skills can be taught or developed regardless of sex.
Feminist psychologists have argued that many theories presented to explain sex-
based differences are in fact framed to fit with our social beliefs about gender, and
that those theories or questions often become circulated as "facts" without critical
analysis. For example, sex difference fits into evolutionary psychology (or sociobiol-
ogy) explanations for why men might need better spatial skills for activities such as
hunting, building, or navigating large distances. But there is no acknowledgement
that the same or a similar skill set was needed by women to gather, weave, or make
weapons (Newcombe 2007). While the questions of genetic, neurological, and cog-
nitive explanations for human behavior are of fascinating interest to researchers
and to the general public, many scientists still maintain that most differences, even
in research on the youngest babies (such as work done by Harvard psychologist
Elizabeth Spelke), point to social factors rather than biology (APA Online 2006).
12 | American Women of Science since 1900
Last, a limited focus on a particular skill set (such as spatial skills or abstract
reasoning) as the most important indicator of scientific or mathematical interest or
ability precludes inquiry into not only the social and institutional barriers to women
in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers, but also to the impor-
tance of other skills necessary for career success. Surely imagination, creative prob-
lem solving, written and oral communication skills, persistence and focus, and a
range of interpersonal skills needed for working collaboratively on research and
mentoring are all just as important factors for success in scientific research and
teaching careers, and may be possessed by or nurtured in individuals of either sex.
References and Further Readings
APA Online. 2006. "Think Again: Men and Women Share Cognitive Skills." Psychology
Matters. American Psychological Association. (18 January 2006). http://www.apa.org/
research/action/share. aspx.
Cahill, Larry. 2006. "Why Sex Matters for Neuroscience." Nature Reviews Neuroscience.
7: 477 484 (June 2006). http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v7/n6/full/nrnl909.html.
Ceci, Stephen J. and Wendy M. Williams, eds. 2007. Why Aren't More Women in
Science?: Top Researchers Debate the Evidence. Washington, D.C.: American Psycho-
logical Association.
Chodorow, Nancy. 1999. The Reproduction of Mothering. 2nd ed. Berkeley: University of
California Press.
Eliot, Lise. 2009. Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences Grow into Troublesome
Gaps And What We Can Do about It. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Gilligan, Carol. 1993. In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Develop-
ment. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Haier, Richard J. 2007. "Brains, Bias, and Biology: Follow the Data." In Why Aren't
More Women in Science?: Top Researchers Debate the Evidence, edited by Stephen J.
Ceci and Wendy M. Williams, 113 119. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological
Association.
Hines, Melissa. 2005. Brain Gender. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hines, Melissa. 2007. "Do Sex Differences in Cognition Cause the Shortage of Women in
Science?" In Why Aren't More Women in Science?: Top Researchers Debate the Evi-
dence, edited by Stephen J. Ceci and Wendy M. Williams, 101 112. Washington,
D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Newcombe, Nora S. 2007. "Taking Science Seriously: Straight Thinking about Spatial Sex
Differences." In Why Aren't More Women in Science?: Top Researchers Debate the
Evidence, edited by Stephen J. Ceci and Wendy M. Williams, 69 77. Washington,
D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Schiebinger, Londa. 1993. The Mind Has No Sex?: Women in the Origins of Modern
Science. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Issues | 1 3
Summers, Lawrence. 2005. "Remarks at NBER Conference on Diversifying the Science &
Engineering Workforce." Harvard University. Office of the President. (14 January
2005). http://www.president.harvard.edu/speeches/summers 2005/nber.php.
Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI). 2009. "Lawrence
Summers on Women in Science," University of Wisconsin-Madison. http://wiseli
.engr.wisc.edu/archives/summers.php.
The Impact of Feminism on Scientific Research
Not only has feminism challenged the idea of innate differences between the sexes
when it comes to technical abilities or interest in math or science, but the steady
rise of the numbers of women in scientific professions over the course of the last
century has introduced new questions and new research agendas in many fields
as well. Different scientific fields have responded to and been affected by the
presence of more women scientists, and by the challenges of feminism as a social
and political movement over the course of the twentieth century. While
academic feminism has had an obvious impact on the social sciences, such as
psychology and sociology, the physical or "hard" sciences especially have been
seen as gender-neutral realms of knowledge and inquiry. On the contrary, the
medical and life sciences have been at the forefront of establishing new findings
about the nature of sex and gender. The question of the impact of women and of
feminism on science is twofold, then: First, what has been the impact of including
women (and gender) as subjects of science? Second, what has been the impact of
women as scientists and of feminism on research? Is there a female, or a feminist,
approach to science?
The first feminist intervention into science was to reject the exclusion of women
from scientific professions and from participation in the scientific pursuit as
researchers and teachers. Early women scientists and reformers pointed out wom-
en's limited access to education, institutional support, and jobs, and sought to rem-
edy the situation. Once women entered into the scientific professions, feminist
scientists began to question the sexism inherent in the research itself. What they
discovered is that science itself has been used to keep women out, to limit their
opportunities, and to silence their voices. The greater representation of women in
the sciences is a worthy goal, feminists argue, not only as a political commit-
ment to equality, but because women change the very questions asked by science
and therefore have an impact on the creation of scientific knowledge.
Historian of science Londa Schiebinger calls "femininity" and science "the
historical clash of . . . two cultures," which was epitomized in the Western European
and American traditions with the late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century
14 | American Women of Science since 1900
split between the private realm of the family and the public world of work. The
scientific revolution of the Enlightenment paved the way for the professionalization
of science and the exclusion of women from higher education and the professions for
another century. Besides institutional barriers, women have long faced social pres-
sures and expectations as to which employments are suitable for women; histori-
cally, science has not been one of those professions. From the earliest scientific
inquiries to the scientific revolution of the mid-eighteenth century and beyond,
"men of science held that creative work in the sciences lay beyond the natural
capacities of women!' One nineteenth-century practitioner defined science as "anti-
feminine," and the scientist as one whose "mind is directed to facts and abstract
theories, and not to persons or human interests . . . they have little sympathy with
female ways of thought" (Schiebinger 1999, 70-71). In the late nineteenth century
(not coincidentally, as women began to gain access to professional and graduate
schools), doctors began to warn of the negative effects of rigorous study for women,
particularly when women were menstruating or pregnant. Women's bodies and minds
were seen as unsuitable to the scientific pursuit of knowledge; biology was destiny.
Of course, race and racism have also factored into scientific understandings
of bodies and minds. Whereas white women in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries were portrayed as physically fragile and mentally unstable, African
Americans (male and female) were seen as physically robust but intellectually
inferior, their bodies suited for physical rather than mental labors. Well into the
twentieth century and beyond, the very image of the scientist is of one possessing
a superior mind that in some ways transcends the body — the mad scientist, solitary
in his lab, absentminded and detached from social and familial relationships. It has
been a long struggle for nonwhites and for women of any race to transcend the
belief that they are simply too tied to the needs of their bodies (and their families)
to engage in the focused, dedicated work of science. Women scientists themselves,
however, have always questioned the professional culture of science, from the
view of the scientist himself as a male figure of intellect and authority, to career
paths and tenure clocks that ignore family life, to a professional and institutional
culture that is organized around the assumptions of male employees.
The goal of feminist science has been not only to expand the numbers of women
in specific fields, but to reveal how science itself operates according to certain
gendered assumptions. Londa Schiebinger describes the feminist task of the late
twentieth and now twenty-first centuries as a shift away from pointing out the flaws
and limitations of science, "toward the more positive task of asking what useful
changes feminism has brought to science" (Schiebinger 1999, 1). There is no one
single way of doing "feminist science," just as there is no single definition of
feminism or feminist goals. Not all feminists are women (many male scientists are
concerned with questions of gender, power, and knowledge as well), and not all
Issues | 1 5
women are feminists; therefore, not all women scientists bring a feminist perspective
to their work. Feminists may work in all scientific fields and may be interested in
different questions. They may (or may not) be particularly interested in how gender
functions in the scientific pursuit of knowledge, but many bring questions of sex and
gender to their specific fields or disciplines by including women as subjects of study
(in medical trials or as interview subjects, for example), including more subjective or
qualitative methods in their approach (in the social sciences or through interdiscipli-
narity), or questioning the bias of gendered language to describe certain scientific
processes (whether in animals, plants, or inanimate objects).
Women scientists and engineers have revised the direction and methods of
scientific inquiry, often exposing the biases or challenging the very foundations
of scientific knowledge in fields from evolutionary biology to medicine, from
anthropology to zoology. Some fields have expanded to include specifically wom-
en's concerns, for example, research related to women's health and medical treat-
ment. While president of the American Heart Association, Bernadine Healy
emphasized that heart disease was a leading cause of death in women as well as
men; when she was director of the National Institutes of Health, she brought about
reforms in the clinical testing of drugs for women and children. Other researchers
have focused on women's nutrition, maternal health, and breast cancer. Women
Cardiologist Bernadine Healy has been head of the National Institutes of Health, the American
Heart Association, and the American Red Cross. (AP/Wide World Photos)
16 | American Women of Science since 1900
anthropologists, such as Margaret Mead, focused for the first time on women's
social and sexual roles, and others looked at the cross-cultural experiences of
childbirth and mothering, pointing out that leaving women out of such research
skewed our understanding of social and economic life. A similar revolution
took place in the study of animals, such as in the work of primatologist Jeanne
Altmann. The work of primatologists and of evolutionary biologists has pointed
out the importance of looking at the intersection of biology and culture to under-
stand gender and sex-specific roles and behaviors.
Feminist theory makes the radical claim that science it not always objective, but is
often influenced by social beliefs and goals. Feminist scientists have sought to create
new knowledge that complicates our view of humanity and nature, and begins with a
critique of traditional research methods and questions that create results that exclude,
misrepresent, or disadvantage women. In the name of a pure "masculine" objectivity,
feminists argue, science as a discipline has rejected "feminine" or subjective ways of
knowing. This mode of inquiry represents women and the feminine as inferior, if not
invisible, and obscures the gendered politics of knowledge. In other words, the
science, the technology, and the results may all disadvantage women by reinforcing
social power relations. Even the language of science, down to the cellular level, is
often gendered in such a way that female biological processes are characterized as
passive and male as active (Martin 2001; Angier 2000). In a different field, psychol-
ogists long made assumptions that a lack of interest in mothering, or an interest in
homosexual activity, to use another example, was "abnormal" for women. As early
as 1968, feminist scholar Naomi Weisstein identified the language and bias of
psychological diagnoses and urged psychologists to treat women as individuals
rather than as a group expected to adhere to widespread social beliefs about gender
(Weisstein 1968). These were among the early feminist interventions into the very
questions, foundations, and language of scientific inquiry. Feminist scientists seek
to advance knowledge for its own sake, but their work is grounded in the theoretical
frameworks of feminist philosophy and the history of science, which acknowledge
that science has historically been used, and may still be used today, to justify social
and political beliefs and goals.
Feminist critique has also brought new questions regarding scientific ethics into
the debate. The core of the feminist approach is to point out that science is situated
in, not separate from, a specific social-historical-political context. Therefore,
science involves not only objective data but subjective interpretations, which in
turn involve questions of morality or ethics. Early scientific pursuits saw nature
(including the human body) as passive and something to be controlled by humans,
a social value or belief that still guides some scientific research. How we define the
essence of human nature or bodies is a value judgment, influenced by, for example,
religious or political views; this is why politics and religion are so involved in a
Issues | 1 7
variety of scientific debates in modern America, such as cloning, abortion, stem
cell research, or DNA testing. In the natural and physical sciences, such as the
fields of ecology, environmental science, climate change, animal sciences, and
evolution, politics and religion play a large part in influencing the interests, the
questions, the funding, and the outcome of scientific research.
Feminism has also had a voice in questions of medical ethics, both in research
and in healthcare. Medical ethics involves questions of equal access, patient's
rights, and the doctor's pledge to "do no harm." Although these principles apply
to a broad range of healthcare issues that affect women, feminists have focused
primarily on reproductive issues as healthcare and social policy issues. From con-
traception, abortion, and sterilization, to infertility, pregnancy, surrogacy, and
childbirth practices, to menopause and hormone treatments, feminism has brought
women's health issues to the forefront and pointed out that science and medicine
are not value-neutral in the development of new technologies and practices. For
example, why has modern science not yet developed an oral contraceptive for
men? Or, why are they so many Caesarean sections in the United States compared
to other developed nations, and why do many health-insurance plans refuse to
cover alternatives such as home births? The issues are numerous, and the debates
and implications complex, but feminists emphasize how social and political views,
biases, and beliefs influence both the research and practice of women's health.
Feminists are among those who question whether the goal of science is knowl-
edge for its own sake, or whether manipulation of nature, or specific religious or
political goals, are factors as well. Feminists must also be aware, however, of their
own political purposes in these debates. While feminists have been accused of
bringing politics into science, feminist scientists and scholars point out that sexism
is not an objective scientific method. Science is rarely value-neutral (for example,
scientific research agendas are often set by financial, political, or military goals),
and is never objective if gender or racial bias informs the very role of the scientist
and the questions asked. As an alternative, more subjective, epistemology, femi-
nism acknowledges that all individual scientists bring background assumptions,
biases, and specific experiences, goals, and priorities to their work, even uncon-
sciously. Far from politicizing science with a new set of assumptions and agendas
(as some critics charge), feminism only demands that scientific research live up to
its own claims of objectivity, free from bias and political influence, supported by
evidence, and in the name of knowledge for its own sake.
References and Further Readings
Angier, Natalie. 2000. Woman: An Intimate Geography. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Creager, Lunbeck and Londa Schiebinger, eds. 2002. Feminism in Twentieth-Century
Science, Technology, and Medicine. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
18 | American Women of Science since 1900
Harding, Sandra. 1986. The Science Question in Feminism. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University
Press.
Harding, Sandra. 1991. Whose Science? Whose Knowledge? Thinking from Women's
Lives. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Harding, Sandra and Jean O'Barr, eds. 1987. Sex and Scientific Inquiry. Chicago: Univer-
sity of Chicago Press.
Keller, Evelyn Fox and Helen Longino, eds. 1996. Feminism and Science. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Lacey, Hugh. 2005. Is Science Value Free? 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
Lederman, Muriel and Ingrid Bartsch, eds. 2001. The Gender and Science Reader. New
York: Routledge.
Martin, Emily. 2001. The Woman in the Body: A Cultural Analysis of Reproduction.
Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Pinnick, Cassandra, Noretta Koertge, and Robert Almeder, eds. 2003. Scrutinizing Feminist
Epistemology: An Examination of Gender in Science. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers
University Press.
Schiebinger, Londa. 1993. The Mind Has No Sex?: Women in the Origins of Modern
Science. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Schiebinger, Londa. 1999. Has Feminism Changed Science? Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Tuana, Nancy, ed. 1989. Feminism & Science. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Weisstein, Naomi. 1968. "Psychology Constructs the Female." Reprinted by Chicago
Women's Liberation Union (CWLU) Herstory Website Archive, http://www.uic.edu/
orgs/cwluherstory/CWLU Archive/psych. html.
Science and Technology Education for Girls
One reason for the interest in the question of sex-based difference in science and
math test scores is that, in nearly every other educational outcome, girls outperform
boys. Girls do better on reading and writing assessments, get better classroom
grades, and are more likely to graduate from high school, and, since the early
1980s, women receive more undergraduate college degrees than men. Undoubtedly,
some of this is the result of the feminist movement of the 1970s and 1980s taking up
the educational inequality of girls as a social and political issue. Feminists began to
look to the classroom (among other places) and found evidence of gender discrimi-
nation, and the resulting low self-esteem and missed opportunities, against the
youngest female members of society, finding not only that boys dominated class-
room discussions and that teachers had lower expectations for girls' performance,
Issues | 19
but that even the materials taught — from the literature chosen to history textbooks —
focused on males and their interests, or were often absent of females. The raising of
that consciousness led to social programs and policy changes to address equality in
the classroom and the career paths of young women.
The whole idea of science education is a twentieth-century development.
Attempts to standardize science curricula at the high school level began in the
1890s, with recommendations for a breadth of knowledge to include physics,
astronomy, chemistry, and natural history. Before the 1920s, however, science edu-
cation for young children focused primarily on nature study, and was certainly not
formal or systematic. Domestic science, or home economics, became a standard
part of the curriculum for girls beginning in the first half of the twentieth century,
as the goal of early education was to prepare girls for future roles as wives and
mothers, whereas boys were tracked into vocational or technical courses (accord-
ing to class expectations as well). But the modern science curriculum for elemen-
tary and secondary students is a product of the Cold War, beginning in the 1950s,
when the government investment in science and technology education meant that
boys and girls would be offered the same science curriculum through the public
schools. To fit with new national military and industrial commitments, the "hard"
sciences of physics and chemistry replaced an earlier emphasis on nature study,
even at the elementary level; the "science experiment" and "science fair" became
ubiquitous features of modern American science education (Tolley 2003).
Beginning in the 1970s, the U.S. Congress passed a series of acts to ensure edu-
cational equity in everything from sports opportunities to vocational training to
funding for science and math education. While girls' access to educational oppor-
tunities expanded throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and social programs such as
the Ms. Foundation's "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" (established in 1993)
showed an effort to expose girls to a broader range of career possibilities, in
1992 the American Association of University Women (AAUW) published its
groundbreaking report, How Schools Shortchange Girls, exposing the sometimes
blatant but often subtle ways in which schools and teachers disadvantage girls in
the classroom and ultimately discourage them from "nontraditional" pursuits,
including math and science (AAUW 1992; see also AAUW 2000 and AAUW
2004). This attention resulted in a vast new literature on gender and education
and, by the late 1990s, a pendulum swing to scholars, experts, and parents arguing
that boys are now shortchanged when their needs and learning styles are ignored in
the new girl-friendly school environment (Tyre 2008). These studies argue that
neglecting the particular physical and emotional needs of boys in the classroom
has led to a generation of boys diagnosed with (and prescribed medication for)
attention deficit disorder, an epidemic of violence in the schools, and lower gradu-
ation rates of and college attendance.
20 | American Women of Science since 1900
If girls have greater advantages in the elementary and high school classroom,
and perform well in science and math courses in particular, the question is not only
one of lower SAT scores, but of fewer girls continuing on in science career paths.
What other factors explain their continued underrepresentation in math and
science careers? There are two main questions to address. First, are teachers and
parents still treating girls differently, especially in regard to science and math
ability? Second, what do girls think about women and science?
From elementary through high school, some fear that girls are getting a different
education, both quantitatively and qualitatively, than boys. Much research has been
conducted over the past 20 to 30 years on classroom dynamics, and on the way
teachers (and parents) treat girls differently and track them according to gender
stereotypes, from boys receiving more attention (positive and negative) in the class-
room, to teachers expecting less from girls, to methodologies (tests, etc.) that favor
the ways boys learn over the ways girls learn, to the lack of female role models in
the classroom and in textbooks. Numerous studies have shown that deep-rooted
ideas about gender continue to filter into teacher interactions with girls. One study
conducted over the course of 25 years "found that girls were eight times less likely
to call out comments, but when they did were reminded to raise their hands. In con-
trast, teachers responded to the typically rowdier and more assertive behavior of
boys. Thus highly intelligent young girls often give up their own assertiveness and
risk-taking behavior fulfilling social virtues of selflessness and cooperation"
(Etzkowitz, Kemelgor, and Uzzi 2000, 39).
When it comes to the role of education and educational policy, the debate over
sex-based differences in ability is less important than the belief that everyone
deserves equal access and equal education, and the belief that any subject can be
taught. Even if there are no significant biological or innate ability differences
between how the sexes learn, are there "taste differences" that account for fewer
women developing an interest in science in the first place? (This point was made
by Harvard president Lawrence Summers in his controversial 2005 remarks explain-
ing why there are fewer women in high-level science positions.) The observation has
been made by some that women, in general, are more interested in people and in rela-
tionships than in solitary lab work, for example. Regardless of whether this is due to
biology or to social conditioning (or whether it is even true for all women), one must
ask whether this is an accurate understanding of what scientists do. It may, in fact,
explain the higher numbers of women in "helping" professions such as medicine
(and certain subspecialties within medicine), veterinary medicine, or psychology,
but it does not explain the variety of skills and activities that engage scientists across
disciplines in relation both to people (the solitary lab scientist is something of a myth,
as researchers must coordinate teams of students and colleagues) and to the subjects
Issues | 21
of their research (e.g., the cancer researcher engaged in lab work, or the computer
scientist writing educational software, are still involved in a quest to "help" people).
One thing is certain: The continued perception at least (if not evidence) that
science, technology, engineering, and math are "male" fields or that boys have more
natural aptitude in these areas has an influence on whether girls choose these
subjects of study or move on to pursue careers, and on how women scientists
are ultimately treated in the lab, the field, and in academia. In other words, the
debate itself influences how girls and young women perceive themselves, as well
as how others perceive them, regardless of their educations and achievements.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia examined the issue of "stereotype
threat," or the effect of perceived truths about members of a group, in relation to
women's science and math achievement. Their studies found that "women who read
of genetic causes of sex differences performed worse on math tests than those who
read of experiential causes" (Dar-Nimrod and Heine 2006).
Female students may also fear being labeled a "smart girl." This has become such
a concern that the National Science Foundation launched a website/program called
SmartGirl (http://www.smartgirl.org) for girls aged 11 to 17 that, while not specific
to science education, provides a significant amount of information on career choices,
including an extensive list of links related to STEM careers. Another program,
NerdGirls (http://www.nerdgirls.org), was started by a professor at Tufts University
for her female engineering students, and the organization's mission is "to encourage
other girls to change their world through Science, Technology, Engineering and
Math, while embracing their feminine power." They also seek "to dispel the myths
and stereotypes about these fields and the women who choose to enter them." Girls,
Inc. created a nationally implemented program called Operation SMART (Science,
Math and Relevant Technology; http://www.girlsinc.org/about/programs/operation
-smart.html), which advises parents and teachers to "Assume girls are interested in
math, science and technology," and support and encourage them accordingly.
One of the most famous ongoing experiments has been the study of stereotypes
and images in the "Draw-A-Scientist Test" (DAST). Begun in the early 1980s, the
test has been used in recent years internationally to look at children, college stu-
dents, and teachers, at different school levels and with student populations of
different ethnicities, as well as the two sexes (Steinke et al. 2007). An analysis
of DAST shows, among other things, that the older the student (from elementary
up through middle and then high school), the more likely he or she is to portray a
scientist as male (and white). For example, a 1999 study showed that students in
kindergarten through second grade drew male scientists 58% of the time,
compared to up to 75% of the time among students in sixth through eight grade
(Hall 2007, 25). Views about scientific ability and who can be a scientist may also
present at home. New research shows that the attitudes of parents — especially
22 | American Women of Science since 1900
fathers — are important indicators for determining a girl's interest and success in
math. Fathers must encourage their daughters, show interest in their math and
science studies, and expect girls to be good at math, as paternal confidence and
attitudes figure significantly into a girl's view of her own abilities and potential
(Univ. of Michigan 2007). It is, of course, not surprising that the issues and
messages of the culture at large are magnified in the home, and that the attitudes
of parents are some of the most influential on young girls.
Still, increasing numbers of girls are taking higher-level math and science in
high school. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, in
2005, some 42% of twelfth-grade girls had taken both biology and chemistry,
and 29% had taken biology, chemistry, and physics, slight jumps from just a few
years earlier (Hall 2007, 20). Still, their numbers are often not high enough in indi-
vidual classes to counter the idea of math and science as male endeavors, and girls
who do well are seen as exceptional and different, making it hard for girls to think
beyond high school to consider science careers. In a perpetual negative cycle, then,
the fewer the young women who enter into science careers, the less likely students
will be to encounter the female role models and science teachers needed to inspire
the next generation of girls. Girls who attend all-girl high schools choose science,
math, and engineering majors in college in higher numbers (Hall 2007, 33). If girls
in other contexts are discouraged from or avoid difficult science classes, they sim-
ply will not be prepared to take college-level science courses, regardless of inter-
est or ability, another factor against deciding on a science major. In other words,
early intervention is necessary — thus the focus on science education and organiza-
tions for girls in the middle and high school years.
In response to these issues and concerns, numerous programs have been estab-
lished to encourage girls in science and technology majors and careers. These pro-
grams target students, parents, and teachers, and are sponsored by educational
institutions, corporations, nonprofits, and government. Efforts range from education,
to mentoring programs, to special projects and clubs, to financial assistance in the
form of scholarships and grants for female science majors. Education requires not
only increasing the numbers and preparedness of girls taking advanced math and
science courses, but also educating girls as to the range of career possibilities in
science and technology. A National Academy of Sciences website on girls and
science (http://www.iwaswondering.org) provides guidelines to teachers, including
awareness about social stereotypes, types of and reasons for praise of boys and girls
in the classroom, and countering negative perceptions about science as a career
path for women. A wealth of literature and programs exist offering advice to teach-
ers on how to create a gender-neutral classroom. Some important strategies for
teachers collected from various programs include encouraging creativity and inno-
vation, creating opportunities for meaningful collaborative work among peers and
Issues | 23
with adults, making an effort to represent women in the sciences (through class-
room materials, images, classroom visitors, or field trips), and praising students
(male and female) for their efforts and process, not just for following the rules.
Resources for Girls, Their Parents, and Teachers
"Discover Engineering," National Engineers Week Foundation. http://www. discover
engineering.org.
"Earth Science," For Kids Only, NASA, http://kids.earth.nasa.gov.
"Engineer Girl," National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences.
http://www.engineergirl.org.
"Expanding Your Horizons Network: Motivating Young Women in Science + Mathematics."
http://www.expandingyourhorizons.org.
"Science," KidSites.com. http://www.kidsites.com/sites-edu/science.htm.
"Science News for Kids," Society for Science & the Public. http://www.sciencenews
forkids.org.
"Sci4Kids," USDA Agricultural Research Service, http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids.
"Try Engineering." http://www.tryengineering.org.
Books for Girls and Young Women
Goetz, Susan Gibbs. 2007. Science for Girls: Successful Classroom Strategies. Lanham,
MD: Scarecrow Press.
Hoyt, Beth Caldwell and Erica Ritter. 2003. The Ultimate Girls' Guide to Science: From
Backyard Experiments to Winning the Nobel Prize. Hillsboro, OR: Beyond Words
Publishing.
Karnes, Frances A. and Kristen R. Stephens. 2002. Young Women of Achievement: A
Resource for Girls in Science, Math, and Technology. Amherst, NJ: Prometheus Books.
Romanek, Trudee. 2001. The Technology Book for Girls and Other Advanced Beings.
Illus. Pat Cupples. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press.
SciGirls Presents GEMS: A Case Study in Science Inquiry for Girls. 2008. DVD. Twin
Cities Public Television, Inc. for WGBH/Boston.
Skolnick, Joan, Carol Langbort, and Lucille Day. 1982. How to Encourage Girls in Math
& Science: Strategies for Parents and Educators. Palo Alto, CA: Dale Seymour
Publications.
Thimmesh, Catherine. 2000. Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by
Women. Illus. Melissa Sweet. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Thimmesh, Catherine. 2002. The Sky's the Limit: Stories of Discovery by Women and
Girls. Illus. Melissa Sweet. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Wyatt, Valerie. 2000. The Math Book for Girls and Other Beings Who Count. Illus. Patricia
Cupples. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press.
24 | American Women of Science since 1900
Wyatt, Valerie. 1993. The Science Book for Girls and Other Intelligent Beings. Illus.
Patricia Cupples. Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press.
References and Further Readings
AAUW. 1992. The AAUW Report: How Schools Shortchange Girls. Washington, D.C.:
American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, http://
www.aauw.org/learn/research/upload/hssg.pdf.
AAUW. 2000. Tech Savvy: Educating Girls in the New ComputerAge. Washington, D.C.:
American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, http://
www.aauw.org/learn/research/upload/TechSavvy.pdf.
AAUW. 2004. Under the Microscope: A Decade of Gender Equity Projects in the
Sciences. Washington, D.C.: American Association of University Women Educational
Foundation, http://www.aauw.org/learn/research/upload/underthemicroscope.pdf.
Dar-Nimrod, Ilan and Steven J. Heine. 2006. "Exposure to Scientific Theories Affects
Women's Math Performance." Science, Vol. 314, No. 5798 (20 October 2006), 435.
Dingel, Molly J. 2006. "Gendered Experiences in the Science Classroom." In Removing
Barriers: Women in Academic Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics,
edited by Jill M. Bystydzienski and Sharon R. Bird, 161 176. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
Etzkowitz, Henry, Carol Kemelgor, and Brian Uzzi. 2000. Athena Unbound: The Advance-
ment of Women in Science and Technology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press.
Hall, Linley Erin. 2007. Who's Afraid of Marie Curie? The Challenges Facing Women in
Science and Technology. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press.
James, Abigail Norfleet. 2009. Teaching the Female Brain: How Girls Learn Math and
Science. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press/SAGE.
Steinke, Jocelyn et al. 2007. "Assessing Media Influences on Middle School Aged
Children's Perceptions of Women in Science Using the Draw-A-Scientist Test
(DAST)." Science Communication. 29(1): 35 64. (September 2007). http://
homepages.wmich.edu/~steinke/projects/assessing media/index. html.
"STEM Equity Pipeline: Expanding Options for Women and Girls in Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math." http://stemequitypipeline.org.
Summers, Lawrence. 2005. "Remarks at NBER Conference on Diversifying the Science &
Engineering Workforce." Harvard University. Office of the President. (14 January
2005). http://www.president.harvard.edu/speeches/summers 2005/nber.php.
Tolley, Kimberly. 2003. The Science Education of American Girls: A Historical Perspec-
tive. New York: Routledge Falmer Press.
Tyre, Peg. 2008. The Trouble with Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their
Problems at School, and What Parents & Educators Must Do. New York: Random
House.
Issues | 25
University of Michigan. 2007. "How Dads Influence Their Daughters' Interest In Math."
ScienceDaily. (25 June 2007). http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/
070624143002.htm.
Women and Science in College and Graduate School
The educational issues and challenges facing girls and women in the sciences con-
tinue beyond high school. Women's formal science education at the college level
dates to the nineteenth century and corresponds with women's access to higher
education in general, whether through the women's colleges or through co-
educational institutions. Co-educational colleges in the United States originated in
the Midwest when Oberlin College in 1837 began admitting women and African
Americans. The land-grant institutions, which were often co-educational, were
established by the Morrill Act of 1 862 and focused on the agricultural sciences, with
an emphasis on chemistry, nutrition and food sciences, animal sciences, and botany
and horticulture. The women's colleges founded in the late nineteenth century also
became centers of scientific education for women, both undergraduate and graduate.
Among women who went on to earn doctorates in the sciences, the majority came
from undergraduate programs at women's colleges; the top five colleges conferring
bachelor's degrees in science to women before 1920 were all Eastern single-sex
institutions (Mount Holyoke, Barnard, Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley) (Rossiter
1982, 144). For doctorates, however, the University of Chicago and Columbia
University in New York awarded the highest number of science Ph.D.s to women
through the 1930s (Rossiter 1982, 170-171).
Efforts to encourage more women to pursue careers in the sciences, including
funding and mentorship programs, brought a steady increase in the number of
women science majors after the 1970s. In 2006, women received slightly more
than 50% of all bachelor's degrees in the sciences and engineering (NSF Table
C-14). There is great variation by specific fields, with women earning the majority
of degrees in psychology, social sciences, and the biological sciences, but smaller
percentages of degrees in physical sciences and engineering. The "leaky pipeline,"
however, means that the number of women science candidates drops at critical
junctures along the educational and career path, so that while women earn 50%
of science bachelor's degrees only 38.4% of STEM doctorates go to women
(NSF Table F-2). The "leak" in the pipeline between undergraduate and graduate
school completion may be explained in part by decisions about family life made
during a woman's late twenties and early thirties, coinciding with the years dedi-
cated to a graduate program. A marriage, a spouse's employment options, and
whether and when to have children all affect not only the timing of completion
26 | American Women of Science since 1900
of a program, but funding, grants, mentoring, and research opportunities. Consid-
ering the significance of work/life issues to women during these years, one scholar
has concluded that "The human price for the Ph.D. is higher for women than for
men, and the rewards are often lower" (Etzkowitz, Kemelgor, and Uzzi 2000, 95).
While taking into account that many capable or interested female students
decide to apply their talents elsewhere than the sciences, and that not all under-
graduate science majors plan to continue on for advanced degrees in science fields,
a woman's undergraduate educational experience will also influence her decision
whether to continue on in pursuit of a STEM doctorate and career. If women are
discouraged in difficult courses, they may assume that they do not have enough
ability to succeed in math and science, and may choose not to pursue science
and math majors. A 2003 study of students in difficult pre-med chemistry and
calculus courses at Columbia University found that whether a student has a view
of success in STEM courses as a matter of innate ability (or a "gift") or has a belief
that hard work and individual effort will result in success determines female uni-
versity students' "vulnerability" to being discouraged away from science. Among
students who believed that success in the course was determined by innate ability,
male students earned higher grades; among students who considered intellectual
skills to be acquired or developed, female students earned higher grades and were
more likely to continue with the course than those who believed they possessed a
gift (Dweck 2007, 49-50; see also Dar-Nimrod and Heine 2006). Success and
good grades in courses like these (required courses for science and math majors)
across the nation are a strong indicator of continued pursuit of a science major
and continuing on to a scientific career.
The status hierarchy of science fields thus begins in college, where fields
deemed "easier" happen to be those with more women (biology or psychology),
and the more "difficult" fields, which are also those presumed to require more
math skills (such as physics, chemistry, and engineering), are dominated by men.
Few female undergraduates will have many female faculty members for role
models and, while some women say they do not expect to have many female fac-
ulty when deciding to major in science, it may still have an effect on their future
choices in the field. A 2005 study of colleges in the late 1990s found that "women
who had a female instructor in their first course in geology or mathematics and sta-
tistics were more likely to take additional courses in those subjects. In physics and
biology, however, women were more likely to take additional courses if their first
instructor was male" (Hall 2007, 118). Of course, the mere presence of female pro-
fessors does not mean that they will be mentors or develop positive relationships
with female students, but they are role models nonetheless.
The classroom experiences of women in the sciences are also an important
factor in deciding to pursue STEM majors and careers. College science classes
Issues | 27
are notorious as highly competitive "weeding-out" systems that, some argue,
strike particularly hard at women. While attempting to discourage the less serious
students may seem meritocratic (that is, with everyone having the same opportu-
nity to succeed or fail), it may in fact serve a professional gatekeeping function
by operating to cultivate a particular type or group of students preferred in the pro-
fession (Etzkowitz, Kemelgor, and Uzzi 2000). Highly competitive classes reward
individual achievement rather than collaboration; have an extremely rapid pace of
coursework; have a pace and format of testing that rewards certain learning styles,
assertiveness, and lack of mentoring on the part of faculty; have a lack of personal
contact between faculty and student; and, in some cases, allow outright exclusion
of women from study groups or other opportunities. When female students do ask
for help or express doubts about their abilities, they may be seen by male faculty or
fellow students as overly emotional or showing weakness, or even as sexually
available — all of which makes it harder to get help and thus increases women's
isolation. Feminist critics argue that these experiences in the weed-out process
create a particularly male culture of individuals "winning" at all costs, and deny
other modes of socialization and learning. For many female students, it is, if noth-
ing else, contrary to the encouragement, mentoring, and collaboration they may
have experienced in their high school science programs.
But is this a universal experience for women in college? The women who do
succeed in college science courses under these conditions report positive experi-
ences that led them to further pursue science at the graduate level. Of course,
there are variations in childhood socialization, individual interests, and personal-
ity styles that account for the career choice and success of any particular individ-
ual. The importance of female role models and of supportive and communicative
mentors (whether male or female) is often cited as one of the most important
factors in the success of women in science education, at both the undergraduate
and graduate levels. The experience of women as science and engineering stu-
dents in college varies, depending not only on the program and faculty, but on
the college itself. For example, in assessing the difference between women's col-
leges (which trained many of the early-twentieth-century female scientists) and
technical colleges, some argue that women's colleges give female students a
chance to do their personal and intellectual best without either explicit or subtle
discrimination, and without feeling that they are in a minority in their field. Of
course, this can be a protective environment that is not realistic in preparing
women for graduate school or their later employment situations. While many
young women may be deterred from pursuing science majors for various reasons,
many others pursue what interests them most or, in some cases, are specifically
challenged by the idea that they can be one of the few or exceptional women to
enter into a field.
28 | American Women of Science since 1900
References and Further Readings
Bird, Sharon R. and Jill M. Bystydzienski, eds. 2006. Removing Barriers: Women in
Academic Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
Dar-Nimrod, Ilan and Steven J. Heine. 2006. "Exposure to Scientific Theories Affects
Women's Math Performance." Science, Vol. 314, No. 5798 (20 October 2006), 435.
Dweck, Carol S. 2007. "Is Math a Gift? Beliefs That Put Females at Risk." In Why Aren 't More
Women in Science?: Top Researchers Debate the Evidence, edited by Stephen J. Ceci and
Wendy M. Williams, 47 55. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Etzkowitz, Henry, Carol Kemelgor, and Brian Uzzi. 2000. Athena Unbound: The Advance-
ment of Women in Science and Technology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press.
Hall, Linley Erin. 2007. Who's Afraid of Marie Curie? The Challenges Facing Women in
Science and Technology. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press.
National Science Foundation. "Table C-14. Bachelor's degrees, by race/ethnicity, citizen-
ship, sex, and field: 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science
and Engineering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statis-
tics, special tabulations of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educa-
tion Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Completions Survey,
2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabc-14.pdf.
National Science Foundation. "Table F-2. S&E doctoral degrees awarded to women, by
field: 1999 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and
Engineering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics,
Survey of Earned Doctorates, 1999 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/
tabf-2.pdf.
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1982. Women Scientists in America: Struggles and Strategies to
1940. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Seymour, Elaine and Nancy M. Hewitt. 1997. Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates
Leave the Sciences. Boulder, CO: Westview Press/Perseus Books.
Jobs for Women Scientists: Academia
The academic career track in all disciplines is organized along an advancement
"ladder" leading to and through the stages of tenure. In the sciences, once a
Ph.D. is received, the postdoctoral fellowship or position (or "postdoc") is a criti-
cal career step during which one gains laboratory or research experience with
mentors in the discipline; a scientist may then be hired as an assistant professor
(an untenured position), then, once tenure is received, advance to associate profes-
sor, and then full professor (or simply "professor"), which is the highest academic
Issues | 29
teaching rank. Science faculty may also
be appointed to high-level administra-
tive positions as department chairs, pro-
vosts, or deans of programs within a
university, or campus- wide administra-
tors, including university and college
presidents. Instructors or adjunct faculty
are often temporary, affiliated, or part-
time appointments, with no promise of
tenure.
Although many women scientists
work throughout government and pri-
vate industry, much emphasis and analy-
sis has focused on the research-intensive
academic career track as the assumed
path for women in the sciences. Perhaps
because scientists in academia are more
organized according to separate disci-
plines — and because gender issues are
more often discussed in a university
setting — there have been numerous
studies and statistical tracking of the status of women scientists in academia. By
2006, however, only about 19% of women scientists and engineers were employed in
universities or four-year colleges, and another 6% worked in other educational institu-
tions, teaching in secondary schools or two-year colleges that do not emphasize (or
allow time for) research and publication; this is compared to almost 50% of women
scientists and engineers employed in business and industry (NSF Table H-19).
Before 1940, the overwhelming majority (as many as three-quarters) of profes-
sionally trained women scientists worked in colleges or universities, many in the
women's colleges or in non-tenure-track lecturing and research or laboratory
assistant positions (Rossiter 1982, 160). After World War II, access to higher
education and professional employment opportunities became more restrictive
for women, so that by 1958, women made up only 10% of scientists employed in
educational institutions (Rossiter 1995, 107). It was not until after the 1970s that
women's numbers in academia began to rise again, but by then, technological
advances in computers, aerospace, medicine and pharmaceuticals, and other fields
led to the expansion of opportunities in government and private industry, so that
academic science was not the only option.
In the nineteenth century, both men and women might begin teaching without
acquiring or before completing their own advanced academic degrees; others
Astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
discovered that stars, including the Sun, are
composed mainly of hydrogen. (Bettmann/
Corbis)
30 | American Women of Science since 1900
found permanent positions as research or lab assistants. The first female college
professors were employed at women's colleges, or at larger co-educational institu-
tions teaching "women's" subjects, assigned to the home economics department
rather than the biology or chemistry departments, for example. Heavy teaching
loads and administrative responsibilities prevented many women from achieving
the research and publication records necessary for tenure or wider professional
recognition; others found that tenure-track promotions eluded them regardless of
their teaching and research accomplishments. Chemist Ellen Swallow Richards
was the first female faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) in the 1870s and was internationally recognized for her work; still, she
remained at the untenured level of "instructor" for her entire 30-year career. There
were even cases of women's names being left off faculty rosters in order to avoid
controversy with boards of trustees or alumni who might object to female faculty
in certain subjects, although in the early 1900s most colleges and universities
began to adopt more objective hiring and tenure guidelines that limited the influ-
ence of donors or alumni. Astronomer Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin worked at the
Harvard Observatory in the 1910s and 1920s, where she had no official title and
her lectures were not listed in the catalogue. She later described how funding for
her position at the observatory was identified as an "equipment" expense and
how she was not accepted or even acknowledged in the Harvard community at
large (Rossiter 1982, 211).
In 1921, a special committee of the American Association of University Profes-
sors conducted one of the earliest surveys on the status of women in academia. The
committee included several prominent women scientists at the time, including
Bryn Mawr geologist Florence Bascom, and found that of 100 co-educational
schools surveyed, 27 had no women faculty at all, in any field (not just science)
and at any level. Of those with women on the faculty, women made up 23.5% of
instructors, but only 4% of full professors (Rossiter 1982, 163). Of the top six
colleges employing women scientists, the largest number were, not surprisingly,
concentrated at the women's colleges: Wellesley, Vassar, and Mount Holyoke
had the highest numbers of female science faculty (Rossiter 1982, 182). In 1938,
only three women were department chairs or deans of science schools or depart-
ments, and all three of these were in departments of nutrition or home economics:
Lydia Roberts at the University of Chicago, Flora Rose at Cornell University,
and Abby Marlatt at the University of Wisconsin (Rossiter 1982, 182).
After a post-World War II retrenchment in academic opportunities for profes-
sional women, it was not until the civil rights legislation of the 1960s and
then the women's movement of the 1970s that women regained access to higher
education and employment, especially in "nontraditional" fields, including STEM
fields. The first problem for women in academic employment is getting hired,
Issues | 3 1
Title IX and Women's Education
The civil rights legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in the early 1960s is rec-
ognized for ushering in a new era of racial equality, but the legislation also had
an enormous impact on women's educational and employment opportunities.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was followed by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act,
which "prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex,
or national origin," and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) as a federal-level agency to address such issues. Title IX (part of the later
1972 Education Amendments), recognizing the need to open pathways to
employment, went further in forbidding discrimination in educational institutions.
The main passage of the law reads, "No person in the United States shall, on
the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or
be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving
Federal financial assistance." Although a simple statement, the effect of Title IX
had a wider impact, not only on educational admissions and hiring but also on
funding for women's athletics, ushering in a new era of training opportunities for
professional female athletes. In 2002, Title IX was renamed the Patsy Mink Equal
Opportunity in Education Act, after the late Congresswoman from Hawaii who
authored the Act.
especially in periods or cycles when there are fewer jobs than applicants. In 2003,
for example, there were 1,200 new physics Ph.D.s, but only 679 new faculty posi-
tions at all colleges combined, including part-time and community colleges, which
are nonresearch positions (Hall 2007, 160). Of course, many of these new physics
graduates would undoubtedly go into industry or government positions, but in
other fields or disciplines, there may be even fewer opportunities outside of aca-
demia. Significant advances have been made since the 1970s in eliminating (or
minimizing) gender discrimination in hiring, and new studies show that new
female Ph.D.s on the job market, although underrepresented in some fields, face
a level playing field when applying for jobs ("Women Faring Well" 2009).
While women are not necessarily disadvantaged in the tenure-track hiring pro-
cess, there is still what is referred to as a "leaky pipeline," with fewer women
present the higher up the advancement ladder one goes, and their numbers drasti-
cally reduced in some fields on the way from graduate student to assistant profes-
sor to tenure. Despite decades of women's advancement in individual disciplines,
at the highest academic levels (full professors and department heads) there are still
few women compared to the numbers of female Ph.D. recipients and junior faculty
members. A 2000 report found that a woman chaired only 4.2% of the more than
500 STEM departments surveyed (Hall 2007, 177). As tenure-track or full
32 | American Women of Science since 1900
professor status is required for consideration as chairs, deans, and provosts, not to
mention university presidents, there are ultimately fewer women from which to
choose for these positions.
Again, the problem of the "leaky pipeline" is institutional rather than individual,
as several women scientists have served as university presidents, and in the early
twenty-first century, several of the most prestigious universities named scientists as
their first female presidents: Chemical engineer Alice P. Gast (Lehigh), neurobiolo-
gist Susan Hockfield (MIT), physicist Shirley Ann Jackson (Rensselaer Polytech-
nic), molecular biologist Shirley Tilghman (Princeton University), and astronomer
France Cordova (Purdue University) all currently head these universities. The
achievements of these (and many other) high-profile women scientists, however,
may obscure the larger problem of the low representation of women in STEM fields;
ironically, some of the lowest representation among faculty overall is in the very
disciplines in which these individual women were trained (physics and astronomy,
for example).
The academic tenure system also presents a unique work/life balance problem.
It would seem that academia might be more flexible than other types of employ-
ment, as many people assume that professors' primary role is teaching courses
for only a few hours per week, with summers off. In the sciences, however, the
demands of laboratory work and management can require seven-day work weeks,
and the pressure and expectations of the tenure clock begin with the first postdoc-
toral position. For women who want to have and raise children, the time required
in the early years of one's career working toward tenure (which requires several
years of postdoctoral research, building relationships with mentors, receiving
accolades for teaching, and publishing) coincides with the female biological clock
of the twenties and early thirties. For women who do marry or have children
during this process, family considerations impact decisions not only about the ten-
ure clock but about geographical mobility and partner hires. Academic couples
must consider whether one partner will be able to accept a prestigious appointment
if the other cannot easily relocate or find a comparable position. Academic depart-
ments may consider male and female applicants on their individual merits, but
questions of family obligations and spousal or partner hires may be difficult nego-
tiations if both partners are academics or work in the same field. Family consider-
ations may impact women's careers, so they advance more slowly, participate in
fewer well-funded projects, take longer to tenure or accept less prestigious posi-
tions, and ultimately earn less income over the long term.
A final problem for women scientists in academia is discrimination on the job
itself. One high-profile study of gender equity revealed that, as of 1996, there were
only 22 female professors at MIT, compared to 252 male faculty. The study also
revealed disparities between male and female faculty members in terms of salary,
Issues | 33
lab funding, support, and even research space (Rosser 2004). This was a study
done by and within just one university, a major science and technology institution,
and so it raised questions about the status of women faculty at other colleges and
universities. Unlike in the humanities, much funding for scientific research comes
from outside the university system, from government or private sources, but here,
too, there has been shown a disadvantage for projects led by women. A 2005 study
of grant applications and awards from the major federal sources of research
funding — the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation
(NSF), and the USDA — found that women overall were less likely to receive fund-
ing for their projects and were less likely to reapply for the same grants; the report
authors suggested that these were only preliminary findings and called for better
tracking by the funding agencies themselves (Hosek et al. 2005).
In 2005, Harvard University president Lawrence Summers proposed several
possible reasons, both biological and social, to explain the lack of women in
high-level academic science positions (Summers 2005). In response to the contro-
versy created by Summers's remarks, Harvard established a Task Force on Women
Faculty and Women in Science and Engineering with the goal of analyzing the
"pipeline" problem in the academic career path, and making recommendations at
the institutional level in regard to "recruitment, support, and advancement of
outstanding women faculty in the University." Some scholars have questioned
affirmative action for women, which is most often clearly practiced in academia,
arguing that the underrepresentation of women does not mean that there should
be specific efforts to increase their representation, potentially to the disadvantage
of qualified male candidates (Kimura 2007, 44). Others questioned the attacks
made on Summers directly (who suggested that there may be innate as well as
social reasons explaining women's lack of interest in or preparation for STEM
careers), arguing that his remarks should serve merely to begin a system-wide
conversation regarding the goals of university science departments, but that more
focus should be on early intervention and education, such as encouraging young
women to enroll in more difficult science courses in high school and college.
Finally, the academic work environment and women's individual career success
in the sciences is impacted by the presence of female faculty as mentors and advi-
sors to younger women in college and graduate school. Some faculty take on this
special role with pride, but it also creates certain social pressures, as women
faculty members may be expected to make extra time for mentoring students in a
way that male professors are not or do not (Etzkowitz, Kemelgor, and Uzzi
2000, 149). This creates a paradox, as many female faculty members report that
they had critical support from their own mentors, and so they feel they owe some-
thing to the next generation, especially in encouraging female students in science
careers. But they must prioritize their own careers and productivity in order to
34 | American Women of Science since 1900
compete and move up the ladder. If they sacrifice their own advancement schedule,
there will continue to be fewer women as role models at the highest levels.
Female faculty members also need time to seek out support from other women in
science, finding peers beyond their own departments and institutions, where they
are likely to be in a minority within any given field. Professional scientific organiza-
tions, and women's committees within those organizations, can be essential
resources for career, legal, and discipline-specific assistance and guidance.
While tenured academic positions provide the stability and institutional frame-
work and resources necessary for conducting research (including laboratory space,
graduate students, and postdocs), faced with contingent, part-time, or nonresearch
positions, struggles with funding and promotion, or just general isolation, some
women scientists plan to pursue academic jobs, but decide to leave and practice
science elsewhere. Others discover early on that they are not particularly inter-
ested in academia, finding more stability and (simultaneously) more flexibility,
and often more lucrative positions, in nonacademic employment. As the twenty-
first century begins, more women faculty are needed at every level to serve as role
models for the next generation of female scientists.
References and Further Reading
AAUW. 2004. Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia. Washington,
D.C.: American Association of University Women Educational Foundation and AAUW
Legal Advocacy Fund. http://www.aauw.org/learn/research/upload/TenureDenied.pdf.
Bystydzienski, Jill M. and Sharon R. Bird, eds. 2006. Removing Barriers: Women in
Academic Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
Etzkowitz, Henry, Carol Kemelgor, and Brian Uzzi, eds. 2000. Athena Unbound: The
Advancement of Women in Science and Technology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
Hall, Linley Erin. 2007. Who's Afraid of Marie Curie? The Challenges Facing Women in
Science and Technology. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press.
Hosek, Susan D. et al. 2005. "Gender Differences in Major Federal External Grant
Programs." Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation, http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical
reports/TR307/index.html.
Kimura, Doreen. 2007. " 'Underrepresentation' or Misrepresentation?" In Why Aren't
More Women in Science?: Top Researchers Debate the Evidence, edited by Stephen J.
Ceci and Wendy M. Williams, 39 46. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological
Association.
National Science Foundation. "Table H-7. Employed scientists and engineers, by occupa-
tion, highest degree level, race/ethnicity, and sex: 2006." Women, Minorities, and
Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. National Science Foundation,
Issues | 35
Division of Science Resources Statistics, Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data
System (SESTAT). http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh-7.pdf.
National Science Foundation. "Table H-19. Employed scientists and engineers, by sector
of employment, broad occupation, sex, race/ethnicity, and disability status: 2006."
Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. National
Science Foundation, Division of Science Resource Statistics, Scientists and Engineers
Statistical Data System (SESTAT). http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh-19.pdf.
Rosser, Sue V. 2004. The Science Glass Ceiling: Academic Women Scientists and the
Struggle to Succeed. New York: Routledge.
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1982. Women Scientists in America: Struggles and Strategies to
1940. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1995. Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action,
1940 1972. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Summers, Lawrence. 2005. "Remarks at NBER Conference on Diversifying the Science &
Engineering Workforce." Harvard University. Office of the President. (14 January
2005). http://www.president.harvard.edu/speeches/summers 2005/nber.php.
"Women Faring Well in Hiring and Tenure Processes for Science and Engineering Jobs at
Research Universities, but Still Underrepresented in Applicant Pools." National
Research Council. Committee on Gender Differences in Careers of Science, Engineer-
ing, and Mathematics Faculty. News from the National Academies. (2 June 2009).
http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID= 12062.
Jobs for Women Scientists: Government
According to a 2006 report from the National Science Foundation, 10.4% of all
women employed in science- and engineering-related occupations worked in
federal, state, or local government, only slightly less than the number employed
in academia (NSF Table H-19). Although more attention is paid to job outlooks
and conditions for women scientists, students, and faculty members in academia,
the connection between government and science, especially beginning in the
mid-twentieth century, has meant not only more funding for academic research,
but more government-based research as well. A few notable women were employed
by the U.S. government in the late nineteenth century, and these were clustered in
a few agencies, in particular the USDA and USGS. In 1896, Florence Bascom
was the first female scientist hired at the USGS; in 1910, Eloise Gerry began
working at the U.S. Forest Service; and in 1916, Ida Bengtson was the first woman
scientist to join the U.S. Public Health Service (later known as the National Insti-
tutes of Health) (Rossiter 1982, 219). World War I and the era of Progressive
reform saw the creation of numerous federal bureaucracies and agencies.
36 | American Women of Science since 1900
From the 1910s through the 1930s, many women with science and math back-
grounds filled low-level, underpaid, "women's" jobs as clerks, stenographers,
indexers, science writers, and laboratory assistants, but few were able to advance
to managerial or project director positions. Progressive reform efforts also saw
increases in the numbers of women employed in public health, child welfare, psy-
chology, and other social work in state and local government offices and institu-
tions, while wildlife biologists, botanists, and archaeologists worked for
government field stations and publicly funded museums.
The USDA (which encompassed numerous departments or bureaus related to issues
of food and nutrition, agriculture, bacteriology, chemistry, and home economics,
among others), in particular, has always been a significant employer of women, as sci-
entists but also in clerical and nonscientific positions. A 1925 report by the new federal
Women's Bureau found that a full two-thirds of women scientists employed by the
federal government worked at the USDA, most as botanists or chemists (Rossiter
1982, 227). Within the USDA, women were concentrated in food, nutrition, and plant
sciences, or in home economics, and many women scientists achieved early positions
of prominence. Flora Patterson supervised the herbarium in the Bureau of Plant
Industry for nearly 30 years at the turn of the twentieth century. Chemist Mary Pen-
nington spent a decade as chief of the food research laboratory after it was established
in 1908. And chemist Louise Stanley was for many years the highest-paid and highest-
ranking women scientist in the federal government as head of the USDA's Bureau of
Home Economics, a position she held for more than 25 years, from 1923 to 1950.
The USDA remains a significant employer of women, reporting in 2007 that women
make up 44% of their total permanent workforce (USDA Newsroom, 2007).
The immediate postwar period saw a retrenchment of positions for women,
however, as returning male veterans filled available jobs, a pattern repeated in
the World War II era. The labor shortage brought on by World War II, combined
with wartime technical needs, meant more employment opportunities for female
scientists in government and industry during the war as nuclear physicists,
chemists, meteorologists, and engineers. While some earlier female-dominated
agencies, such as agriculture and nutrition, were significantly decreased, new areas
of growth brought large numbers of microbiologists, mathematicians, engineers,
and toxicologists into government work; the Department of Defense became
the largest government employer of women after World War II (Rossiter 1995,
277-279). After the war, however, there was a precipitous drop in the numbers of
women scientists and engineers in government agencies, numbers that would not
be recovered again until the 1970s, when the government was forced to change
due to its own antidiscrimination civil rights legislation.
Throughout the twentieth century, government agencies, unlike academia or
private industry, seem to have been less likely to discriminate in hiring and
Issues | 37
advancement based on gender and less likely to be concerned about a woman's
marital status. Nor did the government follow anti-nepotism rules that kept many
women scientists of the early twentieth century out of academic appointments if
they were married to fellow scientists. High-profile scientist couples who built
careers outside of academia in the mid-twentieth century included crystallogra-
phers Jerome and Isabella Karle, who spent more than six decades at the Naval
Research Laboratory, and physicists Maurice and Gertrude Goldhaber, who left
academia to work at Brookhaven National Laboratory for more than 30 years, also
consulting at Argonne and Los Alamos laboratories.
The 1950s brought new national commitments and international competition in
the space race and the nuclear arms race. These political and military concerns ush-
ered in a "golden age" of government funding for science and technology innova-
tion, and the greater numbers of Ph.D. s awarded after the 1960s meant that
academia could not provide employment for all trained scientists, although supply
and demand varied by field. New science and technology research programs within
all four branches of the U.S. military grew exponentially in the post-World War II
and Cold War eras. One of the newest and most noteworthy federal programs of the
era was the new National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Created
in 1958, it took 25 years, until 1983, for NASA to allow women into the astronaut
program. Since the 1980s, women scientists and engineers at NASA have distin-
guished themselves as astronauts (in 2009, NASA sent its fiftieth female astronaut,
Karen Nyberg, into space), as well as on the ground as aerospace engineers, com-
puter scientists, physicists, chemists, and medical and biological researchers.
Along with the space program, the federal government (under the auspices of the
military, or through agencies such as the USGS) has sponsored geological and
oceanographic expeditions, sending the first women scientists to the Arctic, to Ant-
arctica, under the sea, and to other points around the globe. The development of the
computer in the second half of the twentieth century also ushered in a new era of
opportunities for women scientists and engineers. Many women worked for
government agencies responsible for the early stages of computer development,
and the first programming languages, software programs, and Internet applications
were developed for government and military use.
Women scientists working within the government faced different opportunities
and different paths, but some of the same issues as women in industry or academia.
Gender bias and work/life balance issues affect professional women across
disciplines and sectors of employment, but differences in flexibility, work sched-
ules, and even pay have led many women scientists to see advantages in nonaca-
demic positions. Industry and government salaries are potentially higher than
those in academia, even without a doctorate, such as in computer sciences and
engineering. Scientists working in government jobs do not have the same tenure
38 | American Women of Science since 1900
and publication pressures required for advancement in academia, and government
agencies often have firmer, more objective promotion and pay policies that make
subtle bias against women harder to justify. But the "glass ceiling," an invisible
barrier to women's advancement to the highest levels, still exists. A 2005 Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) report on six national energy
and weapons laboratories found that women are still disadvantaged when it comes
to pay and rates of promotion within government positions. Among their specific
findings related to gender were that women consistently earned 2% to 4% less than
men (and minorities earned less than whites), and the report responded to concerns
about the underrepresentation of women in certain jobs and opportunities for
women to advance their government careers (U.S. GAO 2005). Likewise, a 2002
study of Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago found that female Ph.D.s were
more likely to start at a lower pay level, while men were hired in at higher levels,
thus putting women on a slower promotion track (Hall 2007, 190). Combined with
time off or part-time status to raise families, this may potentially put women years
behind their male colleagues who entered the field at the same time. Finally, con-
cerns about underrepresentation in certain fields or agencies means that if few
women are employed in a particular lab or facility, it may be difficult to find men-
tors or networks.
Still, it is widely believed that corporations and government agencies are more
likely to have family-friendly and flexible work policies, compared to academia,
including more set work hours (a 40-hour week compared to the sometimes
around-the-clock expectations of university labs). Scientists employed in
government labs are also able to focus solely on research, without teaching and
other student-related or administrative duties demanded in academia. The possible
downside of government employment, compared to a university setting, is that
someone else (besides the scientist) often sets the research agenda, either accord-
ing to government policy directives or corporate interests based on profit. Scien-
tists working in government (and industry) in collaboration, where a larger
policy (or profit) motive determines the course of research, do not tend to receive
the individual recognition that professors do, who must be concerned with the
originality of their work for gains of tenure, awards, and prizes.
Still, by the end of the twentieth century, many women had achieved "firsts"
in the highest-level national government appointments. Aeronautics engineer
Sheila Widnall served as Secretary of the U.S. Air Force (1993-1997), the first
woman to lead a branch of the military; pediatrician Antonia Novello was the first
female U.S. Surgeon General (1990-1993); cardiologist Bernadine Healy was the
first woman to head the National Institutes of Health (1991-1993); and economist
Alice Rivlin was the first director of the Congressional Budget Office (1993-1996).
In 2009 alone, two women were named as heads of important federal scientific
Issues | 39
agencies: marine ecologist Jane Lub-
chenco as head of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and geophysicist Marcia
McNutt as head of the USGS and
science advisor to the Cabinet-level
Secretary of the Interior.
A 2003 study by the National Sci-
ence Foundation found that half of all
doctorate-holding life scientists and at
least two-thirds of physical scientists
were working outside of academia, in
either government or industry. In
specific fields, such as engineering or
computer science, the majority of grad-
uates expect nonacademic employ-
ment. In the same 2003 NSF study,
only 2% of computer scientists and
engineers were employed as professors
in colleges or universities (Hall 2007,
186). The line between academia,
government, and industry is not always
clear in the United States, however.
Many women scientists move across
these various sectors of employment over the course of their careers, working in
government but holding honorary affiliations at universities or teaching part-time
at either the beginning or retirement phase of their careers, holding faculty appoint-
ments but consulting on specific government projects, or working for private compa-
nies that support government and military needs.
Aeronautical engineer Sheila Widnall, 1993.
Widnall was the first female Secretary of the
U.S. Air Force. (Department of Defense)
References and Further Reading
Hall, Linley Erin. 2007. Who's Afraid of Marie Curie? The Challenges Facing Women in
Science and Technology. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press.
Jack, Jordynn. 2009. Science on the Home Front: American Women Scientists in World
War II. Champaign: University of Illinois Press.
National Science Foundation. "Table H-19. Employed scientists and engineers, by sector
of employment, broad occupation, sex, race/ethnicity, and disability status: 2006."
Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. National
Science Foundation, Division of Science Resource Statistics, Scientists and Engineers
Statistical Data System (SESTAT). http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh-19.pdf.
40 | American Women of Science since 1900
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1982. Women Scientists in America: Struggles and Strategies to
1940. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1995. Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action,
1940 1972. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
USDA Newsroom. 2007. "USDA Observes National Women's History Month and
Acknowledges USDA Women Who Moved History Forward." http://www
.ascr.usda.gov/news women.html.
U.S. Government Accountability Office. 2005. "Equal Employment Opportunity: Infor-
mation on Personnel Actions, Employee Concerns, and Oversight at Six DOE Labora-
tories." (February 2005). http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05190.pdf.
Williams, Kathleen Broome. 2001. Improbable Warriors: Women Scientists and the US
Navy in World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.
Jobs for Women Scientists: Industry, Business,
and Nonprofit Research
Throughout the twentieth century, there have been both advantages and disadvan-
tages for women scientists working in industry, business, private research, non-
profit organizations, or self-employment. In the nineteenth century, many women
were engaged in "amateur" science as independent natural historians, botanists,
wildlife preservationists, ornithologists, geologists, anthropologists, and archaeol-
ogists. Even as the scientific disciplines were professionalized, and university
training became a standard requirement, women with any level of scientific back-
ground might find employment in a variety of settings. Still, women scientists
employed in private industry have not always had the advantages of built-in
organizational structures (including mentoring networks) that women in univer-
sities or in government agencies have had, where scientists are often organized
by field and, early on, university- or discipline-wide studies were commissioned
and internal guidelines set. The federal Women's Bureau tracked the employment
status, titles, and salaries of government workers, and women in academia were
able to track and advocate for women's representation in specific disciplines. On
the other hand, industry and business have sometimes had more flexible hiring
and advancement criteria, and over the course of the twentieth century, many
women were able to make careers for themselves that combined research and
management.
The demand for scientists, and therefore opportunities for women, has been
especially great in industries related to major technological and scientific advances
over the course of the last century, such as computers, engineering, aerospace,
Issues | 41
Mary Kies, First American Woman to Receive a Patent
Mary Dixon Kies (1 752-1 837) was the first woman to be granted a patent from the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Her 1809 patent was for the development of a
new technique for using thread to weave straw for women's bonnets and hats.
A few years earlier, another woman, Betsy Metcalf, had invented a popular
technique for braiding straw for hats, but Metcalf never sought a patent. Since
early American women could not legally own their own property, few stepped
forward to protect their inventions in their own names. The timing was right for
Kies, however, as the U.S. government was limiting the importation of European
goods and encouraging domestic manufacturing. The Patent Act of 1790 was
passed to encourage American innovation, which was made possible by the
new technologies of the industrial revolution. Many items previously produced by
women in the home were shifting to factory production, and straw hat production,
in particular, was central to the New England economy. All of this must have been
apparent to Kies, convincing her to seek protection and validation for her idea.
First Lady Dolley Madison reportedly singled out Kies and praised her for her
work. Unfortunately, Kies's original patent paperwork was destroyed, along
with records of numerous other early American inventions, in a Patent Office fire
in 1836.
pharmaceutical and medical research, materials sciences, and automotive, plastics,
and other applied industrial fields. In 2006, among employed women with a
science- or engineering-related degree (bachelor's or above), a majority, some
58.5%, were employed in science-related occupations within business, industry,
or nonprofit organizations. This is compared to only slightly above 13% of women
with science degrees then employed at four-year universities or colleges and
another 13% employed at secondary schools, two-year colleges, or other educa-
tional institutions. Teaching or university research, therefore, is not the primary
employment of American women scientists. Still others (4.6% of those in
science-related fields in 2006) have chosen self-employment, the majority of these
as psychologists or computer scientists (NSF Table H-19).
The Industrial Revolution and then wartime labor and technological needs
during World War I opened up new industries with needs for more chemists, phys-
icists, engineers, and mathematicians. Although it was difficult for women to hold
onto industry jobs after veterans returned from the war (a pattern repeated after
World War II), and although jobs were cut during the Great Depression and
employers preferred to give the few available jobs to men (with many companies
practicing the idea of a "family wage," i.e., the belief that men needed jobs more
than women because men had families to support), many women scientists found
42 | American Women of Science since 1900
success throughout these decades in the areas of food development and production
(including agricultural sciences), nutrition, and household products technology
(Rossiter 1982). Although the post-World War II era also saw the creation of
new industries, particularly in consumer product development and military tech-
nology, there was another backlash against women workers that included social
pressure for women to leave paid employment after marriage. These policies,
whether formal or informal, made it difficult for women to enter into the new tech-
nological and engineering fields that were exploding in the 1950s and 1960s. A
few notable women scientists emerge from this time period, but they were often
the exceptions in heavily male-dominated fields of this era.
Among fields in which women had a significant presence in private employment
(business, industry, or self-employment) in the 1950s and 1960s were psychology
(with women making up 10.25% of psychologists in the nongovernment and non-
academic sectors by 1968), computer sciences (8.7%), and statistics (7%) (Rossiter
1995, 259). Despite early advances in fields such as psychology, however, wom-
en's numbers in psychology, earth sciences, and agricultural sciences remained rel-
atively constant from the 1950s through the 1960s, while their numbers nearly
doubled in the "hard" sciences of mathematics, chemistry, and physics, a sign of
industry's labor needs due to rapid technological and scientific advances in the
post- World War II era. Besides the large numbers of women employed directly
by the U.S. government, throughout the 1950s and 1960s, government money
flowed to private institutions, businesses, and nonprofit research centers, including
medical research institutes, observatories, and corporations that directly supported
government programs, such as engineering firms contracted by NASA.
The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and then the women's movement
of the 1970s brought legislative and social pressures on private business to conduct
their hiring and advancement practices in a gender-neutral manner, and to expand
the numbers of women on their payrolls and in high-level positions. Decades after
these shifts, however, women still face problems related to recruitment, retention,
and advancement across employment sectors. One problem for private industry is
in preparing women scientists for nonacademic careers. Despite the fact that a
large number of women with science educational backgrounds will go on to work
in industry, business, and private research centers, the primary emphasis during
graduate programs is undoubtedly on the academic job market rather than oppor-
tunities in a variety of other research or business settings. Depending on the spe-
cific field, professors are less likely to have connections outside of academia to
connect students with mentors and opportunities. Even worse (and, again, depend-
ing on the field or discipline), some professors may view corporate employment or
business leadership positions as "selling out" on the purity of the research agenda.
Last, the limitations of academic employment (long hours, low pay, slow
Issues | 43
advancement) may do more to lead women to nonacademic careers than a choice
among equally desirable opportunities. For example, one survey of women scien-
tists employed in industry found that nearly one-third of the respondents "chose
the business sector not because they were recruited into it, but because they did
not feel welcomed into academia" (Catalyst, 1999).
The problem is not just with an insular academic culture, however, as once
employees enter into nonacademic employment, it may be difficult to find other
women as mentors or role models. The "glass ceiling" and the "old boys' net-
works" form invisible barriers to women's advancement into high-level positions,
and create an informal paternalistic corporate culture that keeps women out of the
information loop, fosters stereotypes that prevent supervisors from giving women
important or difficult assignments, or sometimes discourages women from seeking
those positions, especially in science-related fields, which are still seen as male
fields (Catalyst, 1999). Even with legal protection against discrimination, women
in private employment may also be subject to subtle forms of discrimination due
to a lack of formal industry-wide policies or grievance procedures. Just as in
academia, women's professional organizations have sprung up by industry in an
effort to bring women together and provide career advice, information about job
openings, opportunities to present at conferences or participate in professional
meetings, and mentoring relationships.
Scientists in business and industry may also need experience in management or
in profit-related activities related to marketing and sales, and therefore are not
necessarily focused only on research. Pharmaceuticals, the automotive industry,
and new "green" technologies, household products, and chemicals — these are all
examples of science-intensive industries that are also heavily profit-driven.
Advancement in corporate or private industry is often based, then, not solely on
educational background, but on management skills and experience acquired on
the job. The numbers of women managers are still low in part because many busi-
ness schools (programs for the MBA, Master's of Business Administration) did not
admit women until the second half of the twentieth century, and it has taken one or
more generations for women to gain access to education and then employment, and
then work their way to the highest levels. In 2006, women still made up only 21 .6%
of managers in science- and engineering-related positions; the greatest percentage
of managers were found in the medical and health services fields, probably taking
into account the large number of female nurse managers, while the smallest
percentage of female managers were found in engineering (NSF Table H-34).
Individual women, of course, have excelled in industry, just as in other sectors,
and private research has inspired a large number of female innovators and inventors.
Chemist Stephanie Kwolek invented a fire-retardant fabric, Kevlar, while working
for DuPont industries in the 1970s and 1980s; botanist Wanda Farr, the discoverer
44 | American Women of Science since 1900
of cellulose, worked for American Cyanamid Company and for Celanese Corpora-
tion of America in the 1940s; physicist Katharine Blodgett developed nonreflect-
ing glass while working for General Electric; engineer Edith Clarke designed
large electric power systems at General Electric in the 1930s and 1940s; and physi-
cist Joan Mitchell spent her entire career at IBM, where she helped develop the
JPEG image compression format. By the 1980s, women were gaining entry into
higher-level managerial and even executive positions. Physicist Betsy Ancker-
Johnson and economist Marina Whitman were both vice presidents of General
Motors Corporation for a time, and mechanical engineer Rodica Baranescu had a
long career as a manager at International Truck and Engine Corporation.
Women have also excelled as scientists at private, nonprofit research centers
and institutions. Geneticist Barbara McClintock conducted her Nobel Prize-
winning research on maize at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and more recently,
women have served as heads or directors of such institutions, including marine
geologist Marcia McNutt as CEO and president of the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Edith Clarke, right, was one of the first female electrical engineers in the United States.
(Bettmann/Corbis)
Issues | 45
Geneticist Barbara McClintock. (National Library of Medicine)
Research Institute and atmospheric scientist Susan K. Avery as director of the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Self-employment has also been an option
in many fields, and some women scientists founded their own companies. Com-
puter scientists and engineers have been most successful in this category, as rapid
technological advances and new applications opened up new business models and
opportunities: Adele Goldberg, founder of Parc-Place Systems; Evelyn Berezin
of Redactron; Sandra Kurtzig of ASK Computer Systems; and Roberta
Williams, founder of Sierra On-Line, a computer games company.
In the first half of the twentieth century, self-employment may have been the
only choice for some women scientists, as opportunities in academia or business
may not have been available, or may not have been desirable due to considerations
of dual-career couples or geographical mobility. Botanist Cynthia Westcott
entered private practice as a plant pathologist and popular garden writer in the
1930s after she was unable to obtain professional employment. In the later twenti-
eth century, some women trained in the sciences took advantage of new technolo-
gies (television and the Internet) to launch careers in the popular media instead of
46 | American Women of Science since 1900
in research or teaching. Psychologists Joyce Brothers and Ruth Westheimer are
two of the most recognizable names in popular culture, both of them pioneering
the use of radio, television, and popular books for administering mental-health
and relationship advice. Susan Love left an academic teaching position to create
her own breast cancer foundation and advocacy group, a route followed by other
health professionals, including physician and women's natural health advocate
Christiane Northrup and epidemiologist Mary Harris, who created a foundation
and a website for disseminating information on African American women's
health. Others combined backgrounds and interests in science and journalism to
become prolific and popular science writers, such as naturalists Marcia Bonta
and Anne LaBastille, and science writers Natalie Angier and Jane Brody.
Private employment has often been seen as more flexible for women workers,
with more dependable working hours, and more opportunities for advancement
based on experience and skills acquired on the job. As in other employment sectors,
women scientists in industry and business are concerned about issues of work/life
balance, including accommodations for dual-career couples and childcare arrange-
ments. Some have found that the corporate world offers more stable and predictable
working hours, unlike academia, which expects sometimes 24-hour commitments
to the laboratory or project. Others find that, in order to attract quality workers,
some corporations have made efforts to implement generous family leave and other
policies, such as dependent healthcare, on-site childcare, or family leave; these
corporations are widely advertised as "family-friendly" places to work and are not
subject to the bureaucracy and reluctance to change that can sometimes characterize
academic or government employers.
References and Further Reading
Catalyst. 1999. "Women Scientists in Industry: A Winning Formula for Companies."
Catalyst, Inc. (June 1999). http://www.catalyst.org/publication/73/women-scientists
-in-industry-a-winning-formula-for-companies.
Mattis, Mary and Jennifer Allyn. 1999. "Women Scientists in Industry." In Women in
Science and Engineering: Choices for Success, edited by Cecily Cannan Selby. The
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 869: 143 155. (15 April 1999).
National Science Foundation. "Table H-19. Employed scientists and engineers, by sector
of employment, broad occupation, sex, race/ethnicity, and disability status: 2006."
Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. National
Science Foundation, Division of Science Resource Statistics, Scientists and Engineers
Statistical Data System (SESTAT). http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh-19.pdf.
National Science Foundation. "Table H-34. Scientists and engineers employed in busi-
ness and industry, by managerial occupation, sex, race/ethnicity, and disability status:
2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering.
Issues | 47
National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Scientists and
Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT). http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/
tabh-34.pdf.
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1982. Women Scientists in America: Struggles and Strategies to
1940. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1995. Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action,
1940 1972. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Work/Life Balance for Women Scientists
As more women have become scientists and taken their places in academic
research, industry, business, and government, has the profession of science become
more family-friendly? Finding a desirable and manageable balance between work-
ing life and family life is something with which all working women, but especially
working mothers, struggle. The issue seems to be compounded for women in the
sciences, not only because of the demanding work hours and conditions, but
because of the sense that science is still a primarily male profession. Women scien-
tists in a variety of employment settings are less likely to have female support or
role models, and more likely to feel
the need to prove themselves as
capable of performing in male-
dominated fields and capable of put-
ting in the required time and energy
to succeed.
In his controversial 2005 address on
women in the sciences, Harvard Uni-
versity president Lawrence Summers
acknowledged that scientific research
and faculty positions offer little flexi-
bility, often demanding that the lab
come before family and social life.
Summers presented, as one of the rea-
sons that there are fewer female ten-
ured faculty scientists, the idea that
women may be less willing to devote
the time, energy, and sacrifice neces-
sary to reach the highest levels of this
career path (Summers 2005). The industrial psychologist and engineer, Lillian
problem, of course, is not specific or Gilbreth, 1944. (AP/Wide World Photos)
48 | American Women of Science since 1900
unique to academic science, nor is it necessarily specific to women, as male
employees now frequently expect more flexibility and balance in order to enjoy
and participate in family life as well. Still, the issue of flexibility and responsibility
for the care of children seems to affect women disproportionately. Even Summers,
as the president of perhaps the most prestigious institution of higher education in
the nation, could only wonder at the fact that Harvard will pay tuition for college-
aged children of faculty, but offers nothing in the way of childcare subsidies for
families with young children. Unfortunately, Summers did not go on to explain
how, as president, he might address or remedy this situation. His combined remarks
about women's interest in, aptitude for, and commitment to careers in science led to
Summers's resignation; as he was replaced in 2007 with Harvard's first female
president in the university's 370-year history, it will be interesting to see if the
priorities or focus on such issues will shift.
The conflict between work and family life is, again, not particular to science or to
academia, although there are some specific issues related to the university
setting. It is also a larger social and political issue involving the historical role of
women in the workplace, ideas about gender roles in marriage and parenting, and
access to affordable and quality childcare. Except for anomalous periods such as
the World War II era of unprecedented female workplace participation, the number
of working mothers has steadily increased over the course of the twentieth century.
In 1940 (before the outbreak of the war), only 10% of married mothers worked for
wages. This number rose to 36% in 1975, and reached more than 50% by the late
1980s (Coleman, Ganong, and Warzinik 2007, 147). By the end of the first decade
of the twenty-first century, an astounding 70% of married mothers were in the labor
force at least part of the year, and 57% of mothers with infants worked for wages
(U.S. Census Bureau 2008a; U.S. Census Bureau 2008c). These numbers vary by
race, as black women, for example, have historically had higher labor force participa-
tion. In 1960, only 18% of married white mothers of preschool-aged children worked
compared to 3 1 % of married black mothers (Coleman, Ganong, and Warzinik 2007,
147). That gap is closing; as of 2005, some 70% of white mothers were in the work-
force, compared to 76% of black mothers, and the lowest numbers were found among
Latina mothers, 59% of whom worked (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2005).
The burden of childcare (either providing it or securing it) and of household work
also falls disproportionately upon women, whether married or single. While more
than 70% of mothers are now in the paid labor force, the other 24% of married
mothers of young children stay home full-time to care for children (U.S. Census
Bureau 2008a). Despite much recent attention to the stay-at-home father as a new
phenomena, and despite the very real numbers of actual men who take on that role,
as a percentage of overall parenting arrangements, full-time fatherhood still accounts
for only a tiny minority of family arrangements. In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau
Issues | 49
Science and Surrogacy
The controversial area of reproductive science and technologies exploded into the
public consciousness in the early 1980s. Just as the birth-control pill of the 1960s
had separated sex and reproduction, scientists now offered the possibility of preg-
nancy without sexual intercourse at all (through in vitro fertilization, or IVF) and of
pregnancy and mothering as two separate roles for women (through surrogacy).
The first "test tube" baby was born in England in 1 978, the product of IVF. The first
woman to receive money as a surrogate was in 1980, but in the United States, the
case that brought surrogacy to public attention was that of Mary Beth Whitehead,
who had been artificially inseminated with the sperm of a man whose wife was
unable to have children. After giving birth in March 1986, Whitehead decided she
wanted to keep the baby, who was not genetically related to her. The courts, how-
ever, upheld the surrogacy contract and granted custody to the biological father,
choosing genetics over a biological or emotional definition of motherhood through
pregnancy. The issue raised debates that continue today, even among feminists,
most of whom support a surrogate's right to use her body in such an arrangement,
and applaud technological advances that give infertile women more choices, but
with others criticizing the potential exploitation of "renting out" a woman's womb.
reported 140,000 full-time stay-at-home fathers out of a total of 22.5 million mar-
ried couples with children under the age of 18 (U.S. Census Bureau 2008a). While
that is a significant jump from even a decade ago, that still amounts to roughly only
0.06% of married households with young children and does not include single
fathers, fathers working out of their homes (which would presumably make them
more available in family life, regardless of their involvement in actual childcare),
fathers working part-time, or fathers temporarily staying home with children (due
to short-term unemployment, for example), so the actual numbers of men more
involved in childcare and domestic life than even a generation or two ago is prob-
ably much higher. Still, the 140,000 self-identified full-time stay-at-home fathers
must be compared to the 5.3 million married mothers who identify as stay-at-
home parents. The responsibilities of work and family life are compounded for sin-
gle parents and, in 2008, nearly 84% of single-parent households were headed by
women, with more than 70% of those women regularly employed (U.S. Census
Bureau 2008b).
Historically, many professional women of the early twentieth century felt
compelled to choose between career and family. An astonishing number of early
professional women scientists either never married or, if married, remained child-
less. Obviously, there are a variety of reasons why a couple (then or now) does not
50 | American Women of Science since 1900
have children, but for at least the first half of the twentieth century (and longer in
some fields), young women would find few role models for combining a high-
level career with a fulfilling family life. One notable exception was Lillian
Gilbreth, who not only had a long and productive career as an industrial manage-
ment engineer, but was famous as the mother of twelve, a life story chronicled in
the book (and later the film) Cheaper by the Dozen. Gilbreth's case was even more
unique in that her family was her laboratory, an experiment in itself to support her
research on efficiency. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was common practice for single
women to be asked in employment interviews if they planned to marry, and wives
were asked when they planned to start a family. Also in those years, women who
became pregnant were expected to quit their jobs, and there were no formal
maternal-leave policies. Most universities, especially, had nepotism rules, some-
times unwritten, under which husbands and wives could not work in the same
department, or sometimes even in the same institution.
Whereas the social and institutional constraints on women's careers and family
choices were more obvious or explicit in the early part of the century, subtle pres-
sures still remain. Despite the women's movement and social and political advan-
ces in women's status at home and in the workplace, women still not only bear and
nurse children, but find themselves responsible for the care of young children and
for the majority of the housework. These biological and family demands interfere
with not only the educational demands of science careers and the tenure-track
clock in academia (which disadvantages women across disciplines, not just in
the sciences), but also with the often around-the-clock demands of laboratory
research or the extended travel time of fieldwork.
Whereas today's young woman might consider options such as being a stay-at-
home parent, telecommuting, or part-time or flex-time work, it has been (and
remains) difficult to work part-time in many scientific fields, especially research-
intensive positions or tenured academic positions. Of course, many women have
found ways to have both a career and a family, usually depending heavily on a
supportive spouse (often also a colleague or work partner), other family members
(grandparents), or paid childcare arrangements, whether in-home or outside the
home. In their memoirs and interviews, women scientists throughout the century
never fail to make note of the choices and domestic arrangements that made their
work possible, something rarely found in the career narratives of professional
men. A 2006 report by the National Science Foundation found that of women with
science degrees who were not currently employed, the largest percentage (39.6%)
identified "family responsibilities" as the reason for their unemployment; this was
compared to only 5.4% of unemployed men who gave "family responsibilities" as
a reason (the largest number of men, more than 70%, absent from the work-
force gave their status or reason as "retired") (NSF Table H-12). Accounting for
Issues | 5 1
part-time work, a viable option in some but not all employment sectors, the majority
of part-time scientists are also, not surprisingly, women. Women made up 69.2%
of part-time scientists in 2006, and the majority of those (56%) again cited "family
responsibilities" as the reason for their part-time status, compared to only 18% of
men employed part-time listing "family responsibilities" as the reason (NSF
Table H-ll). These numbers highlight the choices women must make at various
life stages, and the fact that women are more likely to accommodate their careers
around family responsibilities than men.
When it comes to even getting a job in the first place (whether in academia or
industry), some feminists fear (and many professional women sense) that
"employers typically see a man's family as evidence of his stability and dedication
to work . . . while a woman with a family is often viewed as less serious about her
career" (Hall 2007, 59). Another interesting find, given the history of high-profile
science couples in the twentieth century, is that female scientists who marry are
overwhelmingly more likely to marry another scientist than are male scientists
who marry. Separate surveys in the 1990s and early 2000s showed, for example,
that 68% of married female physicists and 52% of married female chemists were
married to other scientists, compared to only 17% of married male physicists
and 37% of married male chemists (Hall 2007, 61). Whether this is a question of
convenience, compatibility, understanding, or shared interests and drive, it may
also be that high-level career women find nonscientist (or nonprofessional) men
threatened by their education and ambition. Of course, personal relationships
between similarly situated professionals present a new set of problems related to
both partners finding appropriate jobs in the same field. In academia, this is known
as the "two-body" problem, and often leads to one partner having to accept a lesser
or temporary position.
Getting pregnant or having a young child might also put women off the tenure
track or the job search for a year or more, further placing her career second and
jeopardizing her future prospects. Gail Simmons, a biologist and dean of science
at the College of New Jersey, offered advice to women seeking to combine an aca-
demic science career with family life by recalling her own process of interviewing
for a position while mothering an infant. Simmons joked that she was surprised to
find that even fellow biologists "prefer not to be confronted with the mammalian
nature of a job candidate" (Simmons 2005). A generational shift has begun,
however, and young women in the twenty-first century have created public conver-
sations about these dilemmas and offer support and solutions to one another.
Toxicologist Emily Monosson compiled a 2008 collection of personal essays
entitled Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory, with one reviewer enthusias-
tic that "these brief life stories demonstrate that women professionals do not have
to play by men's rules to have a career." The stories of these women and others
52 | American Women of Science since 1900
Women and HIV/AIDS
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS (acquired immune
deficiency syndrome) was first identified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
in the early 1980s. Because the earliest cases were found among homosexual
men, the disease was referred to as "gay cancer" in the early months of the CDC's
investigation. This identification of the disease with gay males meant that it took
some time before the disease was acknowledged in women; even years later,
when the virus was found in other at-risk groups (including hemophiliacs and
intravenous-drug users), there was still a denial by many that women were at risk
through heterosexual intercourse. By 2009, however, women accounted for 1 in
4 AIDS diagnoses and deaths in the United States and more than half of people
living with AIDS worldwide. Of those, more than 70% of women afflicted contracted
the disease through heterosexual activity. HIV/AIDS is also an issue of concern to
women globally because of the possibility of transmission to children through
pregnancy and breastfeeding, and because of the high-risk activity of female sex
workers. Although some new promising drug treatments may alleviate the symp-
toms of the disease and prolong life expectancy, there is still no cure or vaccine,
and public health efforts must focus primarily on education and prevention.
highlight women's efforts at balancing a career at any stage with pregnancy,
breastfeeding, and childrearing, and provide examples of a range of options prac-
ticed by women scientists, including part-time work, full-time childcare, leaves of
absence, job sharing, or independent research and self-employment.
The women's movement and government equal-opportunity legislation changed
not only the makeup of the college science classroom, but of academia and the
professional workplace as well. Women faced fewer social or cultural barriers to
achieving high-level goals and positions, but the institutional framework for sup-
porting working mothers with family-friendly policies (including, but not limited
to childcare) has not necessarily changed since the 1960s and 1970s. It is still usu-
ally the woman's (mother's) role to "juggle" work and family, and to find a way to
make it work on an individual basis. The reality, in most instances, is that the work-
place and the men involved are not expected to accommodate women who choose
to be there. These are precisely the kinds of sociological and policy issues that have
been taken up by women social scientists, such as Sylvia Hewlett, who created the
Center for Work-Life Policy (http://www.worklifepolicy.org) to examine such
issues, publish research, and make policy recommendations related to women,
families, and work throughout the life cycle.
Issues | 53
References and Further Readings
Coleman, Marilyn, Lawrence H. Ganong, and Kelly Warzinik. 2007. Family Life in
20th-century America. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Hall, Linley Erin. 2007. Who's Afraid of Marie Curie? The Challenges Facing Women in
Science and Technology. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press.
Monosson, Emily. 2008. Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory: Women Scientists
Speak Out. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, http://sciencemoms.wordpress.com/.
National Science Foundation. "Table H-ll. Scientists and engineers employed part time,
by preference for full-time employment and reason for working part time, sex, race/
ethnicity, and disability status: 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities
in Science and Engineering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Re-
sources and Statistics, Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT).
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh- 1 1 .pdf .
National Science Foundation. "Table H-12. Scientists and engineers who are unemployed
or out of labor force, by reason for not working, sex, race/ethnicity, and disability
status: 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engi-
neering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources and Statistics,
Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT). http://www.nsf.gov/
statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh- 12.pdf.
Simmons, Gail M. 2005. "Reproductive Success for Working Scientists." The Chronicle
of Higher Education. (26 April 2005). http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2005/04/
2005042601c.htm.
Summers, Lawrence. 2005. "Remarks at NBER Conference on Diversifying the Science &
Engineering Workforce." Harvard University. Office of the President. (14 January
2005). http://www.president.harvard.edu/speeches/summers 2005/nber.php.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2005. "Chart 6 4. Black mothers have the highest
labor force participation rates." (March 2005). http://www.bls.gov/cps/labor2005/
chart6-4.pdf.
U.S. Census Bureau. 2008a. "Table FG8. Married Couple Family Groups with Children
Under 15 by Stay-At-Home Status of Both Spouses: 2008." America's Families and
Living Arrangements: 2008. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/
hh-fam/cps2008.html.
U.S. Census Bureau. 2008b. "Table FG5/1. One-Parent Unmarried Family Groups with Own
Children Under 18, by Labor Force Status of the Reference Person: 2008." America's
Families and Living Arrangements: 2008. http://www.census.gov/population/www/
socdemo/hh-fam/cps2008.html.
U.S. Census Bureau. 2008c. "New Analysis Offers State-by-State Look at Fertility." Press
release. (18 August 2008). http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/
archives/population/0 12510.html.
54 | American Women of Science since 1900
Minority Women in the Sciences
Accounting for 38% of new science doctorates and only 31% of science and engi-
neering faculty, women are the minority in science. Compounded by women's
even more glaring minority status in specific low-representation fields (such as
engineering, physics, mathematics, and computer science), women and girls from
racial and ethnic minorities face additional obstacles when it comes to education,
resources, opportunity, and employment. According to National Science Founda-
tion statistics for 2006, less than 2% of doctoral-level engineers were black and
barely 10% were women of any race. The actual numbers of black women in spe-
cific fields are even more dismal. Although women consistently earn the majority
of bachelor's degrees awarded overall to African Americans, in 2006 they held
38.7% of science and engineering doctorates, a number consistent with women's
overall presence in the sciences. Broken down by field, however, these were con-
centrated in psychology, social sciences, and the biological or life sciences, with
the numbers of black female engineers, computer scientists, mathematicians, or
physical scientists so negligible as not to be recorded (NSF Table H-7).
Of course, the numbers and status of minority women scientists vary by racial
group as well, with different challenges as well as different cultural, educational,
and familial expectations for different groups of women, whether African American,
Asian American, or Mexican American. Despite the effects of sexism and racism,
however, individual women of color have made significant inroads into specific areas
of science education and employment, thanks to legislation and changing social atti-
tudes in the second half of the twentieth century. While the percentages of women of
color in science relative to men of their same racial or ethnic groups would indicate
that race and sex are not always compounded as disadvantages, it is important to
point out that the actual numbers of African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos,
and Native Americans (men and women) in the sciences is still quite low, and that
racial minorities remain grossly underrepresented in science and engineering relative
to their numbers in the overall U.S. population.
African American women had some early successes in the sciences, bolstered
by the opening of black colleges and universities, and the first racially integrated
colleges, in the late nineteenth century. Many black women scientists of the early
twentieth century were trained as undergraduates in these colleges, and broke
through the barriers to graduate study to earn doctorates in many fields by the
1930s and 1940s. Ruth Howard-Beckham earned her Ph.D. in psychology
(1934); Marie Daly was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in
chemistry (1948); and Phyllis Wallace earned a Ph.D. in economics (1948) and
Evelyn Boyd Granville a Ph.D. in mathematics (1949), both from Yale. The
1950s and 1960s saw many black women advance in the medical sciences.
Issues | 55
Phyllis Harrison-Ross was an M.D. and a pediatric psychologist; Jewel
Plummer Cobb held a doctorate in cell biology; and Jean Harris was an M.D.
and later the mayor of her town.
Despite some individual successes in the first half of the twentieth century, and
despite the legislative gains of the civil rights movement, African American women
continued to face issues of fewer family resources, lower socioeconomic back-
grounds, inferior educational opportunities, and lack of mentors. The author of the
2008 book Swimming Against the Tide: African American Girls and Science Educa-
tion cautions against generalizing about "women in science" without consideration
of how the economic and racial status of minority women impacts their specific edu-
cational and employment opportunities beyond the issues facing all women. In the
case of African American women, there are some unique disadvantages but also some
advantages or positive forces impacting their experiences of science. For example,
within the black community, there is often an equal commitment to the education of
boys and girls, propelled by the historical reality that black women will have to work
to support their families, the desire for upward mobility within the black community,
and the historical value placed on access to education. This would be borne out in the
greater numbers of black women going on to earn college degrees than black men,
who face their own specific challenges related to sex, race, and economic status or
expectations. In other words, the particular economic and historical position of black
families creates a different set of gender expectations than those found in the white
community. While young white women may have greater access to teachers, books,
and science equipment, there is not an overall cultural expectation of college atten-
dance and future employment, the assumption more often being that white women
will marry and will make a "choice" to pursue a career or a family (Hanson 2008).
Women in the Asian American community face their own set of stereotypes, cul-
tural assumptions, and expectations. While the stereotype of Asian women is submis-
sive and quiet, many immigrant families also expect academic success for their
children, and there seems to be less of a gender gap between the science education
and achievement of Asian American male and female students. While their educa-
tional goals, family expectations, and support may be the same as that offered to boys,
Asian American girls and women are also subject to institutional discrimination
along the science pipeline, just like women of other racial subgroups (Lee 2008).
Despite the stereotype of Asian American overrepresentation in the sciences,
Asian American students (male and female combined) made up only 10.8% of
all enrolled engineering undergraduates in 2006, a small percentage of the total,
but the largest of any nonwhite group (Hispanics made up 9% of all undergradu-
ates in engineering, and African Americans just 5.7%). Of the Asian American
students, however, only 20% of those were women (NSF Table B-10). Moving to
the graduate level, Asian American women accounted for only 6.5% of all female
56 | American Women of Science since 1900
science and engineering graduate students in 2006 (NSF Table D-2). Finally,
although the perception among some has been that the Civil Rights Act and politi-
cal movements of the 1960s and 1970s did not represent Asians — a less vocal
minority group in American society and history — the fact is that Asian Americans
significantly outnumber African Americans or Hispanics as employed doctoral-
level scientists and engineers (NSF Table H-9), and they outnumber blacks and
Hispanics at all faculty levels within academia (NSF Table H-25).
Asian American women have achieved at the highest levels of science in aca-
demia and in business or industry. Chien-Shiung Wu was an early and renowned
nuclear physicist, earning her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley
in 1940. Of the next generation, Alice Huang (Ph.D., 1966) was a microbiologist
who taught at major universities of the East and West Coasts and served as
president of the American Society of Microbiology. Susan Wu is an aeronautics
engineer who has consulted privately for NASA and other agencies, and Jennie
Hwang is a materials engineer and international businesswoman who consults
on green technologies and on motivating women and minorities in the sciences.
Mexican Americans and other Hispanics face similar issues to those faced by
African Americans as far as economic disadvantages and fewer educational
resources and role models, but Latinas may have additional barriers of living in
immigrant and migrant communities, and of language obstacles between school
and home and between generations. They may also come up against cultural expec-
tations that their primary adult role will be domestic, as mothers, rather than profes-
sional. Still, in 2006, Hispanic women earned 56% of all science and engineering
bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanics; however, this only accounted for 8.5%
of the degrees awarded to all women (NSF Table C-14). As recipients of STEM
doctorates, Hispanic women earned more Ph.D.s than either black men or Hispanic
men, but still earned only 5.6% of doctoral degrees granted to all women (NSF
Table F-12). Hispanic women students are supported by prominent Hispanic lead-
ers who provide role models and are committed to highly organized professional
communities involved in educational outreach and mentorship programs.
By the 1970s and 1980s, many women of color achieved important "firsts" in
fields and positions that were slowly opened to American women. Mae Jemison
became the first black female astronaut and Ellen Ochoa became the first His-
panic astronaut. Antonia Novello was the first female (and first Hispanic) Surgeon
General, serving under President George H. W. Bush; a few years later, President
Clinton also selected a woman as Surgeon General, Joycelyn Elders, also the first
African American in that position. Physicist France Anne-Dominic Cordova
worked for NASA and in 2007 was named president of Purdue University, and cell
biologist Lydia Villa-Komaroff had a career in academia before becoming Chief
Scientific Officer of a biotechnology company.
Issues | 57
Many minority women scientists
have taken as their topic of research
and study racial minorities in health-
care, life sciences and diseases, and
social sciences. Native American
women especially were often the first
and among the few native peoples in
their fields. Anthropologist Beatrice
Medicine focused her attention on the
needs and status of Native American
women and families. Lora Shields
received one of the earliest doctorates
in botany (from the University of Iowa
in 1947) received by a Native Ameri-
can; her research focused on the effect
of uranium mining and nuclear testing
on vegetation on Navajo lands and res-
ervations. Agnes Stroud was a biolo-
gist who also looked at the effect of
radiation on human health and was
the first Native American woman sci-
entist at a national research lab.
Many Latina and African American
women also aligned their research interests with issues facing their communities.
Sociologist Maxine Baca Zinn focused her research on Latino families and
Mexican American women in particular, and psychologist Jane Delgado has been
at the forefront of the Hispanic health movement. Niara Sudarkasa and Faye
Harrison are both anthropologists who study people of African descent throughout
the world; Mary Harris, who holds a doctorate in genetics, runs a foundation and
website devoted to African American health issues; Angela Ferguson (M.D., 1949)
and Helen Ranney (M.D., 1947) both studied sickle-cell anemia, a disease that
disproportionately affects African Americans.
Gay and lesbian issues are a new area of minority concern among science and
engineering professionals, with similar issues of education, policy, and profes-
sional research interests. Some have identified a "lavender ceiling" preventing the
advancement of lesbian women within the professions that is a combination of sex-
ism and heterosexism. Laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation are
fairly recent, and vary by state and industry. There are no figures on the numbers of
lesbians in science but, as in the other professions, lesbian women are concerned
about access to employment benefits, partner or spousal rights, healthcare, and
Astronaut Mae Jemison on Spacelab-J, 1992.
(NASA)
58 | American Women of Science since 1900
work/life balance. The gay and lesbian community has been organizing since the
1960s, but the movement did not come into its own politically until the 1990s.
The issues are ongoing and lesbians stand to gain from, but have not always been
heard within, both the feminist and the larger gay-rights movements.
In terms of scientific research itself, various medical and psychological explan-
ations for homosexuality date back to at least the nineteenth century, but new
inquiries into unique gay and lesbian health issues, mental health, and the scien-
tific understandings of homosexuality itself (the nature-versus-nurture question)
have gained momentum just since the 1990s. In the broadest sense, lesbian issues
are women's issues and should concern the larger women's movement and inform
larger debates about women in science and as subjects of scientific research. In
1993, the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) issued its statement
on lesbian health, and in 1999 the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy
of Science published a book-length report on "Lesbian Health: Current Assess-
ment and Directions for the Future" (Solarz). The National Organization of Gay
and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP) is an affiliate of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Gay and Lesbian
Medical Association (GLMA) is also a major national group that serves as both a
professional member organization and a research and advocacy group on issues
related to healthcare specific to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT)
community. The GLMA also publishes its own journal.
What is needed for the future of minority women in the sciences are the same
issues that affect all women in the sciences: education, mentorship, funding,
opportunity, and access to all levels of employment. Racial minority women often
face double the hurdles, however, as they move through the science education and
career pipelines. Many national professional organizations, either for women or
for specific racial minority groups, serve as important clearinghouses for informa-
tion on research opportunities, educational programs, internships, mentorships,
prize competitions, and conferences. Some of these that are not specific to women
include the American Indian Science & Engineering Society, Society for
Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, National Society of
Black Engineers, Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES),
and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.
References and Further Reading
Campbell, George, Ronni Denes, and Catherine Morrison, eds. 2000. Access Denied:
Race, Ethnicity, and the Scientific Enterprise. New York: Oxford University Press.
Fausto-Sterling, Anne. "Gender, Race, and Science." Brown University. http://bms
. brown. edu/faculty/f/afs/afs fields gender.html.
Issues | 59
Hanson, Sandra L. 2006. "African American Women in Science: Experiences from High
School through the Post-secondary Years and Beyond." In Removing Barriers: Women
in Academic Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, edited by Jill M.
Bystydzienski and Sharon R. Bird. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Hanson, Sandra L. 2008. Swimming Against the Tide: African American Girls and Science
Education. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Harding, Sandra, ed. 1993. The "Racial" Economy of Science: Toward a Democratic
Future. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Kenschaft, Patricia Clark. 2005. Change Is Possible: Stories of Women and Minorities in
Mathematics. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society.
Lee, Jaekyung. 2008. "Asian Americans and the Gender Gap in Science and Technology."
In Women, Science, and Technology: A Reader in Feminist Science Studies, 2nd edition,
edited by Mary Wyer et al. New York: Routledge.
Murphy, Michelle et al. "History of Race in Science." History Department, University of
Toronto, http://www.racesci.org/.
National Science Foundation. "Table B-10. Undergraduate enrollment in engineering pro-
grams, by sex, race/ethnicity, and citizenship: 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons
with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. Engineering Workforce Commission,
Engineering & Technology Enrollments: Fall 2006. (Washington, D.C. 2007). http://
www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabb-10.pdf.
National Science Foundation. "Table C-14. Bachelor's degrees, by race/ethnicity, citizen-
ship, sex, and field: 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science
and Engineering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statis-
tics, special tabulations of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educa-
tion Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Completions Survey,
2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabc-14.pdf.
National Science Foundation. "Table D-2. Female S&E graduate students, by field, citi-
zenship, and race/ethnicity: 1999 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabil-
ities in Science and Engineering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science
Resources Statistics, Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and
Engineering, 1999 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabd-2.pdf.
National Science Foundation. "Table F-2. S&E doctoral degrees awarded to women, by field:
1999 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineer-
ing. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey of
Earned Doctorates, 1999 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabf-2.pdf.
National Science Foundation. "Table F-12. Doctorates awarded to U.S. citizens and
permanent residents, by sex, field, and race/ethnicity: 2006." Women, Minorities, and
Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. National Science Foundation,
Division of Science Resource Statistics, Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2006. http://
www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabf-12.pdf.
60 | American Women of Science since 1900
National Science Foundation. "Table H-7. Employed scientists and engineers, by occupa-
tion, highest degree level, race/ethnicity, and sex: 2006." Women, Minorities, and Per-
sons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. National Science Foundation,
Division of Science Resources Statistics, Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data
System (SESTAT). http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh-7.pdf.
National Science Foundation. "Table H-9. Employed doctoral scientists and engineers, by
race/ethnicity and occupation: 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities
in Science and Engineering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science
Resources Statistics, Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT). http://
www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/figh-9.htm.
National Science Foundation. "Table H-25. S&E doctorate holders employed in univer-
sities and 4-year colleges, by broad occupation, sex, race/ethnicity, and faculty rank:
2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering.
National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey of
Doctorate Recipients, 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh-25.pdf.
Solarz, Andrea L., ed. 1999. "Lesbian Health: Current Assessments and Directions for the
Future." Committee on Lesbian Health Research Priorities, Neuroscience and Behav-
ioral Health Program, Health Sciences Policy Program, Health Sciences Section, Insti-
tute of Medicine. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Warren, Wini. 1999. Black Women Scientists in the United States. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
Disciplines
Aerospace and Astronautics
Aerospace science encompasses the theory, engineering, and manufacturing of
aircraft and spacecraft for flight both within and outside of the Earth's atmosphere.
Astronautics refers specifically to the science and technology of space flight, includ-
ing manned space flight, and is thus one of the newest scientific disciplines, emerging
as a distinct field only in the mid-twentieth century. In the United States, the space
flight program is run by a government agency, the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), founded in 1958. Aerospace science, or aeronautics, and
astronautics includes not only astronauts, but scientists and engineers working within
a variety of research and technical support areas in both industry and government set-
tings. Persons working within the aerospace and astronautics fields may have
advanced degrees and experience in physics, electrical and mechanical engineering,
mathematics, chemistry, environmental sciences, astronomy and astrophysics,
biology, and even medicine. The first generation of American astronauts were usually
trained military pilots, but the astronaut program eventually recruited doctoral-
level scientists and engineers with specialized knowledge in a range of disciplines.
Although early mathematicians, physicists, astronomers, and writers theorized the
possibility of space travel (and of flight in general), aerodynamics and rocket science
were technological triumphs of the twentieth century. The American aerospace sci-
ence industry and astronaut training programs are the result of the Cold War-era
"space race" between the United States and Russia. After Russia launched the
Sputnik space satellite in 1957, the United States began its own space program in
1958; 10 years later, American astronauts landed on the moon. The Russian Mir
space station was launched in 1986 and, in the post-Cold War era, construction of
the international space station began in 1998, with scheduled completion by 201 1.
Over the past 50 years, then, the American space program has evolved from competi-
tion to cooperation, and from individual unmanned rockets and satellites to a full-
crew shuttle program, and American women have been involved in all phases.
61
62 | American Women of Science since 1900
The first woman in space was
Russian cosmonaut Valentina Teresh-
kova in 1963. At that time, the United
States did not yet allow women into
the astronaut training program, and it
would take another 20 years until the
United States put its first woman in
space, Sally Ride in 1983. It was not
until 1978 that NASA opened the
astronaut program to female candi-
dates, but women had already played
a significant role in the development
of the space program to that date. It
was a woman who helped write the
legislation that led to the founding of
the National Aerospace and Space
Act two decades earlier. Congressional
researcher Eilene Galloway had writ-
ten a report on "Guided Missiles in
Foreign Countries" and was involved
in drafting treaties and legislation
regarding rules for peaceful inter-
national space exploration, leading to
the creation of NASA in 1958.
The following year, capitalizing on the space race combined with public
interest in female pilots such as Amelia Earhart and the Women's Air Force
Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II, Dr. William Randolph Lovelace
established a privately run Woman in Space program. Pilot Geraldyne "Jerrie"
Cobb helped create physical-fitness tests for women and, in 1961, 13 female
pilots, including Cobb, passed the training tests at Lovelace's New Mexico
facility. But politics and social restrictions still interfered with women's entrance
into the space program, and, without official support from NASA, the military
put a stop to further testing and training of women pilots. Cobb and the others
appealed to Congress in 1962, claiming sex discrimination, but NASA represen-
tatives and male astronauts testified that the women lacked training as military
pilots and lacked engineering degrees. Of course, at that time, women were
routinely excluded from those very opportunities that would have opened this
career path. Although Congress would not require NASA to establish a women's
training program, Cobb and the other pilots were proud that they passed the
same physical and psychological requirements as the male astronauts who
Commercial pilot Jerrie Cobb helped develop
astronaut training tests for women in the early
1960s. (Bettmann/Corbis)
Disciplines | 63
Eilene Galloway
Eilene Marie Slack Galloway (1906-2009) helped research and write the National
Aeronautics and Space Act, which led to the creation of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958. Galloway, a Congressional
researcher, began working as early as 1941 on guidelines and legislation regard-
ing peaceful international space exploration, and in 1958 worked with Senator
Lyndon B. Johnson on the Congressional hearings advocating the creation of a
U.S. space agency. She later served on numerous advisory committees for NASA
and was a founding member of the International Institute of Space Law. Galloway
was not a scientist, but helped pave the way for American space exploration and
technological innovation, ushering in the era of the space race and the moon land-
ing. She was honored for her contribution to the space program with several
NASA awards and was also named a fellow of the American Astronautical Society
and, in 1987, the first recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in
Aerospace. In 2006, she was the first woman to be named an Honorary Fellow
of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Galloway died in
2009, just a few days before her 103rd birthday.
eventually flew missions for NASA, and considered themselves the "First Lady
Astronaut Trainees" (or FLATs).
Although the Navy and Air Force began training women as pilots in the mid-
1970s, after the Apollo program ended, NASA eliminated the jet-pilot requirement
for astronauts and began seeking candidates with science and engineering back-
grounds, including women. In 1978, the first six women astronauts were chosen:
Sally Ride, Kathryn Sullivan, Anna Fisher, Margaret Rhea Seddon, Judith
Resnik, and Shannon Lucid. Ride was the first American woman to fly in space,
Sullivan the first to walk in space; Fisher was the first mother in orbit, while
Seddon's pregnancy barred her from the early flights; engineer Resnik died in
the Challenger disaster of 1986; and Lucid spent 179 days aboard the space station
Mir, a record for any astronaut, male or female. During the 1980s, these women
received a great deal of media attention, but each year, more women joined the
program. In 1995, Eileen Collins was the first woman to pilot a space shuttle, ful-
filling the dream of the original pilot trainees of the 1960s, and in 2007, Peggy
Whitson became the first female commander of the International Space Station.
By 2008, America's fiftieth woman astronaut flew in space.
Besides the astronauts, all of whom have been highly skilled scientific special-
ists, many other women have been involved in NASA research and space missions.
Women engineers and scientists compute orbits for missiles, rockets, and space
64 | American Women of Science since 1900
Karen Nyberg
In May 2008, astronaut Karen LuJean Nyberg (b. 1969) became the fiftieth
American woman in space when she flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery on
a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. Nyberg served as ground
crew support before entering the astronaut training program in 2000. She studied
mechanical engineering at the University of North Dakota and conducted gradu-
ate research at the University of Texas, Austin on thermoregulation control and
human metabolic testing. She worked as an Environmental Control Systems
Engineer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) after
receiving her doctorate in 1998. She received a patent for work at the Johnson
Space Center on a Robot Friendly Probe and Socket Assembly. Before taking
her first shuttle spaceflight, Nyberg completed deep-sea training through a
program called NEEMO 10, an underwater exercise to simulate and prepare for
sending astronauts to the moon and eventually to Mars. Nyberg has been
honored with numerous NASA achievement and technical awards.
vehicles, and develop new materials that can withstand the extremes of heat and
cold in space and during reentry. Physiologists and psychologists analyze the
physical and mental problems associated with weightlessness, motion sickness,
and the gravity (G) forces experienced by pilots flying at high altitudes and reen-
tering the Earth's atmosphere. Astronomers and astrophysicists provide data on
the distance to the moon and planets, and the composition of those planets. Physi-
cian Irene Long became one of the highest-ranking officials at NASA in her posi-
tion as Chief Medical Officer. Christine Darden, an engineer at NASA's Langley
Research Center, created the computer software program used to simulate a sonic
boom in a wind tunnel. She was also involved in redesigning aircraft to minimize
the sonic boom because military aircraft sometimes reach supersonic speeds as
they fly across populated areas.
Even more women have worked for companies and universities under NASA
contracts as mathematicians, computer scientists, physicists, nutritionists, astrono-
mers, metallurgists, meteorologists, materials and aviation engineers, psycholo-
gists, and medical personnel. Margaret Hamilton was part of a team at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that designed the computer systems
for the Apollo command module and the lunar excursion vehicle. Heidi Hammel,
also of MIT, and Margaret Burbidge, of the University of California, San Diego,
are among the astronomers who were involved in the design of the Hubble space
telescope and in correcting its flawed lens several years later. Marjorie Townsend
designed and launched astronomical and meteorological satellites, and Patricia
Disciplines | 65
Cowings taught the astronauts how to use biofeedback to control motion sickness.
Devrie Intriligator, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology, analyzed
data from the Pioneer spacecraft in orbit around the sun, and Caroline Herzenberg,
then at the ITT Research Institute, had a grant from NASA to test Apollo lunar
samples.
Women have now contributed to all aspects of the American aerospace and astro-
nautics programs. Although the relatively small number of individual astronauts are
highly celebrated by NASA and by the public, the efforts of an extensive and diverse
group of scientists make space travel and exploration possible. The American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (http://www.aiaa.org) is the primary
professional organization for those working in this field, and women professionals
are supported by Women in Aerospace (http://womeninaerospace.org/).
See also Astronomy and Astrophysics; Engineering; Physics
References
Ackmann, Martha. 2004. The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen American Women
and the Dream of Space Flight. New York: Random House.
International Women's Air and Space Museum, http://www.iwasm.org/.
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "First Lady Astronaut Trainees:
Lovelace's Woman in Space Program." NASA History Division, http://history.nasa
.gov/flats.html.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Women in Space." NASA History
Division, http://history.nasa.gov/women.html.
Nolen, Stephanie. 2002. Promised the Moon: The Untold Story of the First Women in the
Space Race. New York: Avalon.
Animal Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has a combined section for Animal,
Nutritional, and Microbial Sciences. Although this categorization includes diverse
fields of inquiry across several research interests, animal sciences as a separate field
is usually defined by most college programs as encompassing research on livestock
production, disease, and nutrition, which may require interdisciplinary training in
agriculture, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, or zoology. Animal sciences may
also include veterinary science, which itself is broken down by focus on small
animal, large animal, or the subspecialty of equine or horse care. The broad field
66 | American Women of Science since 1900
of animal sciences is often the precursor, or undergraduate major, for entrance
into veterinary school, for which women now make up the majority of students.
By 2002, as many as 80% of new doctors of veterinary medicine were women.
This is an almost complete reversal from 40 years ago, when only 5% of veteri-
nary students were women. As in many scientific fields, however, the percent-
ages reflect not only an increase in the actual numbers of women, but the
lower numbers of men in the field, as the number of male veterinarians is down
15% since 1991 (Zhao 2002). Nationwide, women were a slight majority in the
broader field of agricultural sciences, earning 51.5% of all bachelor's degrees
awarded in 2006 (NSF Table C-14). This makes animal and veterinary sciences
unique among the sciences, as women are underrepresented in nearly every
other field, significantly so in fields such as engineering, physics, or math. As
all advanced or doctoral-level work requires several years of rigorous science
education, regardless of the field of study, this unprecedented gender shift could
be explained, at least in part, by the flexibility associated with private veterinary
practice (as opposed to a faculty research position) and the association of animal
care (and small-animal care, in particular) as a "helping" profession (like human
medicine or psychology), which may disproportionately appeal to more women
than men (Maines 2007).
Of course, not all animal-science majors go on to veterinary or agricultural
careers, as many scientists work on issues related to other nonlivestock or nondo-
mesticated animals in diverse fields of biology, chemistry, entomology, environ-
mental sciences, genetics, marine sciences, microbiology, nutrition, pathology,
primatology, toxicology, or zoology, among others. Also, many students of agri-
cultural sciences (an even broader field that might encompass animal sciences)
are not working on issues related to animals at all, but on food crop production
or irrigation, among other issues.
In 1900, more than two-thirds of the U.S. population lived rurally, a situation
reversed by 2000, when more than 80% of the population lived in urban areas
(U.S. Census 2006). As the nation's population spread further and further westward,
different areas of the country became focused on food production to feed the entire
nation. New technological developments were needed not only for larger-scale,
nonsubsistence agriculture in the Midwest and West, but for transportation and
processing of livestock and related products. In the late nineteenth century, agricul-
ture became not only highly commercialized, but regulated by the government as
well. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was founded in 1862, the same
year the Morrill Act spurred the establishment of the land-grant colleges in these
new regions to teach "agriculture and the mechanic arts." Women were admitted
to these public colleges in ever- increasing numbers, especially after 1 890, and were
educated for professional careers in the livestock, dairy, and poultry industries.
Disciplines | 67
In the early twentieth century, the
USDA became one of the largest
employers of women scientists,
researchers, and assistants.
Women have a long history of far-
ming and animal care, and women's
work in poultry and livestock produc-
tion, care, and processing was essential
to household income in the United
States through the early twentieth
century. This work led to numerous
inventions and technological innova-
tions by women related to farming
and commercial agriculture. Some
areas of animal sciences in which
women have had particularly visible
roles include creating new breeds and
varieties of livestock. Melinda Boice,
for example, was part of a University
of Pennsylvania research team that
produced the first calf by in vitro fer-
tilization, a 198 1 breakthrough that was important for increasing production capabil-
ities of farms (Stanley 1995, 44). Perhaps one of the most famous female animal
scientists is Temple Grandin, whose work on animal behavior has had enormous
implications not only for establishing humane treatment and slaughter standards for
livestock, but for understanding human behavior as well. Another animal scientist
whose work has implications for human health is microbiologist Linda Saif, whose
work on animal viruses helped government and healthcare providers plan a vaccine
response to the global SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in
2002-2003.
Professional organizations for animal scientists include the American Society of
Animal Science (http://www.asas.org) and the Association for Women Veterinar-
ians (http://www.womenveterinarians.org/), which began as the Women's Veteri-
nary Association in 1947, when there were only about 100 professional female
veterinarians in the United States. As women's numbers in the field have grown,
the AWV has taken on a broader range of advocacy issues related to women in the
profession, such as scholarships and mentoring for female students, pay inequity,
and maternity leave and other work/life issues.
See also Biochemistry; Environmental Sciences and Ecology; Genetics;
Nutrition; Zoology
Temple Grandin attends a screening of
HBO's 'Temple Grandin' at the Time Warner
screening room, 2010. (AP/Wide World
Photos)
68 | American Women of Science since 1900
References
Casey, T. M. and K. Plaut. 2003. "Women and Minorities in Animal Science: Do Issues
Exist?" Journal of Dairy Science. 86:E35 E46. http://jds.fass.org/cgi/content/full/86/
13 suppl/E35.
Drum, Sue and H. Ellen Whiteley. 1991. Women in Veterinary Medicine: Profiles of
Success. Ames: Iowa State University Press.
Gage, Loretta and Nancy Gage. 1994. If Wishes Were Horses: The Education of a Veteri-
narian. New York: St. Martin's.
Maines, Rachel. 2007. "Why Are Women Crowding into Schools of Veterinary Medicine
but Are Not Lining Up to Become Engineers?" Cornell Perspectives. (12 June 2007).
Cornell University. http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/June07/women.vets.vs
.eng.sl.html.
National Science Foundation. 2006. "Table C-14. Bachelor's degrees, by race/ethnicity,
citizenship, sex, and field: 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in
Science and Engineering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources
Statistics, special tabulations of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Completions
Survey, 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabc-14.pdf.
Stanley, Autumn. 1995. Mothers and Daughters of Invention: Notes for a Revised History
of Technology. 2nd edition. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
U.S. Census. 2006. "U.S. Population: Urban and Rural Comparison, 1900 2006. Chang-
ing America: U.S. Population Growth." The Boston Globe. (7 October 2006). http://
www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/10/08/us growth/.
Zhao, Yilu. 2002. "Women Soon to Be Majority of Veterinarians." New York Times.
(9 June 2002). http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/09/us/women-soon-to-be-majority
-of-veterinarians.html?fta=y.
Anthropology and Archaeology
Anthropology is the study of human cultures, past and present, and combines
the methods and questions of the natural sciences with the humanities and social
sciences. Anthropologists study human behavior, customs, physical characteris-
tics, and environments, and their work overlaps significantly with research in
fields such as primatology, evolutionary biology, and psychology. Subfields or
specialties include biological anthropology, physical anthropology, cultural
anthropology, anthropological linguistics, and archaeology, the science of recover-
ing the human material and physical past. The National Academy of Sciences
(NAS) includes anthropology and archaeology under its Behavioral and Social
Sciences section, but only a small number of anthropologists or archaeologists
Disciplines | 69
have been elected to the NAS. Through
2008, there were only 66 NAS mem-
bers in anthropology, 15 of whom were
women. This is most likely a result of
the lesser position of the social sci-
ences in the NAS, however, and not a
reflection of the number of profes-
sionals working in these fields at large.
As with natural history, botany,
paleontology, or other field-study sci-
ences, many women in the nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries pursued
anthropological and archaeological
studies as amateurs Beginning in the
nineteenth century, however, the U.S.
government became involved in ethno-
graphic studies of Native Americans,
recording valuable knowledge and
collecting artifacts from groups who
faced cultural extinction due to the
policy of expansion. The Bureau of
Indian Affairs was established in
1824, the Smithsonian Institution in 1855, and the American Museum of Natural
History in 1869. At the turn of the twentieth century, many women writers and
photographers went into the field as ethnographers to record (and often advocate
for) Native American life. Alice Fletcher, who studied archaeology at Harvard and
later lived among the Ohama Plains Indians, was among this generation. University
departments soon replaced the amateur explorations and field studies of the earlier
generation with professional museum development and management.
Franz Boas, Columbia University professor and creator of the first Ph.D. pro-
gram in anthropology, was trained in physics and established empirical methods
for anthropology that replaced the earlier evolutionary perspective of human cul-
tures along a hierarchical scale of "civilization." Some of the most prominent early
professional women anthropologists worked with Boas, including Ruth Benedict,
Margaret Mead, and Elsie Clews Parsons, who trained in sociology at Columbia
but never held a university position. Parsons helped establish the Journal of
American Folklore and was the first female president of the American Anthropo-
logical Association in 1941. Mead was later the first female president of the
Society for Applied Anthropology. Women anthropologists of this generation
began to pay attention to women as research subjects and argued for a cultural,
Anthropologist and folklorist, Ruth Fulton
Benedict. (Bettmann/Corbis)
70 | American Women of Science since 1900
rather than biological, basis for human behavior. Mead, in particular, reached a
nonacademic audience and expanded interest in the work of anthropologists with
her controversial works on sexuality and sex roles.
In the 1970s and 1980s, a new generation of feminist anthropologists intro-
duced new theories and methods to the field. Feminist anthropologists, such as
Eleanor Leacock, who earned her Ph.D. from Columbia in 1952, as well as a
new generation of archaeologists and primatologists, questioned methods that
assumed gendered hierarchies were natural. Anthropology was revolutionized by
the new women's liberation movement of the early 1970s, which provided a theo-
retical basis for questioning the "naturalness" of patriarchy around the world.
Marxist feminists rejected the belief that women were unproductive or dependent
members of society, showing that man-the-hunter had turned into modern man-
the-wage-earner, but that women's reproductive work and household contributions
had been ignored by anthropologists and historians. Since the 1980s, queer theory
has raised questions about the nature of gender identity and sexual orientation,
further challenging the idea of a unified definition or experience of "woman"
(or "man") across cultures and time.
Although the primary image of the anthropologist is one of the fieldworker, as
social scientists, they may also work in a variety of university, government, and
private institutions as qualitative analysts and policy consultants. Current anthro-
pologists look at culturally specific beliefs surrounding women's roles and a
range of issues such as menstruation, childbirth, motherhood, women's educa-
tion and wage-earning, female circumcision, sexuality, women's experiences of
poverty and development, and women's roles and family life within specific
communities, such as in the work of Johnnetta Cole or Niara Sudarkasa
among Africans and African Americans, or Beatrice Medicine's work among
Native Americans. This work is supported professionally by subgroups within
the American Association of Anthropology (AAA) such as the Association for
Feminist Anthropology (http://www.aaanet.org/sections/afa/), Committee on the
Status of Women in Anthropology (http://www.aaanet.org/cmtes/coswa/
index.cfm), and Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists (http://www.uvm
.edu/~dlrh/solga/).
Feminist archaeologists seek to recover women's material past for insight into
women's roles and contributions. They recover artifacts, buildings, and even
physical bodies (such as skeletons or hair for analyzing DNA) for clues about
gender, class, and religious belief. Supporting the work of anthropologists and
historians, archaeologists can provide the material evidence for understanding
women's economic contributions and the gendered divisions of labor through
analysis of tools and other household items. Feminist archaeologists have also
been interested in recovering an alternate female past, challenging the history of
Disciplines | 71
patriarchy itself through analysis of material items related to matriarchal and
goddess societies, such as religious and fertility figures.
The late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century era of exploration, coloniza-
tion, missionary work, and world travel opened up interest in exotic peoples and
cultures, past and present, giving new methods and purpose to archaeological expe-
ditions, which were now funded and organized by governments, universities, and
museums. There were almost no professional women archaeologists before 1915.
There were not only limitations of training and access to university positions
(a problem for women in all fields of science), but women in this pioneer genera-
tion of archaeologists also often had to deal with prejudices and obstacles from
the communities and regions in which they studied; it was often seen as unsuitable
for women to interact with local men, to dress in Western attire, or to take on lead-
ership roles in organizing local male field workers, for example.
Some women pursued the work as amateurs, self-funded, or were married to
male archaeologists and accompanied them on research expeditions. Women also
had to struggle against a particular view of the archaeologist as a fearless male
adventurer, the "Indiana Jones" type. Women were seen as particularly unsuited
to scientific pursuits that involved field work (not only archaeology, but also
geography, geology, or zoology, for example), which required not only time
spent in the field among male colleagues, but time spent away from the home
and families, literally digging in the dirt. This view of archeological work as
men's work was long-lasting; as late as 1981, Harvard University explained the
lack of women in its archaeology department by declaring that "women as a
group are not attracted to the discipline," even though women at that time were
receiving one-third of all doctorates in anthropology and archaeology (Irwin-
Williams 1990, 3).
By the 1930s, archaeology was established as an academic discipline, but
few women stood out in the field, especially in the United States. Some of most
prominent American women were working as part of husband-wife teams during
these years (Ann Morris or Elizabeth Campbell), while others worked alone
(Florence Hawley Ellis or Frederica De Laguna, who served as president of
the American Anthropological Association in 1967). Prominent women of the
next generation included Marjorie Ferguson Lambert, Dorothy Hughes Popenoe,
and Hannah Marie Wormington, who in 1968 was the first woman president of
the Society of American Archaeology. Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, feminist
archaeologists, like anthropologists, made interventions into the nature-versus-
nurture debate, and some have built careers amassing significant artifact collec-
tions, such as Joyce Marcus's collection on Latin America at the University of
Michigan Museum of Anthropology. The work of professional women archaeolo-
gists is supported by groups such as the Society for American Archaeology
72 | American Women of Science since 1900
Lucy Changes History
A 3.2 million year old woman made an important contribution to science in the
twentieth century. "Lucy" (Australopithecus afarensis) is the name given to a par-
tial skeleton found in Ethiopia in 1 974 and, at that time, the earliest bipedal (walk-
ing on two legs) hominid specimen, a link between modern humans and the great
apes. Lucy was discovered by a team that included American anthropologist and
museum curator Donald Johanson. She is only three and a half feet tall and
resembled a chimpanzee, but her leg and pelvic bones confirmed her ancestry
to modern humans and her small skull confirmed the evolutionary fact that
humans walked upright before their brains developed to a larger size. In 1994 an
even older hominid skeleton was found, pushing the date of bipedalism back to
4.4 million years ago. Lucy's skeleton is preserved at the National Museum of
Ethiopa, although a reconstructed replica is available for display and research in
the United States, at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Women's Interest Group (http://www.saa.org/ForMembers/InterestGroups/
WomeninArchaeologyInterestGroup/tabid/158/Default.aspx). Some of the most
significant work on feminist theory and feminist archaeology has been done, how-
ever, by scholars and archaeologists from Britain, Canada, and Australia, as the
research is often international in scope and not specific to one country.
See also Paleontology; Primatology
References
Bernardin, Susan. 2003. Trading Gazes: Euro-American Women Photographers and
Native North Americans, 1880 1940. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Claassen, Cheryl, ed. 1994. Women in Archaeology. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsyl-
vania Press.
Irwin- Williams, Cynthia. 1990. "Women in the Field: The Role of Women in Archaeology
before 1960." In Women of Science: Righting the Record, edited by G. Kass-Simon and
Patricia Fames, 1 40. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Cohen, Getzel M. and Martha Sharp Joukowsky, eds. 2004. Breaking Ground: Pioneering
Women Archaeologists. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Lavender, Catherine J. 2006. Scientists and Storytellers: Feminist Anthropologists and the
Construction of the American Southwest. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico
Press.
White, Nancy Marie, Lynne P. Sullivan, and Rochelle A. Marrinan, eds. 1999. Grit-
Tempered: Early Women Archaeologists in the Southeastern United States. Gainesville:
University Press of Florida.
Disciplines | 73
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy is the study of the entire universe outside of the Earth's immediate
atmosphere and may include astrometry (charting the positions and movements
of stars or planets) and astrophysics. Astrophysics includes the study of the physi-
cal properties of stars, planets, and galaxies (temperature, light, chemical makeup)
as well as theoretical astrophysics, nuclear physics, quantum physics, and cosmol-
ogy. Astrophysics may therefore be studied under astronomy or physics programs
in colleges and universities. With the availability of modern telescope equipment,
observational astronomy is also one of the few branches of science that still main-
tains a thriving worldwide amateur community. Indeed, the International Astro-
nomical Union (IAU) declared 2009 (the 400-year anniversary of Galileo's
discoveries) the International Year of Astronomy to encourage citizens of all ages
to explore the skies and the universe.
Observational astronomy has a long history, as humans have always been
curious about activities in the skies. The observation of other planets, stars, and
the sun and moon have had important influences on human culture, from religious
beliefs to agricultural calendars to scientific revolutions, all of which preceded
modern scientific methods and understandings of the workings of the universe.
There were significant early efforts at mapping the skies, and some important astro-
nomical discoveries and tools developed in the pre-modern era, such as the cyclical
nature of eclipses, the size and distance of the moon, and the discovery of galaxies.
The early cataloging of stars, as well as accounts of eclipses and other astronomical
events, have proved essential records for modern astronomers studying the history
of the universe. Modern astronomy begins with the Renaissance-era work of
Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei, who put forth a heliocentric theory of
the solar system — that the sun, not the Earth, is the center of the solar system. After
the invention of the telescope, there were no major technological advances for
astronomy until the nineteenth century, when the invention of the spectroscope
(for measuring light) and photography made it possible to record the size and posi-
tions of the stars more accurately. The Astronomical and Astrophysical Society of
America (precursor to the American Astronomical Society) was founded in 1899.
Modern astronomy's and cosmology's greatest advances have been made in the
twentieth century, with observations and theories related to the existence of other
galaxies, black holes and other theoretical phenomenon, and the origins, expan-
sion, and age of the universe, including the "Big Bang" theory.
The fourth-century Greek philosopher and mathematician Hypatia is often
named as the first female astronomer; she published an Astronomical Canon,
which was most likely an updated chart of the planets. German-English astrono-
mer Caroline Herschel discovered several comets and compiled a Catalogue of
74 | American Women of Science since 1900
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
British astrophysicist Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell (b. 1943) made one of the most
important discoveries in astrophysics when she identified the first radio pulsars,
neutron stars that emit regular pulses of radiation or energy. Her work, conducted
while she was still a graduate student at Cambridge, was published in collabora-
tion with her thesis advisor, Anthony Hewish, who was awarded the Nobel Prize
in Physics in 1 974 for their findings. Bell Bunnell's exclusion from the Nobel Prize
(which Hewish shared with another colleague, Martin Ryle) has been widely seen
as one of the greatest oversights in the award's history. She not only discovered
the first pulsars in 1 967, but had built the radio telescope necessary for her obser-
vations, opening up a new era in astronomical research; hundreds of pulsars
would be discovered in subsequent years. She completed her doctorate at
Cambridge in 1969 and went on to hold appointments at several universities in
the United Kingdom and United States, and has been president of the Royal
Astronomical Society and the Institute of Physics. Although she was excluded
from the Nobel Prize early in her career, she went on to receive numerous presti-
gious awards, including the Albert Michelson Medal of the Franklin Institute of
Philadelphia (1973, jointly with Hewish), the Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize of the
American Astronomical Society (1987), and the Herschel Medal of the Royal
Astronomical Society (1989).
Stars in 1798. Maria Mitchell was not only one of the earliest American astrono-
mers, she is considered the first professional female scientist in the United States.
Mitchell gained worldwide fame for her discovery of a comet using a telescope in
1847. She became a professor of astronomy at Vassar College, training a new gen-
eration of women as astronomers and science teachers, and continues to inspire the
work of women astronomers today through the Maria Mitchell Association (http://
w w w.mmo . org/astronomy. html) .
Beginning in the 1870s and continuing into the early decades of the twentieth
century, the Harvard Observatory employed dozens of young women as "com-
puters," counting and cataloging stars from photographic prints. Although com-
puters were paid low wages for tedious work that was considered "unskilled,"
several women made important contributions at Harvard during this era and
became prominent astronomers in their own right, including Annie Jump
Cannon, Antonia Maury, and Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Before 1920, women
astronomers and catalogers did not hold doctorates, but as having a Ph.D. increas-
ingly became a requirement for professional advancement, fewer women made
their marks in the field. In 1925, Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin was the first woman
to receive a doctorate in astronomy from Radcliffe College (Harvard).
Disciplines | 75
Hypatia
Hypatia of Alexandria (ca. 370-415) is considered one of the first women scien-
tists in the Western world. An accomplished mathematician, astronomer, inventor,
and philosopher, she was murdered by the Christians then coming to power and
seeking to limit the influence of "heretics." Hypatia was the daughter of renowned
mathematician and astronomer Theon, and received a formal education in Athens
and Italy. She returned to Alexandria to lecture on Plato and Aristotle and
published in several fields, including a 13-volume work on algebra, Arithmetica.
Her inventions included a hydrometer for measuring the gravity of liquids and an
astrolabe for measuring the positions of the sun and stars. Her most well-known
work is The Astronomical Canon, an updated table or chart of the stars.
Hypatia never married, and it was said that she had "self-possession and ease of
manner" and "not unfrequently appeared in public in presence of the magistrates [or
of] an assembly of men." The circumstances of her death, as much as her life and
impressive work, sealed Hypatia's fate as a representative of the persecuted intel-
lectual woman, and she became an important figure in nineteenth- and twentieth-
century women's rights history and in literature. Her contribution to astronomy has
been recognized with an asteroid belt and a lunar crater named in her honor.
Observational astronomer Sarah Lippincott specialized in identifying the
planetlike companions, or extrasolar planets, to nearby stars. Planetary geologist
Lucy-Ann McFadden keeps an eye on asteroids and dead comets floating near
the Earth, and astronomers Elizabeth Roemer and Carolyn Shoemaker have also
contributed to counting and tracking comets. As the twentieth century progressed,
women became more involved in theoretical astronomy and astrophysics. Neta
Bahcall, Sandra Faber, Margaret Geller, and Vera Rubin are all known for their
research on the formation of galaxies; Rubin and Bahcall in particular are known for
the discovery and study of areas of dark matter in the universe, which are invisible to
the naked eye. Other physical scientists study chemical and environmental activity
in space. Margaret Burbidge collaborated in developing a theory of the origin of
chemical elements in the universe; Nancy Roman designed satellite observatories
for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to explore the uni-
verse from a vantage point that is free from atmospheric interference; and solar
physicist Elske v.P. Smith analyzed active areas, such as flares, on the sun.
Considered one of the physical sciences along with physics and chemistry,
astronomy is the smallest of these disciplines, and therefore involves a small
number of women employed as professional astronomers and astrophysicists.
Because astronomy is not always tracked separately from physics or other depart-
ments, it is difficult to determine specific numbers and information on women
76 | American Women of Science since 1900
Maria Mitchell
Maria Mitchell (1818-1889) is considered the first American woman astronomer
and one of the first professional women scientists. She gained international recog-
nition after discovering a comet in 1 847 and later became professor and director of
the Vassar College observatory. Her interest in astronomy was influenced by her
father, who was hired by Nantucket whalers to check the accuracy of their chro-
nometers by means of stellar observation. Maria learned to operate the sextant
at an early age and was encouraged to continue her studies of mathematical texts
after formal schooling ended. She opened her own school in 1835 and served as
librarian at the new Nantucket Atheneum. In 1849, she was hired to work on an
annual compilation of astronomical tables for mariners, and began to work for the
U.S. Coast Survey.
Although discouraged by the inferior facilities and laboratories made available
to women, at Vassar, she was committed to science education, training a genera-
tion of young women in observational work and experimentation that became a
model at other women's colleges. She was a founder of the Association for the
Advancement of Women and was elected the first woman member of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1848 and of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science in 1850. Mitchell received several honorary degrees
for her astronomical work, and a crater on the moon was named for her.
working in the field. Although the East Coast women's colleges developed strong
astronomy programs for undergraduates, there were few women holding Ph.D.s in
astronomy through the first half of the twentieth century. One source reports that
between 1923 and 1930, women earned 25% of doctorates in astronomy, but that
amounted to only 15 individuals, as it was a small field overall. By the 1950s
and 1960s, that number dropped to only 10% of doctorates awarded to women
(Mack 1990). The American Astronomical Society Committee on the Status of
Women in Astronomy conducted a 2003 survey of 40 major research universities
and found only 41 women as full professors, compared to 424 male full professors
at those same institutions. When all tenure-track ranks are included (assistants,
associates, and full professors), there were only 80 female tenure-track faculty
spread among 40 universities, compared to 585 male faculty. Several of these uni-
versities, even those with large numbers of astronomy faculty overall, reported
having only one or two women on the faculty, at any rank (AAS 2003). These
numbers are particularly troublesome given that those institutions reported a total
of 269 female graduate students enrolled in 2003-2004, and that, in 2003, women
earned 46% of all undergraduate degrees in astronomy and 26% of all doctorates
(AIP 2005).
Disciplines | 77
The scientists themselves have
been active voices for addressing the
problems facing women in astronomy
and physics. The American Astro-
nomical Society's Committee on the
Status of Women in Astronomy pro-
vides guidelines and recommenda-
tions for institutions and publishes a
newsletter, STATUS, on women in
astronomy and the sciences. In 2005,
the AAS endorsed the Pasadena
Recommendations for Gender
Equality in Astronomy, drafted by
the Committee on the Status of
Women in Astronomy. The Com-
mittee makes recommendations on
institutional policy related to tenure,
career advancement, and other work-
place issues.
See also Physics
Astronomer and geophysicist, Lucy-Ann
McFadden. (Courtesy of Mike Morgan, Uni-
versity Publications, University of Maryland)
References
American Astronomical Society (AAS). 2003. "2003 CSWA Survey Data." Committee on
the Status of Women in Astronomy, http://www.grammai.org/astrowomen/stats/
2003data.htm.
American Institute of Physics (AIP). 2005. "Women in Physics and Astronomy, 2005."
http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/highlite/women05/women05.htm.
Lankford, lohn and Ricky L. Slavings. 1997. American Astronomy: Community, Careers,
and Power, 1859 1940. University of Chicago Press.
Mack, Pamela A. 1990. "Straying from Their Orbits: Women in Astronomy in America."
in Women of Science: Righting the Record, edited by G. Kass-Simon and Patricia
Fames, 72 116. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Biochemistry
Biochemistry is the study of chemical substances and processes such as metabo-
lism, the functions of enzymes, proteins, carbohydrates, and other molecular and
cellular activities in living organisms. It includes biomedical research specialties
78 | American Women of Science since 1900
such as pharmacology, endocrinology, immunology, genetics, oncology, physiol-
ogy, cytology, and toxicology. Biochemistry also has applications in plant and
agricultural sciences, food and nutrition, earth and space sciences, and crystallog-
raphy or physics. Although early scientists explored biochemical processes of the
body, and of plants and foods, their work would have been considered part of
general biological studies, organic chemistry, or what was termed "physiological
chemistry." The term "biochemistry" was not used until the turn of the twentieth
century. The Journal of Biological Chemistry was founded in 1905 and an American
Society of Biological Chemists (now the American Society for Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology, or ASBMB, http://www.asbmb.org) established in 1906. By
the mid-twentieth century, the discovery of DNA brought new research interest
to the cell and to genetics, with rapid advances in microbiological and biochemical
research in the hopes of finding cures for diseases such as cancer. Biochemistry is
still often considered a subfield of chemistry or biology, and not all colleges and
universities have a separate program in biochemistry. Thus, biochemists may
receive their degrees and training within a variety of other fields and contexts, so
that not all those involved in biochemical research may be identified primarily as
biochemists.
Because of the broad definition of the field, which overlaps with numerous
pursuits in the biological and chemical sciences, women have had a strong pres-
ence in the history of biochemistry. When the ASBMB was founded in 1906, it
had one female member, a Canadian chemist and food scientist named Clara
Benson. Biochemistry was not always tracked as a separate discipline until the
mid-twentieth century, and many more women were trained or affiliated with
university departments of chemistry (or physiological chemistry in the earlier
decades) or general biology. By 1941, however, biochemistry was listed as the
most popular subfield for women members of the American Chemical Society.
According to one of the earliest breakdowns of biochemistry as a separate sub-
discipline, women held close to 12% of Ph.D.s in biochemistry in 1938, and that
number remained the same through 1960 (Rossiter 1982, 157; Rossiter 1995, 81).
The greatest number of biochemistry Ph.D.s awarded to women before 1940
were from programs at the University of Chicago and Columbia University in
New York; several women graduated from the program in microbiology at Johns
Hopkins University as well (Rossiter 1982, 184).
The early twentieth-century generation of women biochemists were most likely
to be employed in research laboratories or college departments related to food and
nutrition, agriculture, and public health, and were involved in the development
of key technologies and discoveries in these fields. Their male counterparts
were more likely to be employed in medical schools and research universities,
while women faculty were more likely to teach at liberal arts colleges (including
Disciplines | 79
the women's colleges) or to hold
positions as lecturers (nontenured
faculty) or laboratory research assist-
ants. It was also not uncommon for
even prominent female researchers
to have to wait to be appointed to full
professor only at the very end of their
careers, just before retirement. This
was true for some of the most impor-
tant female biochemists of the early
twentieth century, such as Florence
Seibert, who developed the much-
acclaimed skin test for tuberculosis
during the 1930s, but was not
appointed a full professor at the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania until 1955, just
before her retirement, and to Gerty
Cori, who did not attain the rank of
full professor at Washington Univer-
sity until after winning the Nobel Prize
in 1947. While women were earning
12% of doctorates in biochemistry, as
late as 1960 they still made up less
than 5% of biochemistry faculty at the top 20 universities; the percentage of female
full professors was under 2% (Rossiter 1995, 129). After 1970, however, women
made great strides in this field, and by 2003, women were earning 40% to 45% of
higher degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology (Wolfson 2006).
American scientist Mildred Cohn was elected the ASBMB's first female
president in 1978. The three most recent presidents (between 2002 and 2008) have
all been women, and overall the society has had nine female presidents in its now
more than 100-year history (besides Cohn, these are: Mary Jane Osborn, Mary
Ellen Jones, Elizabeth Neufeld, Susan Taylor, Judith Klinman, Betty Sue Siler
Masters, Judith Bond, and Heidi Hamm). An unusual number of women scientists
working in biochemistry-related research have been recipients of the Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine: Gerty Cori, who with Carl Cori elucidated how glyco-
gen is metabolized in the body (1947); Gertrude Elion, who with George Hitchings
developed the first nucleotide-derived anticancer, antiviral drugs (1988); and
Elizabeth Blackburn and Carol Greider, who shared the prize with Jack Szotack
for their collective research on telosomeres, providing a new direction in cancer
research (2009). The discovery of the gene and of DNA were important
Biochemist Gerty Cori was co-recipient (with
her husband, Carl F. Cori) of the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine in 1947. (National
Library of Medicine)
80 | American Women of Science since 1900
breakthroughs in the history of biochemistry and molecular biology. British scien-
tist Rosalind Franklin was central to this research in the 1950s and collaborated
with James Watson and Francis Crick, who went on to receive the Nobel Prize
for that work. Maxine Singer had a central role in articulating standards for work
with recombinant DNA. Nobel Prize winners biomedical physicist Rosalyn Yalow
(1977) and geneticist Barbara McClintock (1983) also conducted work in fields
that included biochemical studies.
Other prominent women biochemists of the twentieth century have included
Icie Macy-Hoobler, who established Recommended Dietary Allowances
(RDA) for several vitamins and contributed to the understanding of dietary needs
of pregnant women, infants, and children, and nutritionist Gladys Emerson, who
also researched vitamins and helped isolate vitamin E while working at the
University of California, Berkeley in the late 1930s. Other biochemists have
worked in areas of protein research and disease treatment. Rachel Brown and
Elizabeth Hazen developed the first antifungal drug, nystatin; Mary Petermann
discovered animal ribosomes, a key to understanding protein synthesis in cells;
Birgit Vennesland studied carbohydrate metabolism; Lydia Villa-Komaroff
has researched the role of insulin and other growth factors in brain development;
and Sarah Ratner also researched protein metabolism and amino acids, and
developed a test for identifying the presence of argininosuccinic acid, an indica-
tion of a metabolic imbalance that can cause neurological damage. Neurophysi-
ologist Candace Pert co-discovered the brain's opiate receptors, which receive
chemicals (natural or synthetic) to relieve pain, and co-founded a pharmaceuti-
cals research company to develop a vaccine for the virus that causes HIV/AIDS.
Biochemists also conduct research that informs agricultural and environmental
science, such as Mary-Dell Chilton, a researcher in plant biotechnology and
the genetic engineering of agricultural crops to make them resistant to pests
and environmental distress, and Audrey Haschemeyer, whose research on fish
in Antarctica helps us understand how temperature changes affect some of the
biochemical processes in humans.
See also Biology; Biomedical Sciences; Chemistry; Genetics
References
Kohler, Robert. 1982. From Medical Chemistry to Biochemistry: The Making of a Bio-
medical Discipline. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Rossiter, Margaret. 1982. Women Scientists in America: Struggles and Strategies to 1940.
Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1995. Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action,
1940 1972. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University.
Disciplines | 81
Spanier, Bonnie. 1995. Im/partial Science: Gender Ideology in Molecular Biology.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Wolfson, Adele J. 2006. "One Hundred Years of American Women in Biochemistry."
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education. 34(2): 75 77. (3 November 2006).
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/113449037/HTMLSTART.
Biology
Biology is the study of life and all living systems, human, animal (zoology), or plant
(botany). As the science of the structure, function, development, and evolution of all
living organisms, biology is the foundation for, and has applications across, many
different scientific disciplines. High-profile subfields of biology include biochemis-
try, cellular biology, genetics, and molecular biology, but biologists also work in a
variety of specialized subfields: evolutionary biology, biophysics, bioengineering,
pharmacology, toxicology, environmental biology and ecology, marine biology,
and animal sciences (agricultural and veterinary).
Unlike many other disciplines, biology has always had to confront and consider
the importance of sex and gender, in the context of the human body as well as in
animal and plant life. In the early days of biology as a field of study, scientific
knowledge reinforced stereotypical views of male and female social roles.
Anatomy, the scientific study of the internal and external structure of the body,
was a foundational part of biological and medical sciences, but was subject to
social interpretation and therefore "biological determinism" — that is, the attribu-
tion of certain human behaviors to biological or "natural" factors. Biological deter-
minism means that biology has provided a scientific basis for eugenics, racial
hierarchies, the sexual division of labor, limiting women's education, and the
inferior legal and employment status of women and racial minorities. While we
no longer accept earlier theories about women's bodies making them incapable of
working in scientific or other professions, in the twenty-first century, biology is still
a foundational science that informs social policy and attitudes; for example,
assumptions about women's bodies still influence medical research and therefore
have implications for women's health and healthcare.
By the 1970s and 1980s, feminists began to critique science and scientific lan-
guage, revealing the gender bias inherent in supposedly objective scientific knowl-
edge. The very foundations of early biology and botany, for example, depended
upon classifications made by Carl Linnaeus, who classified "male parts" as classes
and "female parts" as orders, thus establishing a gendered hierarchy into his very
classification system, for no specific or legitimate scientific reason. Interestingly, it
was also Linnaeus who introduced the term "Mammalia" into biological studies to
82 | American Women of Science since 1900
define a class of humans and other
animals, emphasizing the role of
breast-milk and lactation over a num-
ber of alternative characteristics, such
as the presence of hair or live births,
rather than a characteristic which
applies only to the females of the
class. Historian of science Londa
Schiebinger has pointed out that
Linnaeus made this choice about
zoological terminology in the midst
of an eighteenth-century social con-
troversy over breast-feeding and wet-
nursing, and thus his science was
influenced by his own conservative
views of women's true "nature" being
found in motherhood (Schiebinger
1999, 153-154).
Cultural anthropologist Emily
Martin has also analyzed the lan-
guage of science in earlier cell biol-
ogy textbooks, which spoke of "the
active sperm" and "the passive egg,"
with reproduction presented as a reenactment of human dating rituals rather than
an accurate description of the biological process (Martin 1991). Although Martin's
critique received quite a bit of publicity, and some scientists responded with new
assessments of the "partnership" between sperm and egg, or the more "active" role
of the egg, other analysts pointed out the flawed language in considering eggs to be
"female" and sperm to be "male" in the first place. The fields of genetics and bot-
any have also had to confront and reconsider the language and metaphors of
human gender, sexuality, or marriage as terms and processes used to describe the
parts and functions of plants, bacteria, or even DNA (Dudle 2006). Embryologist
Anne Fausto-Sterling has critiqued scientific discussions of the sex chromosomes
(XX for female or XY for male) that refer to the female sex as "lacking" a Y
chromosome (or the female embryo as having an "absence" of testosterone), rather
than of male chromosomal pairs as "lacking" a second X chromosome (Fausto-
Sterling 1992, 77-85). It would be equally problematic to see the female embryo
as the standard, or default, and the male as an aberration, but the point is to high-
light the social and cultural assumptions that influence scientific perspective and
inquiry, and thus scientific results.
Embryologist, Anne Fausto-Sterling.
(Courtesy of Brown University)
Disciplines | 83
Elizabeth Agassiz
Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz (1822-1907) was a naturalist who served as the
first president of Radcliffe College between 1 894 and 1 903. Although she had little
formal education, she developed an interest in natural history and assisted in
recording the scientific research of her husband, famed Harvard zoologist and
geologist Louis Agassiz. In 1865, she accompanied her husband on the Thayer
expedition to Brazil to study the fauna, and in 1871, she went on a deep-sea
dredging venture, the Hassler Expedition, along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts
of the Americas. Her notes on Louis Agassiz's lectures, along with her own notes
and observations, were published as A Journey in Brazil (1868). She assisted her
husband in the planning and management of the co-educational Anderson School
of Natural History, which was both a summer school for teacher education and a
marine laboratory.
Elizabeth Agassiz also published Actae, A First Lesson in Natural History
(1859) and, in collaboration with her stepson Alexander, Seaside Studies in
Natural History (1 866). After her husband died in 1 873, she compiled a biography,
Louis Agassiz: His Life and Correspondence (1886). She ran a school for girls in
her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for many years and in 1 879 helped found
a Harvard annex for women which became Radcliffe College in 1 893, with Elizabeth
Agassiz as its first president.
Throughout the nineteenth century, biology was more often referred to or
encompassed within "natural history," which included human as well as animal
biology or zoology. Significant numbers of American women have thus been rep-
resented in the field since the mid-nineteenth century, and in the twentieth century,
biology has become second only to psychology in the numbers of bachelor's
degrees awarded to women; biological or life sciences is the single most popular
choice for female students in the natural sciences. One explanation given for
why so many women scientists choose biology is that women are drawn in greater
numbers to the "helping" professions, which includes many specialties within
medicine or biomedical research. Within the broad category of biology, however,
women and men receive an almost equal number of doctorates; according to the
National Science Foundation, in 2006, there were 3,262 Ph.D.s in biological sci-
ences awarded to women, compared to 3,359 awarded to men (NSF Table F-l;
NSF Table F-2).
Perhaps because biology is such a broad category, and researchers are more
likely to identify according to subfield or specialty, the work of individual women
biologists is difficult to extract from the history. Biological research can best be
organized around different research objectives. Cellular and molecular biologists
84 | American Women of Science since 1900
Christiane Nusslein-Volhard
Christiane Nusslein-Volhard (b. 1942) is a German developmental biologist who
received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995 for her work in genet-
ics of the Drosophila, or common fruit fly; she shared the prize with American col-
leagues Eric Wieschaus and Edward B. Lewis. Originally interested in attending
medical school, a brief stint as a hospital nurse convinced Nusslein-Volhard to
pursue biological research instead. She received her doctorate in genetics from
the University of Tubingen in 1973 and began work on fruit flies, discovering that
many aspects of their genetics were similar to, and had implications for research
on, other species, including humans. Her research on cellular and embryonic
development has been extended to the study of vertebrates, such as the zebra-
fish. She has been the Director at the Max Planck Institute of Developmental
Biology since 1 985. Before being recognized for the Nobel Prize in 1 995, she
was the recipient of numerous other prestigious awards and honors, including
the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award, and foreign membership in both the
British Royal Society and the U.S. National Academy of Science. Taking her role
as a mentor seriously, in 2004, she founded the CNV Foundation to support
German women scientists combining work and family.
have contributed to cancer and disease research. Beatrice Mintz received her doc-
torate in zoology in 1946 and was one of the earliest researchers on mammalian
genetics and skin cancer; and molecular biologists Elizabeth Blackburn and Carol
Greider received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 for their
discovery in the 1980s of the enzyme telomerase and its effect on chromosomes,
establishing a new direction in cancer research. Bacteriologists and biochemists have
contributed to our understanding of other diseases and to the development of phar-
maceuticals and nutrition guidelines. Lydia Villa-Komaroff ' s research led to the
development of a specific type of insulin used by diabetics; Mary Bunting was a
microbiologist trained in agricultural bacteriology, as was Alice Evans, one of
the earliest women microbiologists (receiving her master's degree in 1910), whose
research for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on bacteria in cow's milk
led to a campaign for pasteurization of all milk; and Rachel Brown and Elizabeth
Hazen were renowned for their discovery of an antifungal antibiotic.
Other biologists have worked as biophysicists and bioengineers, supporting
technological advances in aeronautics, robotics, and neuroscience. Thelma
Estrin pioneered the use of computers in biomedical and neurophysiological
research; Alice Stoll received her Ph.D. in 1948 and worked with the U.S. Navy
studying the physical effects of extreme heat and other forces on the body. Some
Disciplines | 85
women astronauts have been trained in biophysics and medicine as well, such as
Irene Long, who studied the effect of space flight and weightlessness on blood
oxygen and on various health conditions. Biologists working in the fields of genet-
ics and toxicology have studied plants and animals for important discoveries and
insights into human health. Juanita Scott examined how water pollutants and tox-
ins impact cell growth and development; Agnes Stroud studied chromosomes,
birth defects, and radiation therapy; Evelyn Witkin was trained as a zoologist
and studied the genetics of bacteria such as E. coli.; Linda Saif's work on animal
viruses helped the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) create a response to a human
outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). In all cases, biology is
the general foundation of this work in a variety of research fields and inquiries.
See also Biochemistry; Biomedical Sciences; Botany; Genetics; Medicine;
Neuroscience; Zoology
References
Baker, Katharine K. 2000. "Biology for Feminists." Chicago-Kent Law Review. 75:
805 835. http://works.bepress.com/katharine baker/9/.
Dudle, Dana A. and Meryl Altman. 2006. "Across the Language Barrier: Gender in Plant
Biology and Feminist Theory." In Removing Barriers: Women in Academic Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, edited by Jill M. Bystydzienski and Sharon
R. Bird, 215 233. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Fausto-Sterling, Anne. 1992. Myths of Gender: Biological Theories about Men and
Women. 2nd edition. New York: Basic Books.
Kass-Simon, G. 1990. "Biology Is Destiny." In Women of Science: Righting the Record,
edited by G. Kass-Simon and Patricia Fames, 215 267. Bloomington: Indiana Univer-
sity Press.
Keller, Evelyn Fox. 1995. Refiguring Life: Metaphors of 20th-century Biology. New York:
Columbia University.
Martin, Emily. 1991. "The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance
Based on Stereotypical Male Female RolesrSigns. 16(3): 485 501. (Spring 1991).
National Science Foundation. "Table F-l. S&E doctoral degrees awarded, by field:
1999 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engi-
neering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey
of Earned Doctorates, 1999 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabf-l.pdf.
National Science Foundation. "Table F-2. S&E doctoral degrees awarded to women, by field:
1999 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineer-
ing. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey of
Earned Doctorates, 1999 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabf-2.pdf.
Schiebinger, Londa. 1999. Has Feminism Changed Science? Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
86 | American Women of Science since 1900
Spanier, Bonnie. 1995. Im/partial Science: Gender Ideology in Molecular Biology.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Biomedical Sciences
Biomedical sciences is a broad category that includes research in a variety of
disciplines directed to human medical conditions and the underlying biological func-
tions and sources of disease, rather than the clinical treatment of patients by practic-
ing physicians and surgeons. The Biomedical Sciences section of the National
Academy of Sciences includes researchers in medical genetics, hematology, oncol-
ogy, medical physiology and metabolism, immunology, and microbial biology.
Women's roles as caregivers and healthcare providers have put them on the front-
lines of early medical and biomedical innovations. In addition to a long
history of women's knowledge about herbal medicines and other treatments, women
have been central to the development of modern vaccines for a variety of diseases
and conditions. Early Taoist nuns (from the tenth and eleventh centuries) may have
practiced variolation for smallpox, the act of exposing healthy people to a weakened
form of the virus in order to build immunity. In 1717, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
of England reported traveling to Turkey and watching "old women" hold smallpox
"parties" and "ingrafting" the virus into the skin of healthy people; Montagu intro-
duced the method in England a few years later (Stanley 1995, 155). In the United
States, bacteriologists, toxicologists, and pharmacological researchers made great
strides in modern vaccine research and development beginning in the 1920s and
1930s. Gladys Dick and her husband greatly reduced the incidence and mortality
rate of scarlet fever, another longtime killer, with their 1 923 discovery of the specific
strain of streptococcus that causes the disease. Women researchers developed a skin
test for tuberculosis (Florence Seibert), antifungal antibiotics (Elizabeth Hazen
and Rachel Brown), and sulfa drugs (Eleanor Bliss), and developed transdermal
drug patches for motion sickness and other applications (Jane Shaw). Marian
Koshland researched the cholera vaccine, and Marjorie Horning researched the
effect and transfer of drugs between pregnant women and fetuses. In 1955 Dolores
Shockley was the first African American woman to receive a doctorate in pharma-
cology (from Purdue University).
Physiology is the study of the human body and is key to medical research as the
foundation of human health and disease. Most physiological researchers work in
subfields or specialties based on specific diseases or body systems, such as hema-
tology (blood), endocrinology (hormones), or the respiratory system, to name a
few examples. Many researchers have focused on the genetic causes and treat-
ment of specific diseases. Judith Pool researched blood coagulation and isolated
Disciplines | 87
a method for treating hemophilia;
Helen Ranney also focused on genet-
ics and blood diseases, in particular
sickle-cell anemia; Ruth Sager stud-
ied mammalian genetics and tumor
suppression in genes; and Cynthia
Kenyon has focused her work on the
aging of cells for insight into age-
related diseases.
Some women combine clinical
treatment of patients with biomedical
research, while others retired from
practices as physicians and surgeons
to focus on or promote research
in a specific area. Mary Harris put
her background as a physician and
researcher of sickle-cell anemia to
work as an activist promoting the health
and wellness of African Americans;
Maria New established a research
foundation for pediatric endocrinol-
ogy; and Christiane Northrup has
been a leading practitioner and voice
for women's health and wellness
using traditional and alternative medicines. Many biomedical research findings
and advances have been related to or informed cancer research, which is an entire
subfield of biomedical research on its own, with geneticists, biochemists, cellular
biologists, and molecular biologists leading the way. Maud Slye was one of the
earliest cancer researchers; Susan Love is a former surgeon who created a founda-
tion for breast cancer research and has written numerous books empowering
women as patients; and Elizabeth Blackburn and Carol Greider shared the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 for their contribution to cancer
research, which has also provided insight into the process of aging.
Several other American women have received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine for work that has implications for biomedical research. Biochemist
Gerty Cori (who won the Nobel Prize in 1947) discovered glycogen and its
effects on carbohydrate metabolism, providing new insights into diabetes and
other diseases; medical physicist Rosalyn Yalow (1977) pioneered in the field
neuroendocrinology, studying the effect of hormones on health and disease; plant
geneticist Barbara McClintock (1983) discovered how genes move from one
Physician and women's health advocate,
Christiane Northrup, 2007. (AP/Wide World
Photos)
88 | American Women of Science since 1900
Birth-Control Pill (Oral Contraceptives)
Although male scientists were responsible for the development of oral contracep-
tives (or "the pill"), two women deserve credit for this medical advance that
changed women's lives in the twentieth century and beyond. Nurse Margaret
Sanger and philanthropist Katharine Dexter McCormick saw the need for reliable
contraception and provided the funding for early research. Sanger, founder of the
American Birth Control League, watched numerous women (including her own
mother) die from the effects of uncontrolled fertility. McCormick was a suffragist
who once smuggled diaphragms from Europe into the United States. After learning
of preliminary research on plant-based hormones in the 1 930s, McCormick helped
fund the work of reproductive scientists in the United States in the 1 950s. Although
scientists in other countries were also taking up this research, at the time, there
was still little interest in pursuing contraceptive research by either the U.S.
government or the pharmaceutical industry. These women's rights reformers,
however, saw the potential and the need.
A combined hormone drug was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) for menstrual disorders in 1957 and for contraceptive use
in 1961. Controversy over the social implications of easy access to birth control
began almost immediately. Indeed, the pill played a role in the emerging women's
liberation movement and the rise in women's labor force participation over the
following decades. Both Sanger and McCormick lived into the mid-1 960s and thus
were able to see birth-control pills become available to a new generation.
chromosome to another, providing a new direction for researchers of human
microbiology; neurobiologist Rita Levi Montalcini (1986) discovered how rapid
cell growth can lead to cancer and other conditions; biochemist Gertrude Elion
(1988) made advances in research on chemotherapy for treating cancer; and biolo-
gist Linda Buck (2004) conducts research on the sense of smell.
Another issue within biomedical research besides women's representation and
achievements as professional scientists is women as patients and as subjects of
research. Women have been underrepresented in research on heart disease, certain
types of cancer, and other conditions, and in research on drug and other treatment
options. The widespread exclusion of female patients from medical studies up until
at least the 1 990s has been due to a variety of factors, including lack of outreach and
information provided to doctors and to women patients, assumptions on the part of
researchers that some diseases (such as heart disease) impact women less often
than men, concern about protecting women of childbearing age, the assumption
that women's hormones will skew a general study, or simply the assumption that
women's bodies are merely a variation on the male standard. Female doctors and
Disciplines | 89
Margaret Sanger
Margaret Higgins Sanger Slee (1879-1966) was the founder of the American
birth-control movement in the early twentieth century. She began her career as a
public health nurse in New York City's Lower East Side, witnessing the effects of
multiple pregnancies, self-induced abortions, and motherhood on the city's poor
and working-class women. Sanger's own mother experienced 18 pregnancies and
died by age 50. Sanger saw the right to limit fertility as a fundamental right, and
she coined the term "birth control" in the pages of her newspaper, The Woman
Rebel, founded in 1914. She sought to educate women about their own bodies
and wrote pamphlets on "Family Limitation," menstruation, and sexuality. She
introduced the diaphragm to American women by illegally smuggling the devices
from Europe into the United States. Both she and her husband, William Sanger,
were arrested for violating the Comstock Law of 1873, which made it illegal to
distribute "obscene" materials through the mail. In 1916, Sanger opened the first
U.S. birth-control clinic in Brooklyn. Police raided the clinic, and she spent 30 days
in jail, forcing the issue to the courts, where a judge ruled to make it legal for
doctors to provide family-planning information to women.
Sanger founded the American Birth Control League in 1921 and began an
international campaign, working with activists in Japan, Europe, and Africa. In
1952, she became the first president of Planned Parenthood, and she and col-
league Katharine McCormick helped fund research for an oral contraceptive pill,
which was introduced in 1961.
women's health advocacy groups began bringing this issue to light in the late 1970s
and 1980s, and by the early 1990s, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) called
for greater representation of women in national clinical trials. Still, a 2009 study
published by the American Cancer Society analyzed more than 600 clinical studies
on non-sex-specific cancers and found that, although the numbers of women in
individual studies varied, on average women made up only 38.8% of the more than
1 million enrolled patients (Jagsi et al. 2009).
Women's very lives are at stake in this research, as women may have different
responses to drug therapies than men have. If women are excluded from drug studies
that inform doctors' treatment protocols, female patients may be at risk of under-
or overdosing, adverse reactions, or missed diagnoses. For example, although heart
disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States,
for both biological and social reasons, women are less likely to be screened,
diagnosed, or taken to the emergency room for heart issues. Doctors and
patients may be more likely to see heart disease as a predominantly male problem
and so are slower to diagnose a heart attack in process in a woman. The American
90 | American Women of Science since 1900
Heart Association launched its "Go Red for Women" campaign to raise
public awareness and generate funding for this important issue (http://www
.goredforwomen.org).
Feminist groups and women's health advocacy organizations such as the Soci-
ety for Women's Health Research (http://www.womenshealthresearch.org) have
been created not only to influence government and pharmaceutical research prior-
ities, but also to reach out to women and encourage their participation in studies.
By the early 1990s, the NIH required female subjects in all government-funded
research proposals, and the U.S. government created an Office of Research on
Women's Health (http://orwh.od.nih.gov/). Under the direction of Bernadine
Healy, the first woman to head the NIH (and later president of the American Heart
Association), the federal government also launched a multi-million-dollar Women's
Health Initiative to research women's health issues. These efforts, along with the
work of women biomedical researchers themselves, have expanded the notion of
women's health beyond reproductive issues and beyond the childbearing years.
New areas of focus include women's health internationally, especially around
issues related to family planning, childbirth, osteoporosis, AIDS, and breast and
other cancers that affect women (indeed, despite the important media focus on
breast cancer, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women).
See also Biochemistry; Biology; Genetics; Medicine; Neuroscience
References
Clarke, Adele E. and Virginia Olesen, eds. 1998. Revisioning Women, Health and Healing:
Feminist, Cultural and Technoscience Perspectives. New York: Routledge.
Jagsi, Reshma et al. 2009. "Under-representation of Women in High- Impact Published Clini-
cal Cancer Research." Cancer. 115(14): 3293 3301. (15 July 2009). Abstract: http://
www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122442004/abstract?CRETRY=l&SRETRY=0.
Moss, Kary L., ed. 1996. Man-Made Medicine: Women's Health, Public Policy, and
Reform. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Stanley, Autumn. 1995. Mothers and Daughters of Invention: Notes for a Revised History
of Technology. 2nd edition. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
van den Wijngaard, Marianne. 1997. Reinventing the Sexes: The Biomedical Construction
of Femininity and Masculinity. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Botany
Botany (sometimes called plant sciences or plant biology) is the scientific study
of plants. Plant science includes research on a variety of living organisms, from
the simplest bacteria, to algae, fungi, and mosses, to flowers and trees. Botany is
Disciplines | 91
Jane Colden
Jane Colden (1 724-1 766) is considered the first American woman botanist and is
credited with the discovery and naming of a species of gardenia. She was trained
by her father, physician and naturalist Cadwallader Colden, who corresponded
with the leading scientists of his day, including Carl Linnaeus. Although she never
learned Latin, Jane Colden learned to take botanical impressions and to prepare
descriptions in English. By 1757, she had prepared a catalog of over 300 local
species of flora and had exchanged specimens and seeds with several American
and European botanists. As her father's interests turned to other subjects, he
planned that she would take over his botanical activities and correspondence.
Jane Colden mastered the Linnaean classification system and published a paper
in Essays and Observations, Physical and Literary of the Edinburgh Philosophical
Society in 1770. Her manuscript on New York flora was later deposited in the
British Museum, and a portion of it was published in 1963. A review of her work
was published in the Journal of Botany in 1895. While her drawings are now con-
sidered amateur, her descriptions are thought to be thorough and accurate. After
she married in 1759, there is no indication that she continued her work in botany.
divided into subfields or specialties not only according to species or kingdom, but
by research focus or goals. Plant genetics and cytology informs the human life
sciences with a focus on the plants at the cellular level; agronomy is the study of
plant crops in agriculture and is concerned with crop development, plant breeding,
staple crops, and feed for livestock; biochemical studies on plants support work in
human nutrition and pharmaceutical development; ecological botanists study the
interactions among plants, animals, humans, and the environment, and inform
studies on climate change and habitat destruction; forestry involves the study and
management of a variety of plants in the forest ecosystem; marine botany focuses
on plant life in the oceans; paleobotany is the study of the plant fossil record;
phytopathology is a focus on plant diseases; and horticulturists and gardeners
appreciate the aesthetic role of cultivated plants in our lives. The study of plants,
then, impacts human life in a variety of ways, as we rely upon plants for oxygen,
food, medicine, clothing, materials for other products (such as rubber and wood),
fuel, and environmental stability.
Historians of women's contributions to technological development point out that
horticulture, agriculture, cloth production, and medicine were seen as women's
work throughout early human history, all of which required extensive knowledge
of plant life. Women were responsible for gardening, breeding, selecting and
experimenting with plants, cooking, and processing cotton, hemp, and other
92 | American Women of Science since 1900
Almira Phelps
Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps (1793-1884) was a botanist whose popular textbooks
influenced science education in the nineteenth century. Her Familiar Lectures on
Botany (1 829) went through numerous editions and sold more than 300,000
copies in the United States and Europe. She was committed to science education
and to the education of women, as was her sister, Emma Willard, who founded the
Troy Female Seminary in New York. Almira taught in various public schools and
academies, including at Troy. She developed her own science curriculum and
was the author of popular texts on chemistry, geology, botany, and natural phi-
losophy. Her other works included Lectures to Young Ladies (1833), Chemistry
for Beginners (1 834), Familiar Lectures on Natural Philosophy (1837), and Botany
for Beginners (1849). Despite two marriages and a growing family, Phelps taught
at schools in several states, including as principal of Patapsco Female Institute in
Maryland, a school modeled on the Troy Female Seminary. She was the first
female member of the Maryland Academy of Sciences and in 1859 was only the
second woman elected to the American Association for the Advancement of
Science; the first was astronomer Maria Mitchell.
materials for textiles, leading to specialized knowledge of plants and herbs for
food, medicinal, and practical purposes. The first botanists, then, were women,
and women were responsible for many early innovations in plant sciences, such
as seed separation, chemical fertilizers, and the creation of new hybrid plant spe-
cies and varieties. In 1796, Priscilla Bell Wakefield published her Introduction to
Botany in a Series of Familiar Letters, which was in reprinted in England and
America for the next 50 years. In the United States, Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps
published her Familiar Lectures on Botany in 1829, an enormously popular book
that went through numerous editions.
Even after the late-nineteenth-century professionalization of scientific fields
into distinct disciplines, botany was long viewed as an amateur — and therefore
female — pursuit. An 1887 article even went so far as to pose the question, "Is
Botany a Suitable Study for Young Men?" (Rossiter 1982, 338 n.25). By the turn
of the century, many women were able to pursue master's degrees and doctorates
in the sciences, and this generation produced some highly visible and successful
female botanists. Elizabeth Knight Britton was a graduate of Hunter College
and helped found the New York Botanical Society in 1891 and the Sullivant Moss
Society in 1898 (later the American Bryological and Lichenological Society,
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/jpbennet/web/abls/) (bryology is the study of
mosses). In the nineteenth century, Kate Brandegee was the first paid botanical
Disciplines | 93
curator of the California Academy of Sciences; she was succeeded by another
woman, Alice Eastwood, who did not hold an advanced degree, but who built
and oversaw the botanical collection at the California Academy of Sciences for
more than 50 years. Lucy Braun, who received her Ph.D. from the University of
Cincinnati in 1914, was an important botanist, ecologist, and plant cataloger. Jesse
Jarue Mark was the first African American to earn a doctorate in botany, which she
received from Iowa State University in 1935.
By 1921, the greatest number of female scientists employed in academia were
in the field of botany, and the greatest number of these were employed at women's
colleges, such as Wellesley, Hunter College, and Smith (Rossiter 1982, 170-173).
As in other fields in the natural sciences, such as astronomy or zoology, female
botanists created top-notch programs at the women's colleges and had an impor-
tant role in training the next generation of women scientists. While women were
concentrated as students and teachers in a small number of programs in the early
part of the twentieth century, their numbers in the field of botany overall were
relatively small in the next generation. Between 1946 and 1960, women earned
just 11% of Ph.D.s in botany, plant pathology, or plant physiology (Rossiter
1995, 80). Well into the twentieth century, women also predominated as nature
illustrators, natural historians, conservationists, and horticulturists working out-
side of academia. Josephine D. Brownell of Rhode Island patented more than three
dozen types of roses between the 1930s and 1950s; Esther G. Fisher patented eight
new roses in the 1950s; Cynthia Westcott studied rose diseases and wrote several
consumer books on garden pests and plant diseases.
Many early women botanists worked in state or local field stations. Josephine
Tilden traveled the world to study and collect Pacific Rim algae and set up a
Canadian research station for the University of Minnesota. Others worked for agri-
cultural corporations and food producers, or for the federal government through the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a significant employer of early-twentieth-
century women scientists, including many botanists. Effie Southworth, a mycolo-
gist who focused on fungi, was the first woman plant pathologist employed at the
USDA; Flora Patterson worked in the USDA's Division of Vegetable Pathology.
Wanda Kirkbride Farr was an early plant researcher (M.A., 1918) who discov-
ered cellulose and had a career at the USDA, in industry, and in academia.
Because of their early presence in the discipline, women have been especially
active in professional plant sciences organizations throughout the twentieth cen-
tury. In 1929, Margaret Ferguson was the first woman president of the Botanical
Society of America (BSA, http://www.botany.org); Katherine Esau studied plant
viruses and was president of the BSA in 1951. The BSA has had several more
women presidents, including Mildred Mathias in 1984; 20 years earlier, in
1964, Mathias was the first female president of the American Society of Plant
94 | American Women of Science since 1900
Clara Cummings
Clara Eaton Cummings (1855-1906) was an American botanist who specialized
in cryptogamic (sporeproducing) flora. She was recognized for her work on the
lichens and mosses of Alaska and Labrador, contributing important additions to
those classifications and editing publications on North American lichens, liver-
worts, and mosses. Cummings was educated at Wellesley and at the University
of Zurich, although she never obtained a formal degree. She traveled throughout
Europe, visiting public gardens and collecting seeds and specimens to send back
to Wellesley; she initiated a system of exchanging dried specimens of plants
among collectors. She remained associated with the Wellesley botany depart-
ment throughout her career, first as curator of the botanical museum and then as
instructor. In 1903, she was named Hunnewell Professor of Cryptogamic Botany
in recognition of the specialized work in which she had reached distinction. She
was associate editor of the journal Plant World, and she served as vice president
in 1904 of the Society for Plant Morphology and Physiology.
Botanist Mildred Mathias. (Used with
permission by University of California, Los
Angeles)
Taxonomists. Between 1987 and
2007, there were 10 other female
presidents of the BSA. Helen Hart
studied rust-resistant wheat and other
crops, and was the first woman
president of the American Phyto-
pathological Society (http://
www.apsnet.org) in 1955. The Ameri-
can Society of Plant Biologists has a
section devoted to women in plant
biology (http://www.aspb.org/commit-
tees/women/index.cfm).
Modern botanists have worked in
a variety of subfields. Eloise Gerry
analyzed living trees and forest prod-
ucts; Estella Leopold was trained in
botany and became a specialist in
paleoecology, or the study of prehis-
toric plant spores and pollen and
their environments; Elisabeth Gantt
researches plant physiology and
Disciplines | 95
process such as photosynthesis; Jane Rissler researches the ecological impact of
genetically modified food plants; and Ruth Patrick studies algae in freshwater
ecosystems. Perhaps the most well-known female botanist of the twentieth century
is plant geneticist Barbara McClintock, who received the Nobel Prize in Physiol-
ogy or Medicine in 1983 for her work on maize, or corn. The exact numbers of
women in plant sciences today is difficult to track precisely because botanists
may be trained or employed in programs related to botany, plant sciences, ocean
sciences, agriculture, ecology, and general biology.
See also Biology; Environmental Sciences and Ecology; Genetics
References
Bonta, Marcia Myers. 1991. Women in the Field: America's Pioneering Women Naturalists.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Bonta, Marcia Myers. 1995. American Women Afield: Writings by Pioneering Women
Naturalists. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Botanical Society of America. "Celebrating Women in the Plant Sciences." http://www
.botany.org/women in science/.
Dudle, Dana A. and Meryl Altman. 2006. "Across the Language Barrier: Gender in Plant
Biology and Feminist Theory." In Removing Barriers: Women in Academic Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, edited by Jill M. Bystydzienski and Sharon
R. Bird, 215 233. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Mcintosh, Maria S. and Steve R. Simmons. 2008. "A Century of Women in Agronomy:
Lessons from Diverse Life Stories." Agronomy Journal. 100(S-53 S-69). http://agron
. scij ournals.org/cgi/content/full/ 1 00/S upplement 3/S -5 3 .
Rossiter, Margaret. 1982. Women Scientists in America: Struggles and Strategies to 1940.
Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1995. Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action,
1940 1972. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University.
Chemistry
Chemistry is the study of the properties, structure, changes, and reactions of
physical matter, but overlaps with and has application to life sciences as well.
Chemistry is the foundation of a number of other scientific disciplines, including
biochemistry, physiology and pharmacology, geology, metallurgy, physics, and
nuclear sciences. It is applicable to a variety of areas that impact our daily lives,
including food and nutrition, health and beauty products, medicines, textiles and
fabrics, and computers and plastics.
96 | American Women of Science since 1900
Chemistry has a long history; in some sense, women may be considered the first
chemists. Women historically and cross-culturally have been responsible for bak-
ing and cooking, the preparation of herbs and other medicines, and even the crea-
tion of perfumes, all of which require the use of chemical and biochemical
processes and reactions. Women were recorded as early alchemists as well
(alchemy combined chemistry and philosophy or magic in efforts to transform
common materials into valuable ones, such as gold or anti-aging cures) among
the ancient Chinese and Egyptians, and — in even greater numbers — during the
European medieval and Renaissance eras. During the "chemical revolution" of
the eighteenth century (which saw the discovery of the properties of gases and of
oxygen, among other milestones), several women worked as assistants or were
spouses of prominent scientists. Unlike the greater number of women who worked
as amateur astronomers, naturalists, geologists, or social scientists, chemistry
required access to laboratories and equipment, and some wealthy or well-connected
women were able to fund private research. A few European women emerged as
voices in early chemistry: Englishwoman Jane Marcet published her Conversa-
tions on Chemistry in 1769 (read by physicist and electricity experimenter
Michael Faraday), and Scottish
chemist Elizabeth Fulhame published
An Essay on Combustion in 1794.
Through the eighteenth and nine-
teenth centuries, chemistry was not
necessarily a separate discipline, but
overlapped with work in (and was
often overshadowed by) physics and
mathematics.
By the end of the nineteenth cen-
tury, the scientific disciplines were
professionalized, and status as a sci-
entist depended on higher education
and access to university laboratories,
both of which were slow to admit
women. In the United States, Helen
Abbott Michael briefly attended
Women's Medical College in Phila-
delphia but became interested in plant
chemistry and was the first woman
invited to lecture at the Philadelphia
College of Pharmacology. She later
Chemist Emma Perry Carr. (Bettmann/Corbis) worked in the laboratory of her
Disciplines | 97
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
British chemist Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (1910-1994) advanced the field of crys-
tallography and won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964 for her discovery of the
molecular structure of penicillin and vitamin B 12 . She later determined the structure
of insulin as well. Hodgkin was born in Egypt and educated at Somerville College,
a women's college at the University of Oxford, England, and at Cambridge. Even
after receiving her Ph.D. in 1 937, she was prevented from attending regular faculty
meetings at Oxford or from using the equipment in male faculty's laboratories. She
raised her own money and received several prestigious grants to purchase X-ray
equipment with which to take photographs of proteins, cholesterol, antibiotics, vita-
mins, and other biological molecules. She was not named a full professor until
1 958, after 20 years of research at Oxford. By that time, she was one of the found-
ing members of the International Union of Crystallography and had been named a
fellow of the Royal Society, the highest scientific honor in Britain, for her work on
the structure of penicillin. When, in 1964, she became the third woman to receive
the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the newspapers reported that a "housewife" and
"grandmother" had won the prize.
husband, a chemistry professor at Tufts University. The periodic table of elements
was created in the nineteenth century, with new elements and synthetic elements
later discovered, and the American Chemical Society (ACS) was founded in
1876, with Rachel Bodley admitted as the first female member. Bodley sub-
sequently resigned her affiliation with the ACS over antiwoman commentary and
activities at the annual meeting. Rachel Lloyd, a chemistry professor at the
University of Nebraska who received her doctorate in Switzerland, was the next
woman to join the ACS, in 1891. Food chemist Ellen Swallow Richards was the
first female student and the first woman instructor at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT), where she taught industrial chemistry and other courses
(without pay) beginning in 1879. Emma Perry Carr was one of the earliest
American women to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry (University of Chicago, 1910),
and in 1937 was the first woman to receive the Garvan Medal of the American
Chemical Society, a prize to acknowledge women's contributions to the field.
She taught chemistry for four decades at Mount Holyoke.
Inspired by the discovery of X-rays in 1895, scientists began searching for other
sources of radiation and analyzing the radioactivity of various elements. The struc-
ture and theory of atoms and molecules was explained in the 1920s and 1930s, and
some of the most important discoveries of the twentieth century relied upon this
overlap between chemistry and physics. The work of one of the most distinguished
98 | American Women of Science since 1900
Irene Joliot-Curie
The Curie family was one of incredible achievements: French chemist and
nuclear physicist Irene Joliot-Curie (1897-1956), daughter of Nobel Prize win-
ners Pierre and Marie Curie, also received a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935,
jointly received with her husband, Frederic Joliot, for their work on radioactivity.
Irene Curie worked with her famous mother on administering radiography and
radium treatment to soldiers during World War I. She went on to earn a doctor-
ate in 1925 with a thesis on polonium, an element discovered by her parents.
Joliot-Curie's research on radium led to the Nobel Prize and paved the way for
the discovery of nuclear fission by other scientists. She was a Commissioner
for Atomic Energy in France and in 1946 became director of the Radium Insti-
tute founded 30 years earlier by her parents. Like her mother before her,
Joliot-Curie's long-term work with radioactive elements, including an accidental
exposure to polonium, led to the development of leukemia and an early death.
The family scientific legacy continues, as both of Joliot-Curie's children are
physical scientists in France: daughter Helene Langevin-Joliot is a nuclear
physicist and son Pierre Joliot is a biochemist.
women in chemistry reveals this overlap. French scientist Marie Curie discovered
that thorium was radioactive and was awarded the Nobel Prize in two different
fields — she shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and won the prize in Chem-
istry in 1911. Her daughter, Irene Joliot-Curie, amazingly, also won a joint Nobel
Prize in Chemistry in 1935 for her work on radioactive elements. Both women
died of leukemia, undoubtedly from radiation exposure in the course of their sci-
entific work. Two other women have won Nobel Prizes in Chemistry for their work
using X-ray crystallography: British scientist Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin won in
1964 for studying the structures of biochemical substances, and Israeli scientist
Ada Yonath shared the prize in 2009 for her research on the role of ribosomes
in DNA.
Chemistry as a research field and method overlaps with numerous other scien-
tific disciplines, and so the true numbers of women engaged in chemical research
is extensive and unknowable. Early-twentieth-century women chemists worked in
agricultural and food sciences, nutrition, biochemistry, industrial chemistry, and
pharmaceuticals development. Anna Sommer was an early plant or soil chemist
who received her doctorate from Berkeley in 1924 and identified minerals in soil
and their benefits for agriculture. Biochemistry was another "new" science of the
early twentieth century and involved understanding the chemical processes of cells,
enzymes, proteins, and the effect of organic and synthetic substances on the body,
Disciplines | 99
and American women have made substantial contributions in this field. Marie
Daly was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry (from
Columbia University in 1948) and was one of the early biochemists who discov-
ered the link between cholesterol and heart attacks. Elizabeth Weisburger is a
toxicologist researching the carcinogenic (or cancer-causing) effects of chemicals
in environmental toxins and even in medicines. In the late twentieth and into the
twenty-first centuries, some of the most important work in chemistry is still being
done in pharmaceuticals and biochemistry research, with the addition of the fields
of nuclear science and physics, plastics and material sciences, and, of course, com-
puters (semiconductors, silicon chips). Chemists have received an extraordinary
large number of patents due to the nature of the field as one of innovation and dis-
covery. Stephanie Kwolek, a chemist for DuPont, invented Kevlar, a high-strength
material used in a variety of products, including bulletproof vests for law-
enforcement officers and for soldiers. Textile chemist Ruth Benerito received
more than 50 patents for processes related to treating fabrics and permanent-
press materials. Women chemists are proud of their long history of achievement
and contributions, and maintain records of that history through organizations such
as the Chemical Heritage Foundation's Women in Chemistry project (http://
chemheritage.org/women chemistry/).
The numbers of women as chemistry students in colleges and universities
peaked (as it did in the sciences overall) in the 1920s. In 1929, women received
10% of all U.S. chemistry doctorates; that number decreased to just 5% of doctor-
ates in 1933, and reached an all-time low of 2% throughout most of the 1940s
(Rayner-Canham and Rayner-Canham 1998, 199). But while women were not
earning doctorates at a high rate throughout the 1940s, more women than ever
were employed, including as new faculty members. Chemistry was one of the
fields that saw a tremendous increase in the numbers of women due to technologi-
cal development and needs during World War II. During just the four-year period
between 1942 and 1946, the numbers of women chemistry faculty members in
universities more than tripled (Rossiter 1995, 11). The numbers of women going
to graduate school and earning doctorates, however, would not rise again until
the 1970s, at which time women reached 10% of chemistry Ph.D.s again, and have
risen steadily ever since. In 1985, women earned 20% of chemistry Ph.D.s, but
made up only 4.9% of tenure-track faculty. Significant progress in women's access
to higher education resulted in women earning 30% of chemistry doctorates by
2003, but they still make up only 12% of tenure-track faculty, revealing a "leaky
pipeline" in academia seen throughout the sciences (Wilson 2006). Many chem-
ists, however, work outside of academia in industrial or government research or
pharmaceutical companies.
See also Biochemistry; Crystallography; Nutrition
100 I American Women of Science since 1900
References
Miller, Jane A. 1990. "Women in Chemistry." In Women of Science: Righting the Record,
edited by G. Kass-Simon and Patricia Fames, 300 334. Bloomington: Indiana University
Press.
Rayner-Canham, Marelene F. and Geoffrey Rayner-Canham. 1998. Women in Chemistry:
Their Changing Roles from Alchemical Times to the Mid-Twentieth Century. Philadelphia,
PA: Chemical Heritage Foundation.
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1995. Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action,
1940 1972. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University.
Wilson, Robin. 2006. "The Chemistry between Women and Science." Chronicle of Higher
Education (26 May 2006).
Climatology
See Meteorology
Computer Sciences and Information Technology
Computer science encompasses both the theory and application of automation and
information processing, from creating mathematical algorithms and programming
languages to the design and implementation of user-friendly software and hard-
ware. It may also include a broad range of activities related to information technol-
ogy (IT), which deals with the storage, retrieval, and transmission of information
through databases and networks. Computer sciences is one area in which technical
experience and knowledge are essential; therefore, gainful employment, even at
the highest levels, may be attained without a doctorate, although the Ph.D. is usu-
ally required for university teaching and research positions. Many computer scien-
tists and software engineers are employed in industry or business, and many others
are self-employed in the technology sector. This explains, in part, the discrepancy
between the relatively low number of women receiving doctorates in computer sci-
ences and the high number of women actually employed as computer and informa-
tion scientists. The doctorate in computer science is itself a fairly recent
development. In 1968, Barbara Liskov became the first woman to earn a Ph.D.
in a computer science program. Nearly 40 years later, in 2006, only 310 computer
science Ph.D.s were granted to women, or 2.7% of all science and engineering
doctorates earned by women (NSF Table F-2), and yet women accounted for 39%
of computer and information scientists, the single largest occupational category
for women scientists and engineers in 2006 (NSF Table H-19).
Disciplines | 101
Ada Lovelace
Augusta Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1 852), is recognized as one
of the pioneers of computer programming for her detailed notes on the invention of a
nineteenth-century calculating machine. Born in London, she was the daughter of
Romantic poet Lord Byron. She never knew her famous father, however, who sep-
arated from her mother, Anne Isabella Milbank (Lady Byron), and left England just a
few months after Ada's birth. In 1835, Ada married William King, Earl of Lovelace.
Although there were no scientific or professional opportunities for a woman at that
time, as a member of the elite, she received a solid education and was able to pur-
sue an intellectual life. She befriended Cambridge mathematics professor Charles
Babbage, who invented several calculators and had Ada compile and translate
notes on his plans for an "analytical engine." He never built the machine, but Ada's
notes reveal the earliest algorithm for machine calculations, the precursor to the
modern computer. She has been the subject of several biographies, credited for
her role in early mathematics and computing. In the 1970s, the U.S. Department
of Defense's computer programming language, Ada, was named for her.
The history of computing, however, is much longer and overlaps with innovation
in mathematics and technology. Women made early contributions to computing,
beginning with Ada Lovelace (born Augusta Ada Byron), who co-invented a proto-
computer adding machine or calculator in the nineteenth century. Her role was later
acknowledged with an early programming language for the military that was named
"Ada." Before the invention of electronic computers, "computer" was a job descrip-
tion, not a machine. Both men and women were employed as computers in the early
twentieth century, but women were more prominent in the field due to the wartime
shortage of male workers. In 1942, just after the United States entered World
War II, hundreds of women, many with degrees in mathematics, were employed in
government research centers and universities as computers, using mechanical desk
calculators to solve long equations. The results of these calculations were compiled
into tables and published for use on the battlefield. The tables allowed soldiers in
the field to aim artillery or other weapons, taking into account variable conditions
such as temperature and air density. Today, such calculations are done instantly with
microcomputers. The computer itself (as we know it) was developed after World
War II, also for government and military applications. ENIAC was one of the first
electronic digital computers, and Adele Goldstine, a former math teacher, trained
the first group of women programmers. At that time, programming involved man-
ually assembling the circuits and cables, and Goldstine wrote the technical operator's
manual for ENIAC (Stanley 1995, 442^43).
102 | American Women of Science since 1900
During the Cold War and the years of the space program, smaller, faster
machines were developed that outperformed the large government mainframes,
and software applications were developed that could be marketed to the general
public. Computers were soon used for everything from engineering and design
work, to games and animation used by the entertainment industry, to everyday
office use. Women were important to the development of early computer
hardware systems, including Margaret Butler, who helped develop one of the
first digital computers for science as a staff mathematician at Argonne National
Laboratory in the early 1950s. Grace Hopper (also a mathematician) was part
of the group that developed COBOL, the most widespread programming
language through the 1960s and 1970s. Evelyn Berezin is often called the
"mother of word processing," and she founded her own company in 1969 to
manufacture and sell a machine that would replace the editing typewriter. By
the 1980s, word processors were basic equipment in every office, and word-
processing software soon became a standard feature of every personal computer.
Lynn Conway is known for designing and fabricating integrated computer cir-
cuit chips, and Elsa Reichmanis helped develop new materials that are used
in integrated circuits.
Computer scientist and organic chemist, Elsa Reichmanis, 2002. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Disciplines | 103
Other women have been involved in the development of computer software.
Adele Goldberg helped develop a programming language for a personal computer
while working for Xerox Corporation. Her "object-oriented" program included
icons, windows, and a mouse, all user-friendly features that became the foundations
of the Microsoft and Apple consumer software programs ubiquitous today.
Martine Kempf and Sandra Hutchins worked on voice-recognition software;
Sandra Kurtzig founded her own software company, ASK Computer Systems,
which became one of the largest public companies founded by a woman. Ruth
Davis helped establish international standards for data encryption of computers,
and Thelma Estrin and Evangelia Micheli-Tzanakou researched computer
applications in brain research. Mary Pickett was involved in programming
industrial robots for use in manufacturing at General Motors Corporation in
1984, making it possible to automate an entire production line. Jean Sammet
was in charge of programming languages at International Business Machines
Corporation (IBM) for many years and taught some of the first college computer
programming languages in the United States in the 1950s. Sammet was also the
first woman president of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), and
Adele Goldberg and Gwen Bell have been presidents as well. Mary Shaw helped
establish software engineering as a profession, and Roberta Williams was one of
the pioneers of the computer gaming industry, one of the biggest growth areas in
software for the twenty-first century. In 2006, Frances Allen became the first
woman to receive the Turing Award, considered the Nobel Prize of the computer
industry, for her innovations in high-speed computing.
Other scientists have been concerned with the social impact of computers.
Psychologist Sherry Turkle is an authority on the psychological and sociological
effects of computers, and has researched how individuals interact with computers
and how computers shape our identities. Some feminists have been interested in
the role of gender in computer experiences, finding the profession as well as con-
sumer access to be male-dominated enterprises. The Internet era has created a
"global village," not only connecting the world, but changing the home-versus-
work dichotomy and therefore impacting women's lives. Computers have had a
revolutionary impact on women's roles as workers and as consumers, creating
new possibilities for wage-earning and for work/life balance through telecommut-
ing, online sales, microbusiness, and distance education and skills acquisition. All
of these innovations have potential for increasing women's economic indepen-
dence, but also raise questions about how, even as we are connected to the larger
world, the Internet confines women's work more securely within the home, as
there is no longer a need to leave home to pursue education and employment.
While access to the Internet has created a global "information revolution,"
some scholars argue that there is still a "digital divide" when it comes to gendered
104 | American Women of Science since 1900
and economic access to computers and the Internet. Issues of education, house-
hold resources, job skills, and even access to electricity affect different regions
of the world unequally, and may also be gendered in ways that impact women's
ability and rate of online access. Another issue for feminists concerned about
women's access to technology and technology-related careers is the computer lit-
eracy and education of girls. Early education is key in creating interest and skills
for later success, as early computer literacy has been linked to higher math test
scores and later interest in science and technology fields. Early computer educa-
tion may not be gender-neutral, however, as some studies have found that boys
are more likely to receive computer education at home from their parents, are
more likely to have computers in their own rooms, and spend more time playing
handheld and computer gaming systems, all activities that increase early com-
puter literacy and may disadvantage girls (Margolis and Fisher 2003). While the
technology itself may be gender-neutral, the change brought by technology has
the potential for either challenging or upholding existing social beliefs and roles.
See also Engineering; Mathematics
References
American Association of University Women. 2000. Tech-Savvy: Educating Girls in the
New Computer Age. Commission on Technology, Gender, and Teacher Education.
Washington, D.C.: American Association of University Women Education Foundation.
http://www.aauw.org/learn/research/upload/TechSavvy.pdf.
Kirk, Mary. 2009. Gender and Information Technology: Moving Beyond Access to
Co-Create Global Partnership. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Kramarae, Cheris. 2001. The Third Shift: Women Learning Online. Washington, D.C.:
American Association of University Women Education Foundation, http://
www.aauw.org/learn/research/upload/thirdshift.pdf.
Margolis, Jane and Allan Fisher. 2003. Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
National Science Foundation. "Table F-2. S&E doctoral degrees awarded to women, by field:
1999 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineer-
ing. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey of
Earned Doctorates, 1999 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabf-2.pdf.
National Science Foundation. 2006. "Table H-19. Employed scientists and engineers, by sec-
tor of employment, broad occupation, sex, race/ethnicity, and disability status: 2006."
Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. National
Science Foundation, Division of Science Resource Statistics, Scientists and Engineers
Statistical Data System (SESTAT). http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh- 19.pdf.
Stanley, Autumn. 1995. Mothers and Daughters of Invention: Notes for a Revised History
of Technology. 2nd edition. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Disciplines | 105
Tam, Mo- Yin S. and Gilbert W. Bassett, Jr. 2006. "The Gender Gap in Information Tech-
nology." In Removing Barriers: Women in Academic Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Mathematics, edited by Jill M. Bystydzienski and Sharon R. Bird, 108 122.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Crystallography
Crystallography is the science of determining the physical structure of atoms or
molecules in crystals or other solid matter, such as minerals, metals, vitamins, coal,
salts, proteins, viruses, cells, and DNA. It is a subfield of physics or chemistry and
has applications for research in other areas as well, notably biology, biochemistry,
and geology or earth sciences, and also requires the use of mathematical models
and analyses. Understanding the structure of crystals informs our understanding
of the properties of a variety of materials, and therefore has implications for
research not only into organic matter, but related to the development of synthetic
chemicals, plastics, metals, and other materials as well. A career in crystallography
can be approached from several different disciplines, including chemistry, physics,
biology, geology, mathematics, and materials science. The best preparation is a
broad background in several scientific areas, as well as experience using and pro-
gramming computers. A bachelor's degree in biology, for example, should include
more physics, mathematics, and chemistry than normally required.
Crystallography is a new science of the twentieth century. There were early
efforts to determine and record the structure of crystals using microscopes, but in
the early 1900s, it was discovered that X-ray waves could be used to diffract or
reflect the image of a crystal, revealing the internal patterns and structures. The
technological advances of tools of X-ray crystallography, including the spectrom-
eter and spectrophotography, made it possible to record and analyze an unlimited
number of molecules from a variety of materials. After the first efforts of X-ray
crystallographers to examine the structure of minerals and elements, there was
an explosion of interest in the following decades in determining the structure of
other molecules from organic materials. There was suddenly an unlimited amount
of work to be done, and so many women entered the field that, for a time in the
early to mid-twentieth century at least, crystallography was seen by many scien-
tists to be a predominantly female field. This was probably due, in part, to the fact
that, as a new field of study undergoing rapid technological and knowledge advan-
ces, crystallography did not have an established hierarchy. It was an ideal entry
point for younger scientists, many of them women among the first generation earn-
ing advanced degrees in science, to break into scientific research and have an
opportunity to excel.
106 | American Women of Science since 1900
Ada Yonath
Israeli scientist Ada Yonath (b. 1939) was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry for her work on the structure of bacterial ribosomes. She uses crystallog-
raphy, or X-ray techniques, to understand the effect of antibiotics on bacteria, aiding
research on antibiotic resistance and the development of new drugs. She is profes-
sor of structural biology and current director of the Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman
Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assembly at the Weizmann Institute of
Science in Rehovot, Israel. Although her Jewish parents were not wealthy, she
was able to attend the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she studied chemistry
and biochemistry, and went on to earn a doctorate in crystallography from the
Weizmann Institute. She has conducted research and held prestigious appointments
at universities in the United States, Germany, and Israel. In 2003, she was named as
a foreign associate to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. She shared the 2009
Nobel Prize with British researcher Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and American
Thomas A. Steitz, and is the first Israeli woman to receive a Nobel Prize.
Crystallography was also an international effort, and British women
subsequently made some of the most important and high-profile discoveries in
the field. Rosalind Franklin created and analyzed X-ray images of DNA, the
tobacco mosaic virus, and the polio virus. Her work led to the discovery of the
double-helix structure of DNA, for which her contemporaries, Francis Crick and
James Watson, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962.
In one of the more tragic stories in the history of women in science, Franklin died
at the age of only 37 after developing ovarian cancer (which many believe was
due to her exposure to X-ray radiation in her work) and, as the award is not granted
posthumously, was left out of the Nobel Prize recognition. Another British scientist,
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, won the 1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her use of
X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of vitamin B 12 . Hodgkin also con-
firmed the structure of penicillin and insulin, and therefore her work had implica-
tions for biochemistry and pharmaceutical development. Another woman, Israeli
scientist Ada Yonath, shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 for her use of
X-ray crystallography in research on the role of ribosomes in DNA.
While British women were overwhelmingly represented in crystallography in
the first half of the twentieth century (Rayner-Canham and Rayner-Canham
1998), the first woman to earn a Ph.D. specifically in crystallography was Gabrielle
Donnay at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1949, who worked in
the field of geology and mineralogy. American Isabella Karle and her husband,
Jerome Karle (also a Nobel Prize recipient), had an amazing 60-year career as
Disciplines | 107
Rosalind Franklin
British geneticist and crystallographer Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958) was part of
the team that discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, one of the greatest
scientific discoveries of the twentieth century. For many years, however, Franklin's
contribution to this work was unacknowledged by either her colleagues or the larger
scientific community. Franklin graduated from Newnham College, the women's col-
lege of Cambridge University, and her early work in chemistry and crystallography
focused on determining the structure of coal and carbon. After receiving her doctor-
ate from Cambridge, she began using X-ray diffraction to take numerous pictures of
DNA in order to create a model of its structure. American James Watson was also
researching DNA models, and Franklin's photos provided the evidence for his
theory of the double-helix structure of the DNA molecule. In April 1 953, Watson
and Francis Crick published their famous results in the British science journal
Nature, which also contained a supplemental article by Franklin and a student,
Raymond Gosling, providing evidence from their own research. Franklin went on
to study the structure of other biological substances, including the polio virus.
Unfortunately, she died of ovarian cancer in 1 958 at the age of only 37, and Watson,
Crick, and Maurice Wilkins earned credit for the DNA discovery with a Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 (the prize is awarded only to living scientists).
renowned crystallographers with the Naval Research Laboratory. The Karles made
technological advances in the field with their invention of a new method for photo-
graphing crystals, and Isabella Karle's work provided the foundation for develop-
ment of synthetic materials, including pharmaceuticals. Elizabeth Armstrong
Wood used crystallography in her work in geology, studying minerals and rocks,
and later in the development of lasers and other work for Bell Telephone Laborato-
ries. Both Elizabeth Wood and Isabella Karle served as presidents of the American
Crystallographic Association, in 1957 and 1976, respectively.
Other women working in biomedical sciences or physics have studied or used
crystallography, including Jane Richardson and Dorothy Maud Wrinch,
biochemists who map proteins, and Jenny Glusker (who studied with Dorothy
Hodgkin in Oxford, England), who has contributed to cancer research with her work
using crystallography to determine the structure of cancer-causing chemicals, or car-
cinogens. Physicist and metallurgist Julia Weertman studies the structure and tem-
perature resistance of different metals, and nuclear physicist Chien-Shiung Wu
separated uranium isotopes and helped develop radiation detectors as part of the
atomic bomb project in the 1950s.
It is difficult to determine the exact number of working crystallographers
because of the interdisciplinary nature of the field and because crystallography is
108 | American Women of Science since 1900
not only a subfield but more of
a focus or tool used within these
other disciplines. The American
Crystallographic Association (http://
aca.hwi.buffalo.edu/) and the Inte-
rnational Union of Crystallography
(http://www.iucr.org/) bring together
and represent scientists working in
various fields.
See also Biomedical Sciences;
Chemistry; Geology; Physics
References
Julian, Maureen M. 1990. "Women in
Crystallography." In Women of Sci-
ence: Righting the Record, edited by
G. Kass-Simon and Patrician Fames,
335 383. Bloomington: Indiana Uni-
versity Press.
McLachlan, Dan, Jr., and Jenny P.
Glusker, eds. 1983. Crystallography in
North America. New York: American
Crystallographic Association.
Rayner-Canham, Marelene F. and Geoffrey Rayner-Canham. 1998. Women in Chemistry:
Their Changing Roles from Alchemical Times to the Mid-Twentieth Century. Philadelphia,
PA: Chemical Heritage Foundation.
Crystallographer and cancer researcher,
Jenny Glusker. (Courtesy of the Fox Chase
Cancer Center.)
Earth Sciences
See Environmental Sciences and Ecology; Geography; Geology; Meteorology;
Ocean Sciences
Economics
Economics is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as the "social science
concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the production, distribution,
and consumption of goods and service." The analysis of property, wealth, and
markets has a long history, and has impacted the development of ethics, law, trade,
and politics as well. Economists work in a variety of subfields and study not only
Disciplines | 109
financial information and trends but human behavior as well in seeking to under-
stand our relationships to and decision-making processes about work, money,
and consumer goods. Laissez-faire economics focuses on individual rational
economic choices as driving the supply and demand of markets, while more
radical theories (influenced by Karl Marx in the nineteenth century) argue that
individuals have little choice within capitalism, which depends upon a permanent
wage-earning class. Beginning in the 1970s, feminists pointed out the connection
between patriarchy and capitalism, both of which rely upon women's unpaid house-
hold labor to uphold the economy. Finally, an institutional model of economics
takes a broader view of how multiple economic, political, and cultural systems (such
as religion) work together to impact the economy of a specific region or society.
Much of Western thinking about economics has been influenced by Adam
Smith's theory of the free market in The Wealth of Nations, first published in
1776. Priscilla Bell Wakefield made the earliest female response to Smith's text,
arguing in her 1798 essay, "Reflections on the Present Condition of the Female
Sex, with Suggestions for Its Improvement," that the economic contribution of
women in the home, and the exchange of services and not just goods, is also essen-
tial to the economy. Throughout the nineteenth century, feminists linked women's
economic dependence on men, and their underlying lack of access to education
and the professions, to female legal and political subordination. One hundred
years after Wakefield first challenged Smith's economic model, American writer
Charlotte Perkins Gilman published Women and Economics: A Study of the
Economic Relation between Men and Women as a Factor in Social Evolution, a
radical call for women's economic independence and a challenge to the depen-
dence forced upon women through marriage and motherhood.
The field of economics itself has been understood by many feminists to
be male-dominated in both employment patterns and subject matter. Only a
handful of female economists have been elected to the National Academy of
Sciences, including Anne Krueger (1995), Nancy Stokey (2004), and Elinor
Ostrom (2001). The American Economic Association (AEA) Committee on
the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (http://www.cswep.org) tracks
the numbers and employment status of female economists at research univer-
sities. In 2007, women received nearly 35% of new doctorates in economics
and subsequently made up 28.8% of entry-level tenure-track professors; this is
compared to 1972, when women earned 12% of economics doctorates and made
up only 6% of full-time faculty of any rank. However, at the highest levels of
academia, in 2007, women made up only 8.7% of full professors. Even more
discouraging, some 40% of Ph.D. -granting research institutions had no female
full professors on the faculty in 2007.
I 10 I American Women of Science since 1900
As in computer sciences and engi-
neering, however, there are many
high-level career opportunities out-
side of academia, and economists
are employed in diverse research,
government, policymaking, national,
and international business settings.
In 2008, a full one-quarter of
employed female economists in the
United States worked in the private
sector, and another 10% were
employed in the government or
public sector. Another 20% were
employed internationally, either in
foreign universities or in business
(Fraumeni 2008). Juanita Kreps
and Alice Rivlin have held prominent
positions within the U.S. government.
Kreps served as the first female (and
first professional economist) Secre-
tary of Commerce, serving under
President Carter, and Rivlin has held
several government positions, includ-
ing as first head of the Congressional Banking Office when it was established in
1975 and later as vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board. Other economists have
worked in both academia and government; Laura Tyson has held a long-time
faculty position, has been dean of two prestigious business schools, and has also
served as economic advisor to two presidents on global markets, trade, high-tech
industries, and healthcare reform. Economics was added as a category for the Nobel
Prize in 1969, and 40 years later, in 2009, American Elinor Ostrom became the
first woman to receive that prize.
Some universities now offer specialization or certification in gender and eco-
nomics. Feminist economic theory begins with a critique of theories that focus
solely on the public spheres of markets and production (wage work), ignoring
the economic contribution of women's unpaid work of household labor, reproduc-
tive labor, and their role in consumption. The rise of the new home economics in
the 1980s sought to make women's work visible and quantifiable, while acknowl-
edging that household labor and childcare also limit women's choices regarding
participation in wage work. This, in turn, justifies paying women less because they
are seen as temporary, part-time, or uncommitted workers. The feminist critique of
Economist Anne Krueger served as a vice
president and consultant for the World Bank
and director of the International Monetary
Fund from 2001 to 2006. (AP/Wide World
Photos)
Disciplines | I I I
rational individual economic behavior, then, questions how much economic
"choice" women can truly exercise when considering the options of either working
for low wages in "women's" jobs or working without pay in the household.
Other workplace issues affecting women's economic status include equal pay,
educational and employment access, hiring and advancement discrimination, and
welfare issues. Phyllis Ann Wallace was the first black woman to receive a doc-
torate in economics from Yale University (1948), and was a pioneer in research
on the economics of racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace. A signifi-
cant amount of recent attention has also been focused on the relationship between
work and parenting, whether on the work mothers perform in the home, the
challenges for working mothers in the wage labor force (including access to
affordable, quality childcare), or women's "second shift" of work and childcare
at home. Sylvia Hewlett founded the Center for Work-Life Policy (http://
www.worklifepolicy.org) to research precisely these and other dilemmas facing
women in the workforce throughout the lifecycle, as the sexual division of labor
disadvantages women not only during childbearing and childrearing years, but in
old age as well.
Finally, it is not only workplace issues, or questions of education and access, but
also gender inequality in the family itself that limits women's economic activities
and potential. Feminists question the ability of women to make free individual
economic "choices" given the limits and pressures of family, culture, religion,
and governments (particularly development programs) on women's lives. In this
sense, economic relations and contexts may be more important than a focus solely
on individual choices and needs. For example, self-interest (survival) is often seen
as driving economic choices, but self-interest may look different for women com-
pared to men. Women may not always operate from a perspective of self-interest
or competition, or from a perspective of maximizing wage-earning as their primary
economic role. Women, in general, some economists have shown, are more likely
to make economic decisions based in a larger family context of caregiving and
providing for the education and future security of children.
See also Nutrition and Home Economics
References
Ferber, Marianne A. and Julie A. Nelson, eds. 2003. Feminist Economics Today: Beyond
Economic Man. University of Chicago Press.
Fraumeni, Barbara. 2008. "Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in the
Economics Profession 2008." CSWEP. http://www.cswep.org/annual reports/
2008 CSWEP Annual Report.pdf.
International Museum of Women (IMOW). "Economica: Women and the Global
Economy." Online exhibit, http://www.imow.org/economica/index.
I 12 I American Women of Science since 1900
Olson, Paulette I. and Zohren Emami, eds. 2002. Engendering Economics: Conversations
with Women Economists in the United States. New York: Routledge.
Engineering
Engineering can be defined as the practical application of mathematical and
scientific principles to challenges in design, manufacturing, and operation. Engi-
neers may design materials, structures, machines, computer programs, concepts,
or processes. There are many different types of engineers, such as civil, electrical,
mechanical, chemical, safety, materials, industrial, computer, aeronautical, aero-
space, and biomedical. Broadly considered, then, engineering is the foundation
of technological development and innovation across many scientific fields or disci-
plines and therefore overlaps with the history of science in general. Humans have
always sought to understand and improve their lives through the invention of tools,
machines, buildings, cities, aqueducts, military equipment, household appliances,
bridges, electricity, different modes of transportation and communication, foods,
pharmaceuticals, chemicals, plastics, and computers. Different branches of engi-
neering, or specialties, formed around specific industries and needs, but as all
engineers seek to understand how things work, they must therefore have a strong
foundation in the physical and theoretical sciences and in mathematics.
Women have a long history of engineering contributions, although those contribu-
tions have not always been acknowledged or recorded. The first American woman to
receive a patent was probably Mary Dixon Kies of Connecticut, who in 1809
patented a process for weaving straw with silk or thread (Stanley 1995, 304). Engi-
neering has not always been considered a separate field, and many early engineers
(as we would identify them today) were trained and worked within physics, chemis-
try, math, or other fields, even business, psychology, or home economics (as with Lil-
lian Gilbreth, an industrial time-management engineer who was the first female
member of the Society of Mechanical Engineers). There have been an overwhelming
number of women's inventions, tools, machines, and electrical or mechanical pro-
cesses, some patented, some developed without acknowledgement or recompense
to the original inventor. The first American doctorate in engineering was awarded
at Yale University in 1 863 , and by the early 1 900s, only a few women had earned for-
mal engineering degrees. Olive Dennis received a degree in civil engineering from
Cornell University in 1920 and worked for many years as a "draftsman" designing
railroad terminals. Commenting on the small but visible presence of women in engi-
neering programs, a 1937 school newspaper reported, "Three Coeds Invade Engi-
neering Courses and Compete with Men at Cornell University: Stand Well in Their
Studies" (Bix 2006, 47). The headline acknowledged the women's accomplishments,
Disciplines | 113
but the use of words such as "invade" and "compete" reflected the view that the wom-
en's presence was still a hostile act.
Still, Cornell was among the few schools admitting women as engineering
students before World War II. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
admitted a few women, including Edith Clarke, the first woman to receive an
electrical engineering degree from MIT in 1919. Clarke went on to have a produc-
tive career in both industry, working for ATT and General Electric, and later in
academia. But some of the most prestigious engineering programs and technical
schools did not admit any women until well into the 1950s and 1960s. As in many
other scientific fields, it was the shortage of male workers during World War II,
and the new technological demands of war, that opened doors for women, espe-
cially in new industries and nontraditional work for women. Companies recruited
women and trained them on the job in mathematics, basic scientific concepts and
terminology, drawing and design, mechanics, materials, welding, and machining
for work in wartime production, aircraft and ship building, and weapons factories.
Such programs, and women's employment in general, were seen as fulfilling a
temporary need, and once the war over and the men returned, the expectation
was that women would put their educations aside and leave the workforce. Some
college campuses even returned to prewar policies of denying admission to female
students. Women were not so quick to give up their newly acquired skills and edu-
cation, however, and some began campaigns for access to technical education and
engineering jobs. The Society of Women Engineers (http://www.swe.org) was
founded in 1946 by a group of female engineering students at Iowa State. The
SWE soon spread to other campuses and cities, and incorporated as a national
organization in 1952, with Beatrice Hicks as the first president.
The SWE also focused on dispelling myths about female engineers and on out-
reach and encouraging girls (and their parents) to pursue engineering education
and careers, recognizing that there was a social stigma that accounted for women's
low representation in the field, and not just institutional barriers. As Irene Peden
of the SWE acknowledged in 1965, "A girl is not likely to choose a career field
disapproved by her parents, teachers, classmates, and friends." Peden also wanted
to assure young women (and men) that "[m]any women engineers are very attrac-
tive; most represent a perfectly normal cross section of femininity" (Bix 2006, 50).
Even though engineers were needed to further the war effort and for the
postwar modern military-industrial needs, it was not until the 1960s that the U.S.
government's Cold War commitment to scientific research and technological
advancement had an impact on women's access to engineering education and
employment. Education required subsequent access to jobs, however, and
corporate-industrial culture had to change as well. Recruiters inevitably saw engi-
neers as men, and well into the 1960s bemoaned a shortage of engineers while
I 14 I American Women of Science since 1900
rejecting qualified female applicants. The SWE reported on a survey of company
managers in 1961, which found that "81 percent wouldn't hire female engineers"
(Bix 2006, 54). This attitude began to change, legally and socially, with the passage
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and with the momentum of the new feminist move-
ment, so that, by the 1970s, many companies proudly proclaimed their records (or at
least intentions) on hiring women. For the most part, however, women's presence in
professional engineering is concentrated in more recent decades.
Although a doctorate was not always required for employment, between 1947
and 1961, women received only 24 of the more than 8,000 engineering doctorates
awarded (Rossiter 1995, 82). Women still made up less than 3% of practicing
engineers by the early 1980s (Trescott 1990). By 2006, that number had risen to
11.5% of employed engineers, still a marginal representation. As with computer
sciences, many engineering jobs are in industry or business rather than academia
and do not always require a higher degree. Of those women employed as engineers
in 2006, 72% were in business or industry, and another 16.5% worked for federal,
state, or local governments. Only 7.5% of women engineers are employed in
colleges and universities (NSF Table H-19). In many engineering specialties, tech-
nical experience is just as important as (if not more important than) formal educa-
tion. This has both benefited and, ironically, hindered women's entrance into the
engineering professions. In the nineteenth century, engineers were trained on the
job in the dirty, physically demanding, and even dangerous factories, railroad
yards, or survey expeditions, jobs from which women were excluded. Through
the twentieth century and beyond, young boys are still more likely to be encour-
aged to help their fathers build things and to play with building sets (Legos,
Lincoln Logs, erector sets), model car and railroad sets, electronic hobby sets,
and, now, computers and video games. Girls are not specifically excluded from
such activities, but these toys are marketed to boys, and girls still receive social
messages about appropriate interests.
Modern engineers work in a variety of industries and applications, and women's
contributions are now widespread across disciplines, with a focus on technological
or mechanical innovation. Mildred Dresselhaus, a physicist and electrical engi-
neer, was an expert on semimetals and semiconductors. Thelma Estrin, a former
vice president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), was
one of the earliest practitioners of clinical engineering, and pioneered the use of
computers in brain research. Martine Kempf is a self-trained electronics engineer
and computer scientist who invented a voice-recognition system for disabled
persons to operate vehicles. Christine Darden is an aeronautical engineer who
has worked on issues related to aircraft design and the environmental impact of
supersonic flights during her long career at the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA). Bonnie Dunbar, also at NASA, was an early female
Disciplines | 115
astronaut and a biomedical engineer
who studied the effect of space flight
on the body. Rodica Baranescu is a
mechanical engineer and in 2000
was the first female president of the
Society of Automotive Engineers
International.
Because of the continued low rep-
resentation of women in engineering,
however, combined with the impor-
tance of engineering to nearly every
aspect of modern technological life,
engineering seems to be one of the
most organized fields in terms of
commitment to recruiting more girls
and women. Female engineers organ-
ize conferences, educational pro-
grams, and professional support and
mentoring networks, through organizations such as the SWE and the IEEE
Women in Engineering network (http://www.ieee.org/web/membership/women/
index.html). Numerous programs exist for girls, students, parents, and educators,
such as the Women in Engineering Proactive Network (http://wepan.org/), which
is funded by the National Science Foundation and also produces a K-12 engineer-
ing curriculum entitled "Making the Connection." A program called "Engineer
Your Life" (http://www.engineeryourlife.org/) is targeted to high school girls,
and "Engineer Girl" (http://www.engineergirl.org/) is a program of the National
Academy of Sciences.
See also Computer Sciences and Information Technology
Computer scientist and biomedical engineer,
Thelma Estrin. (Courtesy of UCLA Media
Relations)
References
Bix, Amy Sue. 2006. "From 'Engineeresses' to 'Girl Engineers' to 'Good Engineers': A
History of Women's U.S. Engineering Education." In Removing Barriers: Women in
Academic Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, edited by Jill M.
Bystydzienski and Sharon R. Bird, 46 65. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Hatch, Sybil E. 2006. Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers. Reston,VA:
American Society of Civil Engineers.
National Science Foundation. 2006. "Table H-19. Employed scientists and engineers, by
sector of employment, broad occupation, sex, race/ethnicity, and disability status:
2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering.
National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resource Statistics, Scientists and
116 | American Women of Science since 1900
Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT). http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/
tabh-19.pdf.
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1995. Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action,
1940 1972. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University.
Stanley, Autumn. 1995. Mothers and Daughters of Invention: Notes for a Revised History
of Technology. 2nd edition. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Trescott, Martha Moore. 1990. "Women in the Intellectual Development of Engineering:
A Study in Persistence and Systems Thought." In Women of Science: Righting the
Record, edited by G. Kass-Simon and Patricia Fames, 147 187. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
Environmental Sciences and Ecology
Environmental sciences is a broad category of study related to understanding
the natural and human environments and the interaction between the two. It
encompasses a range of disciplines and research interests that overlap among the
natural, physical, and social sciences. Scientists working on environmental and
ecological or ecosystem studies come from a variety of fields, including animal
sciences, botany or plant biology, human biology, evolutionary biology, chemistry,
geography (human and physical), geology, engineering, meteorology, oceanogra-
phy, physics, toxicology, and social sciences such as anthropology, economics,
politics, and public health awareness and reform.
Environmental science also informs business, government, and activist concerns.
Interdisciplinary environmental studies and analyses are used in policymaking
related to development, agriculture, and industrial waste management, and "green"
business and lifestyles have become a major political issue and social mandate in
recent years. These issues depend upon science to explain the reason or urgency
for certain actions needed to offset or change the effect of humans on the environ-
ment. Current issues involving environmental scientists include climate change
(global warming), protecting endangered plant and animal species, agricultural
practices and food supplies (global and local), conservation of nature, air and water
pollution, deforestation, and industrial and chemical health hazards and standards.
Ecology, or the study of ecosystems, is a subfield of environmental studies and
refers specifically to the biological interactions and interdependency among living
organisms or species (humans, animals, plants) and the natural or physical envi-
ronment. Lynn Margulis is an evolutionary biologist who has put forth the "Gaia
hypothesis," or the idea that the Earth itself is a living organism. Although more
specifically a theoretical or even spiritual issue than a scientific pursuit, ecofemin-
ism argues that the destruction of the Earth and the social subordination of women
Disciplines | 117
Women and Climate Change
Global climate change (or global warming) is one of the biggest issues for scien-
tists, politicians, and industry of the twenty-first century. Since the mid-twentieth
century women scientists have been involved in efforts to track and slow climate
change, including geologists, meteorologists, oceanographers and other environ-
mental and physical scientists, and materials and chemical engineers involved in
creating new "green" technologies. The environmental effects of global climate
change may have a negative social and economic impact on women, in particular.
Feminist economists and other social scientists have pointed out that, especially
in developing areas of the world, drought, flooding, erosion, and deforestation,
as well as natural disasters caused by climate change, can have a devastating
impact on local agriculture, water availability, and women's health and economic
survival. The gendered aspects of climate change have been addressed by the
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and by global development,
population and sustainability conferences since the 1990s, resulting in specific
policy recommendation.
are connected. Indeed, ecofeminism has sometimes been seen in opposition to
science based on the idea that science is a "male" discipline with the goal of con-
trolling or dominating nature for human use, whereas feminism promotes a "care-
taker" role for humans in relation to the environment.
Although we tend to think of environmentalism as a relatively new concept, and
environmentalists as a highly politicized group, the United States has a long and
solid history of environmental studies and science, and of efforts to protect nature
and animals. In the nineteenth-century United States, industrial revolution, urbani-
zation, and widespread immigration and migration all raised concerns about pollu-
tion, destruction of the natural habitat, and the effect of human populations on the
environment. Henry David Thoreau, in his 1854 book Walden and other writings,
was one of the earliest American naturalists to lament humanity's disregard for
nature's essential role in our physical as well as spiritual well-being. In the next
generation, John Muir founded the Sierra Club and the twentieth-century conser-
vation movement. By the early 1900s, politicians and reformers were taking notice
and promoting conservation and protection of lands by setting aside state and
national parks, such as Yosemite and Yellowstone.
By the turn of the twentieth century, women with advanced degrees were focus-
ing on environmental issues and hazards within a variety of different disciplines,
many of them as botanists, biologists, and zoologists. Beginning in the late
1800s, chemist Ellen Swallow Richards did some of the earliest research on
I 18 I American Women of Science since 1900
industrial pollution in the United States and, at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), taught some of the first college courses in environmental sci-
ence. Emmeline Moore (who received her Ph.D. in 1914) was an early aquatic
wildlife biologist who studied the effect of water pollution on freshwater fish;
Moore later served as president of the American Fisheries Society. Plant patholo-
gist Josephine Tilden held a master's degree (1897), and her research on algae
led her to see the connections among algae, the larger ocean ecosystem, and
human health. The plant catalogs created by botanist and ecologist Lucy Braun
(who earned a Ph.D. in 1914 and was later the first woman president of the Eco-
logical Society of America) were used in later conservation efforts to show the
effect of mining on local plant life.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the U.S. government began regulating business and
industry to protect the environment as well as the health of workers and consum-
ers. Toxicologist Alice Hamilton was one of the pioneers of occupational and
environmental health studies, warning of the health hazards of unleaded gasoline
and exposing safety issues for workers handling toxic chemicals and exposed to
radiation. The spread of industrial factories and car culture by the 1950s gave rise
to new levels of concern about the health hazards of smog and atmospheric and
water pollution. Rachel Carson
warned of the impact of humans on
nature in her now-classic book, Silent
Spring, first published in 1962. Paul
and Anne Ehrlich published their
highly controversial work, The Popula-
tion Bomb, in 1968, warning that over-
population would lead to a strain on
Earth's natural resources and more
human deaths.
The government established the
Environmental Protection Agency in
1970, but several major industrial
and nuclear accidents of the 1970s
and 1980s, including Love Canal
and Three Mile Island in the United
States, and others internationally,
had tragic effects on human health
and resulted in increased activism
and public environmental conscious-
Doctor and reformer Alice Hamilton. (Library ness. Geraldine Cox received a
of Congress) Ph.D. in environmental studies in
Disciplines | 119
1970 and has been involved in creating chemical industry policy guidelines for
disaster management. Physician Helen Caldicott (Physicians for Social Respon-
sibility) has warned of the short- and long-term effects of radiation and has led
the way in her campaign against the development and use of nuclear energy.
The burning oil fields in Kuwait during first Gulf War in the early 1990s, the
Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, and the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil
spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, brought new concerns about the devastating
environmental and human costs of oil acquisition and production (through drilling
or through war). By the end of the twentieth century a new "green" mentality had
inspired not only a public imperative for individuals to reduce their "carbon foot-
print," but for more scientific research and funding for alternative energies and
technologies. The melting through of the polar ice cap, the designation of new
endangered animal species due to habitat destruction, and the recognition that
many "natural" disasters (hurricanes, mudslides, flooding) may be linked to human
actions, have all influenced the U.S. government's scientific priorities.
Women scientists work on environmental issues from a range of disciplinary
perspectives, including chemistry and engineering. In the 1970s, Maxine Savitz,
a chemist working in the U.S. Department of Energy, developed energy standards
for heating and lighting buildings, new batteries, and fuel-efficient cars; Betsy
Ancker- Johnson worked for many years on environmental policy at General
Motors (GM), warning as early as the 1980s about the automotive industry's role
in global climate change; Kathleen Taylor also worked at GM as a chemical
expert on the development of catalytic converters to reduce emissions. Roberta
Nichols, an engineer for Ford Motor Company, led the industry in developing
alternate fuels for vehicles as well as designing vehicles that are more energy-
efficient, and Elizabeth Gross is a biochemist who has researched photovoltaic
cells, or "living batteries," to convert sunlight directly into electricity to preserve
fossil fuels and reduce pollution. Chemist Joan Berkowitz is an internationally
known expert on environmental hazards, and Susan Solomon confirmed that the
chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) in air conditioners, aerosol sprays, and refrigerators
were contributing to the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica, leading to a
global effort to regulate and reduce use of those products.
Other environmental scientists are biologists, zoologists, botanists, and natural-
ists focused on animals and plants and their habitats. Mollie Beattie, as director
of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was responsible for enforcing the Endan-
gered Species Act in the United States. Cynthia Moss and Joyce Poole are
zoologists who were active in having the African elephant declared endangered
when the illegal trade in elephant tusks was decimating the herds. Continuing the
environmental-naturalist connection of the nineteenth century, Anne LaBastille
is a naturalist who has worked to preserve the wildlife habitat of many bird species,
120 | American Women of Science since 1900
and Marcia Bonta is a nature writer who has written extensively on the environ-
ment and on the history of women's roles as naturalists. Inspired in environmental
science by her famous conservationist father, Aldo Leopold, Estella Leopold
became a specialist in paleoecology, or the study of prehistoric organisms and their
environments.
Geologists and geographers also add a unique perspective to the study of the
Earth's environments and ecosystems. Pamela Matson earned a degree in forest
ecology and researches the role of land-use changes on global warming. Ruth
DeFries is an environmental geographer who uses global satellite images to
understand the impact of human activities, such as agriculture and development,
on the physical environment. Jane Lubchenco is a marine ecologist and geologist
who specialized in ocean ecosystems and global climate change; in 2009, she was
appointed head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Women environmental scientists working within a variety of interdisciplinary
frameworks are represented professionally by organizations for earth scientists in
general, such as the Association for Women Geoscientists (http://awg.org). Other
groups bring together scientists and professionals in other fields, such as business
and law, around environmental concerns, such as the Women's Environmental
Council (http://www.wecweb.org) and the Society of Women Environmental
Professionals (http://swepweb.com/).
See also Biology; Biomedical Sciences; Botany; Geography; Geology;
Ocean Sciences
References
Bonta, Marcia Myers. 1991. Women in the Field: America 's Pioneering Women Naturalists.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Bonta, Marcia Myers. 1995. American Women Afield: Writings by Pioneering Women
Naturalists. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Holmes, Madelyn. 2004. American Women Conservationists: Twelve Profiles. Jefferson,
NC, McFarland.
Kaufman, Polly Welts. 2006. National Parks and the Woman 's Voice: A History. Albuquerque:
University of New Mexico Press.
Norwood, Vera. 1993. Made from This Earth: American Women and Nature. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press.
Perry, Ruth. 2009. "Engendering Environmental Thinking: A Feminist Analysis of the
Present Crisis." In Women, Science, and Technology: A Reader in Feminist Science
Studies, 2nd ed., edited by Mary Wyer et al., 312 321. New York: Routledge.
Stein, Rachel, ed. 2004. New Perspectives on Environmental Justice: Gender, Sexuality,
and Activism. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers.
Disciplines | 121
Genetics
Genetics is a branch or subfield of biology and is focused on the scientific study of
heredity or inherited traits through analysis of information stored in DNA (deoxyri-
bonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), genes, and chromosomes, whether in
humans, animals, or plants. Genetics provides insight into the most basic level of
cell functioning and explains many aspects of human biology. Genetics is a fairly
recent scientific discovery and one in which knowledge advanced rapidly over the
course of the twentieth century. The concept of genetics was first discovered in
agricultural experiments with the breeding and hybridization of plants. In the
mid-nineteenth century, Austrian botanist Gregor Mendel isolated single-gene
hereditary traits in pea plants. It took several more decades, however, for scientists
to realize fully the implications of Mendel's findings, especially the applicability
to human genetics. Charles Darwin's theories of evolution and species adaptability
were the next leap in scientific understanding of heredity.
Many scientists and physicians subsequently promoted theories of inherited
traits and behaviors that often had little to do with actual science and more to do
with social agendas. For example, the belief that certain personality traits, inter-
ests, or even criminal behaviors could
be inherited informed eugenics policy
well into the twentieth century, result-
ing in the involuntary sterilization of
criminals or others deemed deviant in
an attempt to stop them from passing
those undesirable social behaviors,
through their genes, on to the next
generation. By the 1950s, genetics sci-
ence was used to promote a new set of
social policies, including premarital
counseling and blood testing to ensure
genetic compatibility (Kline 2001).
Technology (such as the micro-
scope) made possible the discovery
of the cell and, in the early twentieth
century, the discovery that genes are
located on chromosomes. Around
1905, Nettie Stevens discovered that
sex was a genetic factor and was
determined by chromosomes. At the Biochemist and geneticist, Maxine Singer.
time, she was working at Bryn Mawr (National Library of Medicine)
122 | American Women of Science since 1900
Human Genome Project and DNA Testing
The mapping of human genes has social and health implications for the lives of
women worldwide. The international government-sponsored Human Genome
Project (HGP) was begun in the 1990s and scientists had mapped more than
20,000 human genes by 2003. Originally a project of the National Institutes of
Health, research on the human genome sequence was conducted at scientific
research centers and universities in several countries. The information collected
in the HGP has already had implications for the direction of research on known
hereditary diseases and has inspired the search for possible genetic links to dis-
eases such as breast cancer. Advances in DNA testing have also made it easier
to screen the fetus for certain diseases during pregnancy and for the development
of more accurate testing methods for conditions such as diabetes or HIV/AIDS.
Besides health and medical research, DNA testing also has social implications
for women and families, through paternity testing or criminal investigations. In
the twenty-first century, women are involved in both scientific research and con-
sumer interest in developing further uses for DNA testing and gene research.
with her professor, Edmund Beecher Wilson, who is credited with the discovery
that chromosomes carry genes. In the 1940s, scientists confirmed that DNA (not
proteins) carried hereditary information, and the double-helix structure of DNA
was explained in the 1950s. By the 1980s, scientists could reproduce DNA in the
laboratory, and computers allowed DNA mapping and sequencing, a new field
called genomics. The Human Genome Project (HGP), a complete mapping of the
more than 20,000 human genes, began in 1990 and was completed in 2003. The
HGP allows biologists to study the particular sequences of genes for research into
human evolution and disease characteristics. Maxine Singer is a leading figure in
human genetics, and her laboratory helped to decipher the genetic code.
The study of genetics also informs our understanding of the effect of environ-
ment on human biology and health — that is, allowing scientists to determine
which traits or predispositions to certain diseases are encoded in our DNA, which
are the results of mutations, and the effects of our environment (health, diet, stress,
etc.) on chromosomes. Reducing human life to the genetic level, however, also
raises ethical concerns. For example, prenatal genetic testing has become an
important tool in screening for certain diseases or conditions, but is this knowledge
used to justify ending a pregnancy or to risk treating a disease before it appears?
And, armed with such knowledge, who gets to make such decisions? DNA testing
is also now routinely used in criminal prosecutions and even in historical research.
Despite the rapid advancement of genetics as a field of inquiry, some scientists,
Disciplines | 123
Nettie Stevens
Geneticist Nettie Maria Stevens (1861-1912) was one of the first researchers to
demonstrate that sex was determined by a particular chromosome. Prior to her
research, most biologists thought that external influences such as food and tem-
perature determined the sex of offspring. She was the first person to establish that
chromosomes exist as paired structures in body cells and the first to ascertain that
certain insects have supernumerary chromosomes. Although she received recog-
nition for her work during her lifetime, many textbooks attribute the discovery of the
XY sex chromosome system to her contemporary, Edmund B. Wilson, a Columbia
University biologist who made the simultaneous discovery in 1905.
Stevens received two degrees from Stanford University and studied at the
Naples Zoological Station and at the University of Wurzburg. She received her
doctorate from Bryn Mawr in 1903, where she continued on as a research fellow
in biology and an associate in experimental morphology. Although she had a short
research career, she published nearly 40 scientific papers and made an impact on
the fields of genetics and embryology.
such as Evelyn Fox Keller and Anne Fausto-Sterling, have been critical or at
least skeptical of the emphasis on and direction of genetic research. In her contro-
versial 1993 book Exploding the Gene Myth, Ruth Hubbard warned that an over-
reliance upon genetic information may skew scientific research priorities and
create ethical dilemmas in medical care, health insurance, reproductive rights,
criminal justice, and environmental science. Other feminists have been concerned
about the use of genetics to explain sexual orientation.
Genetics is a field of some of the most astounding and significant scientific
discoveries of the last century, many of them conducted by women scientists. In the
1950s, British crystallographer Rosalind Franklin discovered that the DNA molecule
was in the shape of a double helix, or two intertwining coils. She created an X-ray
image of the helix, from which James Watson and Francis Crick built the model that
would earn them the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962, four years after
Franklin's death. There have been at least 19 Nobel Prize winners in work related to
genetics, including American Barbara McClintock, who won the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine in 1983 for her work on maize (corn) genetics. McClintock
spent 40 years studying mutation in kernels of maize, and discovered transposable or
"jumping" genes that move from one chromosome to another. Virginia Walbot
worked with McClintock and conducted her own research on transposable genes.
Genetic researchers may study humans, animals, or plants, all of which may
inform and have implications for biomedical research on human health and
124 | American Women of Science since 1900
diseases. Other women scientists who have conducted research in plant genetics
include Jane Rissler on bioengineered plants, Sharon Long on the genetics of
legumes, Nina Fedoroff, who replicated McClintock's experiments on maize
and found transposable elements in other plants, and Mary-Dell Chilton and
Marjorie Hoy on the genetic engineering of agricultural crops. Mary Lou Pardue
was known for her work in insect genetics, Margaret Kidwell studied the transfer
of genes in fruit flies, informing biologists' understanding of species evolution, and
Judith Kimble is an animal geneticist whose work on nematodes (or unsegmented
worms) has implications for human embryology and genetics. Helen Dean King's
research on heredity involved breeding pure generations of rats to be used in labo-
ratory experiments; Elizabeth Russell also bred mice for her genetic studies on
various hereditary diseases such as anemia, muscular dystrophy, and cancer.
Medical genetics has perhaps received the most attention, holding out promises
for new understandings of and genetic therapies for diseases. Madge Macklin was
one of the earliest medical geneticists (she received her M.D. in 1919) who
focused on clinical practice and realized the importance of doctors taking into
account a patient's family history for understanding certain hereditary diseases.
Elizabeth Neufeld is an international authority on human genetic diseases, and
Mary-Claire King is renowned for her research on breast cancer; in the 1990s
King determined the existence of the gene BRCA1, which, if damaged, can predis-
pose women to breast and ovarian cancer. Psychologist Nancy Wexler led the
search to identify the gene that causes Huntington's disease, an inherited debilitat-
ing disease that strikes in middle age. Mathilde Krim is a geneticist and virologist
researching cancer, tuberculosis, and HIV/ AIDS. Ruth Sager studied nonchromo-
somal mammalian cell genetics, also with implications for understanding cancer
and tumor growth, and hematologist Eloise Giblett researched gene therapy for
certain inherited immune deficiencies.
See also Biology; Biomedical Sciences; Chemistry; Crystallography;
Medicine
References
Fedoroff, Nina V. and David Botstein. 1992. The Dynamic Genome: Barbara McClintock's
Ideas in the Century of Genetics. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Labora-
tory Press.
Keller, Evelyn Fox. 2002. The Century of the Gene. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Kline, Wendy. 2001. Building a Better Race: Gender, Sexuality, and Eugenics from the
Turn of the Century to the Baby Boom. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Marteau, Theresa and Martin Richards, eds. 1996. The Troubled Helix: Social and
Psychological Implications of the New Human Genetics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
Disciplines | 125
Geography
Geography is the study of the Earth and its natural and human environments. There
are two major fields within geography: physical geography and human geography.
Physical geography is the study of the Earth's landforms, physical features, and
natural phenomena. Human geography is the study of human spaces, including
land use and built environments for social, political, and religious reasons. Femi-
nist geography is one approach to the study of human geography and focuses on
how gender, family life, and sexuality, for example, impact the use and distribution
of space. This subfield has its own journal, Gender, Place, & Culture: A Journal of
Feminist Geography. As the study of human uses of land and space, human geogra-
phy has implications for a variety of nonscientific industries and policymaking,
including urban planning, architecture, transportation, agricultural development,
healthcare, and business. Human geography therefore includes the methods and
tools of the natural sciences and social sciences, such as economics, sociology,
anthropology, and politics.
Physical geography is one of the earth sciences and may include all areas of study
of the planet. Geographers study the Earth's inner core and layers, the Earth's surface
and land formations (such as mountains, volcanoes, canyons, and forests), the physi-
cal features of the Earth's environments and ecosystems (soil, water, climate, vegeta-
tion), and the relationships among the Earth's surface, environments, and immediate
atmosphere. The primary focus of physical geography, then, is on the features and
physical processes of our planet; as such, geography is highly interdisciplinary.
Geographers work both in the field and in the laboratory creating computer models
and analyses. They may need scientific backgrounds in (or work within) fields such
as biology, chemistry, glaciology, geodesy, mathematics, meteorology, ocean sci-
ences, and environmental sciences. Geographical research is one of the foundations
of environmental studies on climate change (global warming); deforestation and hab-
itat destruction; forest, water, and other natural-resource management; pollution; and
soil erosion and flooding, among other issues.
Early-twentieth-century women geographers worked in a variety of situations
as government clerks, editors, librarians, field scientists, and teachers of secondary
school and college. Zonia Baber was one of the earliest women geographers, and
a pioneer in creating geography curricula; she held a bachelor's degree and taught
geology and geography at the University of Chicago in the early 1900s. Ellen
Churchill Semple was another early woman geographer who wrote on human
geography and history; in 1921, she was the first female president of the Associa-
tion of American Geographers. Many early women geographers concentrated on
fieldwork and exploration, and faced similar obstacles to those faced by women
working in other field studies such as geology, archaeology, or paleontology.
126 | American Women of Science since 1900
Environmental geographer Ruth Defries.
(Courtesy of Sandy Schaeffer, University
Publications, University of Maryland)
Louise Boyd was not trained as a
scientist, but she personally funded
several explorations of the Arctic
region, creating some of the earliest
maps, photographs, and records of
the region; she represented the United
States at the 1934 International
Geographical Congress.
Modern geographers work on cre-
ating mathematical and computer
models for problems in both physi-
cal and human geography. Irene
Fischer was a renowned mathemati-
cian and geodesist; geodesy is the
measurement of the shape and size
of the Earth and requires measure-
ment of large tracts of land, mapping
the exact positions of geographical
points, and determining the curva-
ture, shape, and dimensions of the
Earth. Fischer worked for the U.S. Army's Defense Mapping Agency Topo-
graphic Center and later provided the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) with precise topographical data on both the Earth and
the seas in order to plan and execute experimental flights. Gwen Bell studied
urban planning and computers for her doctorate in geography, and was known
for creating an early computerized geographic mapping system, and Ruth
DeFries is an environmental geographer who studies the effect of humans
(through agriculture, urbanization, and carbon emissions) on the Earth's habitats
and ecosystems.
As in many scientific fields, the numbers of women receiving doctorates in
geography was relatively stable until the 1970s and 1980s, and has increased
significantly since then (Monk 2004). Women in geography receive professional
support and resources from organizations such as the group Supporting Women
in Geography (http://www.geography.wisc.edu/swig/index.htm) and from broader
professional societies within the earth sciences, such as the Association for
Women Geoscientists (http://www.awg.org).
See also Economics; Environmental Sciences and Ecology; Geology;
Meteorology; Ocean Sciences; Sociology
Disciplines | 127
References
Monk, Janice. 2004. "Women, Gender, and the Histories of American Geography." Annals
of the Association of American Geographers. 94(1): 1 22. (March 2004).
"Women in Geography History, Events, and What We Do." Supporting Women in Geog-
raphy (SWIG), http://www.geography.wisc.edu/swig/geography.htm.
Geology
Geology is the study of the Earth's physical materials, and their history, formation,
processes, and uses. Geological subfields include petrology (the study of rocks),
stratigraphy (the study of sedimentary layers), and structural geology (the study
of land formations), and their work may include paleontology (the study of
fossils), and the study of glaciers and ice. There are also planetary geologists
who study the surface structure and formation of other planets besides Earth.
Geologists have many tools, methods, and areas of focus, including various types
of mapping, field observation, underground radar and electrical sensing, drilling,
and biological and chemical analysis. Their research may support a variety of
nonacademic interests in the identification and extraction of resources such as
minerals, petroleum products, coal, natural gas, and water. Their work also has
implications for civil engineering and for emergency planning through the study
of natural disasters such as earthquakes, avalanches, volcanoes, and landslides.
Finally, geological research has implications for and supports work and policy
issues related to global climate change.
Ancient explorers and philosophers were interested in collecting and classifying
types of rocks, minerals, and metals. By the early eleventh century, geologists in
the Islamic world and in China were formulating theories on the former submer-
gence of continents under the sea, on the formation of mountains and other land-
forms, and on the origins of earthquakes, based on the discovery of different rock
layers (strata) and on observations on the diversity of the Earth's terrain. The age
of European exploration brought new geographical and geological information
through mapmaking and through economic activities such as mining. James Hutton
published his Theory of the Earth in 1795, and, along with major fossil discoveries
of the early nineteenth century, set off a new course of geological studies devoted to
establishing the age of the Earth based on rock formation and layers. Hutton (and, a
few years later, Charles Lyell in his Principles of Geology) promoted the idea that
the Earth is constantly changing, challenging the biblical version of geological
events in which the Earth was formed via a single event and remains unchanged
128 | American Women of Science since 1900
Mary Lyell
Mary Elizabeth Horner Lyell (1808-1873) was an English naturalist and geologist
who specialized in conchology, or the study of shells. She was married to Charles
Lyell, the founder of modern geological science, whose book, Principles of Geology
(1830-1833), established that the Earth itself had a history, an idea that directly
influenced the theory of evolution made famous by their contemporary, Charles
Darwin. Lyell made a further contribution to the theory of human evolution with
his work on Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man (1 863).
Mary Lyell received a thorough education in the sciences; her father was a
professor of geology and her sister became a botanist. Like other nineteenth-
century professional wives (such as her friend, Elizabeth Agassiz), Mary's contri-
bution to her husband's scientific endeavors and publications is acknowledged
as central, but difficult to measure. The Lyells traveled together on geological
expeditions throughout Europe and North America, with Mary collecting and cata-
loging fossil and rock specimens. She read several European languages and
assisted her husband in translating and reading scientific papers, and in corre-
sponding with other scientists around the world. Charles Lyell supported the par-
ticipation of other women in scientific circles by insisting that women be allowed
to attend his lectures, and Mary Lyell regularly attended meetings of the London
Geological Society.
from its origins. By the mid-nineteenth century, the works of Charles Darwin sup-
ported the idea of a changing Earth and became the standard for scientific knowl-
edge in the geosciences. In the twentieth century, the discovery of plate tectonics
confirmed the movement of the continents, and new technologies have allowed
for geological study of the ocean floor, carbon dating of rocks and fossils, seismo-
logical understanding and even prediction of earthquakes, and computer modeling
of the Earth's different layers.
Geology is a subfield or specialty within earth sciences. Women earned only 4%
of earth science doctorates between 1920 and 1970 (Aldrich 1990, 64). Even as
access to higher education expanded, it was difficult for women to find jobs and,
when they were hired, they received lower pay than their male colleagues. By
2001, women were earning nearly 40% of bachelor's degrees in the geosciences,
which includes all earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences; this figure was up from
about 25% to 30% ten years earlier. Women earn a similar percentage of graduate
degrees, although the actual numbers of doctorates granted in the field is quite
small, with only about 250 women earning Ph.D.s in the geosciences in 2003.
Despite gains over the past decade, however, women geoscientists are still glar-
ingly underrepresented at higher faculty levels, as is the case across the sciences.
Disciplines | 129
In the 2004-2005 academic year, women made up 26% of assistant professors, but
only 8% of full professors in the geosciences. The numbers of minority women in
the geosciences is also disproportionately low; for example, only 107 African
Americans (and only 30 African American women) earned a doctorate in geosci-
ences in the 30-year period between 1973 and 2003 (AWG 2005).
As in physical geography, ocean sciences, or environmental studies, geology
requires both field and laboratory work, addressing both theoretical and practical
problems and applications. In the United States, geology was one of the founda-
tions of all American science and was important for the exploration and utilization
of newly discovered regions and natural resources. In the nineteenth century,
women were prominent as collectors of rocks, minerals, and fossils, as illustrators
and recorders of natural history, and as creators of topographical maps. Early
women geologists were trained and employed at the women's colleges, at secon-
dary schools, in museums, and in government field stations. One of the earliest
women to earn a doctorate in geology was Mary Emilie Holmes, who earned her
Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1888 and was the first female member
of the Geological Society of America. Florence Bascom received her Ph.D. in
geology from Johns Hopkins in 1893 and is considered the first female professional
geologist. Bascom was a petrologist who was one of the first scientists to use the
microscope to study mineral crystals and was also the first woman scientist hired
at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which was established in 1879. Bascom
built the department of geology at Bryn Mawr and trained several other early
women geologists who went on to get their doctorates at other institutions, includ-
ing Ida Ogilvie (Ph.D., Columbia, 1903), Julia Gardner (Ph.D., Johns Hopkins,
191 1), and Eleanora Bliss Knopf (Ph.D., Berkeley, 1912). Both Knopf (a petrolo-
gist) and Gardner (a paleogeologist who studied shell fossils and created maps of
Pacific islands) also worked for the USGS. Gardner later served as president of
the Paleontological Society in 1952; Winifred Goldring had been the first female
president of that organization just a few years earlier, in 1949.
Geologists have worked closely with paleontologists and other scientists to
uncover the history of the Earth and its inhabitants through the sedimentary and
fossil record. Christina Lochman-Balk researched invertebrate fossils and sev-
eral women were heavily involved in the research project begun by Nobel Prize-
winning physicist Luis Alvarez to determine whether a meteor was responsible
for the disappearance of dinosaurs from the Earth. Nuclear chemist Helen Michel
conducted analyses of specimens from the sedimentary record believed to be
evidence of the meteor; planetary geologist Adriana Ocampo worked for the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) when she helped confirm
the location of the crater created by the meteor, which was found under the sea;
and Susan Kieffer, an expert on volcanoes and crater impacts on other planets,
130 | American Women of Science since 1900
advised the team on the characteristics of a crater site and on the possible trajec-
tory of the asteroid. Astronomer Lucy- Ann McFadden was the principal investi-
gator for NASA's planetary geology program, and Ursula Marvin is a planetary
geologist who studies lunar rocks and meteorites.
Other women geologists have been explorers, chemists, physicists, and ocean
scientists, conducting research for a variety of government and industrial projects.
Katharine Fowler-Billings was an explorer and field geologist beginning in the
1930s and 1940s who conducted mineral expeditions throughout North America
and on the Gold Coast of Africa. Gisela Dreschhoff is a geophysicist of the polar
regions who conducted surveys in Antarctica to locate radioactive materials such
as uranium. Delia Roy is a geochemist who studies the properties of materials
for different uses (the mineral dellaite is named for her), and Alexandra Navrotsky
is a geochemist who researches the composition and thermal chemistry of the
Earth. Mary Lou Zoback is a geophysicist who specializes in plate tectonics
and earthquake fault lines.
Others interested in plate tectonics and seismology have focused on the geology
and geography of the ocean floor. Elizabeth Bunce was a geophysicist who spent
a long career at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution studying marine seismol-
ogy and underwater acoustics. Marie Tharp studied underwater geology and cre-
ated some of the first maps of the ocean floor, including her discovery of the valley
that divides the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Marcia McNutt also mapped and measured
the depth of the sea floor and researched plate tectonics; McNutt was the director
of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute until 2009, when she was
named the first female head of USGS.
The American Society of Geologists and Naturalists was formed in the 1840s
and was one of the scientific organizations subsumed under the new American
Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). As it has application to a
wide range of scientific pursuits and discoveries, geology is included within the
same professional societies and academic departments as geography, geochemis-
try, geophysics, and other earth sciences. Scientific organizations include the
Geological Society of America (http://www.geosociety.org), which in 2008, for
first time ever, had both a woman president (Judith Parrish) and vice president
(hydrogeologist Jean Bahr), and the American Geological Union (http://www
.agu.org), a cross-disciplinary organization that includes earth, ocean, atmos-
pheric, and planetary geology. Additionally, women scientists are represented
through the Association for Women Geoscientists (http://www.awg.org), which
was founded in 1977, and specialty groups such as the Association of Women Soil
Scientists (http://www.awss.org).
See also Astronomy and Astrophysics; Environmental Sciences and
Ecology; Geography; Paleontology; Ocean Sciences
Disciplines | 131
References
Aldrich, Michele L. 1990. "Women in Geology." In Women of Science: Righting the
Record, edited by G. Kass-Simon and Patricia Fames, 42 70. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG). "AWG is Committed to Gender Equity in
the Geosciences." (February 2005). http://www.awg.org/gendereq.html.
Burek, Cynthia V. and Bettie Higgs. 2007. The Role of Women in the History of Geology.
London, UK: Geological Society of London.
Home Economics
See Economics; Nutrition and Home Economics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the theory and application of using numbers and symbols in calcu-
lating measurements, spatial relationships, shapes, and patterns. Since ancient
times, humans have had practical or economic reasons for establishing systems
for counting, recording, and calculating physical objects. Humans also had an
early need for creating abstract concepts, such as time and seasons, necessary,
for example, in agriculture. Mathematics also provides the theoretical foundation
and rules of logic for many scientific principles and rules and thus is the founda-
tion of the natural sciences (physics, chemistry, astronomy) and applied sciences
(computer sciences and engineering), as well as the social sciences (economics).
Although scientists in these various fields must have strong backgrounds in
applied mathematics, many mathematicians work in pure mathematics, or the
study and development of mathematical principles for their own sake, without
application. In most cases, mathematics is therefore related to, but still seen as sep-
arate from, work in the sciences. For example, to speak of education and work in
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields clearly sepa-
rates out the distinct realms of each.
The perception that math is somehow different or more "pure" than the other
sciences has had implications for the status of women in the field. Math, like phys-
ics, is at the top of the science hierarchy, and the belief that success in mathematics
is based on pure talent or "genius" (rather than education) has been used to explain
the underrepresentation of women in higher-level mathematics. This belief has
implications for the education of girls and women beginning in the elementary
years, when girls are not expected to show an interest in or talent for math. Begin-
ning in the 1970s and 1980s, feminist reformers pushed for more attention to the
132 | American Women of Science since 1900
math education of girls, and the elimi-
nation of gender bias in the classroom
and in testing, recognizing that early
math education is the foundation for
women's later career choices and
success in a variety of science, engi-
neering, and medical fields. Still, even
as women's presence in the field
increased throughout the twentieth
century, the assumptions and attitudes
about women's mathematical interests
and abilities continued. In perhaps no
r^r ^^^ other scientific field has the debate
H about differences of ability been so
centered on gender, and the issue has
>* engaged scientists in other fields. From
neuroscientists to reproductive biolo-
y gists to psychologists, scientists want
to know if math ability (defined as
logic or spatial reasoning) is somehow
related to the structure of our brains,
to sex hormones, or genetics, or if it is
entirely explained by education and
social expectations (Henrion 1997;
Dweck 2007).
The history of American women's presence in higher-level mathematics
follows that of other sciences. Women benefited from the expansion of educational
and professional opportunities in the late nineteenth century, and then faced a
backlash and retrenchment of opportunities in the mid-twentieth century. Winifred
Edgerton was the first American woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics,
receiving her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1886. Other early women math-
ematicians included Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler (Ph.D., University of Chicago,
1910) and Olive Hazlett (Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1915). The low point of
women's representation in the field was the 1950s and 1960s. Between 1947 and
1961, women earned just 5.53% of mathematics doctorates (Rossiter 1995, 80).
Still, some women of this generation stood out for their mathematical contribu-
tions in the post- World War II era. Grace Hopper and Margaret Butler both
worked on the early military and government development of digital computers;
Mina Rees also worked on military applications for jet rocket propulsion and
high-speed computers after World War II; Evelyn Boyd Granville was one of
Mathematician Grace Hopper was an early
computer programmer who helped develop
the COBOL language. (U.S. Department of
Defense)
Disciplines | 133
Emmy Noether
German mathematician (Amalie) Emmy Noether (1882-1935) is considered one
of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century. She was one of the
earliest figures in twentieth-century theoretical physics, devising mathematical
theorems for several concepts later found in Einstein's general theory of relativity
and writing numerous technical papers on abstract algebra. As the University of
Erlangen (where her father was a mathematics professor) did not accept female
students until 1904, she attended the University of Gottingen before returning to
Erlangen to receive her Ph.D. in 1907. She worked as an unpaid lecturer at
Erlangen until 1915 and held only an honorary position at Gottingen, although
she did eventually earn a small salary as a lecturer. It was difficult enough for a
woman to find regular university employment at that time, but in 1933, she and
the other Jewish faculty members were dismissed from their positions under Nazi
rule. She emigrated to the United States, where she had several employment
offers, and accepted a position at Bryn Mawr College under a grant from the
Rockefeller Foundation. She also lectured and conducted research at the Institute
for Advanced Study at Princeton University but died in 1935, just two years after
arriving in the United States.
the first black women to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics (from Yale in 1949) and
worked for private industry in support of National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) space missions. Gertrude Cox was president of the
American Statistical Association in 1956 and the Biometric Society in 1969.
After the 1970s, the influence of feminism, and new attention to early math edu-
cation, brought a push for gender equity in education, recruitment, and retention of
women in mathematics. By 2006, women earned 45% of bachelor's degrees in
mathematics and statistics and 29.6% of Ph.D.s. This was a greater representation
than in related fields such as physics (in which women earned only 16.6% of doc-
torates), engineering (20.2%), or computer sciences (21.3%) (NSF Table F-2);
at the same time, women made up a little more than 27% of doctoral-level employed
mathematicians (NSF Table H-7). Thus, despite the sense that mathematics is still
more heavily male-dominated than some other fields, the numbers of women with
doctorates and employed in mathematics fields are actually consistent with women's
representation throughout science, technology, and engineering fields; in some cases,
their representation is greater than in comparable fields, such as physics.
Mathematicians work in academic research and teaching, as well as in a variety
of applied settings for business, industry, medicine, and government. Persons with
mathematical training and education may work as economists, statisticians,
134 | American Women of Science since 1900
computer scientists, and engineers. Joan Rosenblatt worked as a statistician estab-
lishing unified units of measurement for the National Institute of Standards and
Technology. Irene Fischer had a background in mathematics and worked as an
earth scientist in the field of geodesy, the measurement of the size and shape of
the Earth. Rosalie Bertell was a pioneer in the field of biomathematics, using
mathematical theory and probability studies to assess biomedical risks including
risks from radiation; before her, Hilda Geiringer (Von Mises) had also been inter-
ested in applying mathematical theory to genetics and other bio-information.
Others were renowned as educators. Grace Bates was a teacher who contributed
several papers on algebra and probability theory to technical journals and was the
co-author of two books. Edith Luchins pioneered the field of mathematical
psychology and focused on the role of gender in learning and teaching mathematics.
Others have worked primarily in mathematical theory, such as Mary Ellen Rudin
on abstract geometry, and even theoretical physics, such as Karen Uhlenbeck and
Marian Pour-El. Carol Karp introduced new symbols to the theory of infinitary
logic. Julia Robinson developed a hypothesis for solving an equation proposed in
1900 and known as "Hilbert's Tenth Problem"; a Russian mathematician solved the
equation based on Robinson's hypothesis. Olga Taussky-Todd — known for her
work in algebraic number theory and matrix theory, which she helped popularize —
was founding editor of the journal Linear Algebra and Its Applications. Academic
mathematician Cathleen Morawetz became the first female director of the Courant
Institute of Mathematical Science at New York University. Female mathematicians
are represented through professional organizations such as the Association for
Women in Mathematics (http://www.awm-math.org).
See also Computer Sciences and Information Technology; Engineering;
Physics
References
Case, Bettye Anne and Anne M. Leggett. 2005. Complexities: Women in Mathematics.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Dweck, Carol S. 2007. "Is Math a Gift? Beliefs That Put Females at Risk." In Why Aren't
More Women in Science?: Top Researchers Debate the Evidence, edited by Stephen J.
Ceci and Wendy M. Williams, 47 55. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological
Association.
Henrion, Claudia. 1997. Women in Mathematics: The Addition of Difference. Bloomington:
Indiana University Press.
Kenschaft, Patricia Clark. 2005. Change Is Possible: Stories of Women and Minorities in
Mathematics. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society.
Murray, Margaret Anne Marie. 2000. Women Becoming Mathematicians: Creating a
Professional Identity in Post World War II America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Disciplines | 135
National Science Foundation. "Table F-2. S&E doctoral degrees awarded to women, by
field: 1999 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and
Engineering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics,
Survey of Earned Doctorates, 1999 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/
tabf-2.pdf.
National Science Foundation. 2006. "Table H-7. Employed scientists and engineers, by
occupation, highest degree level, race/ethnicity, and sex: 2006." Women, Minorities,
and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. National Science Founda-
tion, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data
System (SESTAT). http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabh-7.pdf.
Rossiter, Margaret W. 1995. Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action,
1940 1972. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University.
Medicine
While some individuals may be trained in biomedical or health research fields, medi-
cine here refers to the clinical practice of treating patients as physicians, surgeons, or
other medical practitioners. Physicians focus on health maintenance as well as the
prevention and treatment of illness and disease. Medical doctors (those with an
M.D. degree) do not work alone, however, and usually oversee a team of other
healthcare professionals. These may include nurses, physician's assistants, labora-
tory scientists, physical therapists, pharmacologists, anesthesiologists, radiation
technicians, or other specialists specific to the needs and conditions of individual
patients. All medical doctors receive basic scientific training in biology, anatomy,
physiology, pharmacology, and pathology as tools for diagnosing and treating illness
or disease. Physicians also typically specialize, either by patient group (gerontology,
pediatrics, women's health), by organ or system (dermatology, urology, pulmonol-
ogy), or as surgeons, general or further specialized. Women work throughout the
medical profession as doctors and in these other positions, and may be employed in
private practice, in group offices or hospitals, or in government and the military.
The care and treatment of the sick has traditionally been the role of women, and
throughout history, women developed specialized knowledge about herbal medi-
cines, palliative treatments, and specific areas of assistance, such as midwifery.
In the United States, the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries brought
the first professional medical schools, and the American Medical Association
(http://www.ama-assn.org) was founded in 1847; the AMA did not admit its first
female member until 30 years later, in 1876. Despite the barriers to advanced edu-
cation and professional affiliation, women made great strides in medicine in the
nineteenth century. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to earn a medical
degree, from Geneva Medical College in New York in 1849. A few years later,
136 | American Women of Science since 1900
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was an English nurse renowned for her work
with injured soldiers during the Crimean War of the 1 850s. Her name became syn-
onymous with women's self-sacrificing care of the sick and injured, but she helped
establish nursing as a serious profession for women. As a teenager, she decided
(against her parents' wishes) to pursue a career in medicine, eventually securing a
position at a women's hospital in London. After hearing reports of the horrifying
conditions on the battlefront, in 1854, Nightingale volunteered to lead a group of
nurses to the main British camp in Crimea, near Turkey. Patients were dying in
greater numbers from infections, poor nutrition, and contagious diseases than
from battle wounds, and she set up a plan not only for medical care but for sanitiz-
ing the wards and improving ventilation. She herself became ill and was forced to
return to England in 1856, but remained committed to public health and hygiene
issues and to nursing education throughout her life. She published her founda-
tional text, Notes on Nursing, in 1859, and with American physician Elizabeth
Blackwell opened the Women's Medical College in England in 1869. What is less
known about Nightingale is that she was a pioneering statistician who designed
her own diagrams and charts to report on hospital conditions, mortality, and public
health issues. She was one of the first women to be affiliated with both the Royal
Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association.
Blackwell, along with her sister, Emily, and another doctor, Marie Zakrzewska,
opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, where they trained
and employed female doctors. In 1864, Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first
African American woman to receive an M.D. degree, receiving her medical train-
ing at the New England Female Medical College in Boston.
In the late nineteenth, many women earned medical degrees at separate medical
schools for women. The next generation, however, would push for access to and
employment in traditionally male (and thus more prestigious) medical schools.
Florence Sabin received her M.D. from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in
1900 and also became the first female faculty member of the medical school.
Sabin also distinguished herself as the first female president of the American
Association of Anatomists, in 1924, and the first woman elected to the National
Academy of Sciences in 1925. Helen Taussig was another early Johns Hopkins
graduate, receiving her M.D. in 1927. Other schools were slower to admit women;
Harvard Medical School did not open its doors to female students until 1945.
Other early women physicians who were medical researchers included Dorothy
Reed Mendenhall, who also received her M.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1900, and
who researched Hodgkin's disease and issues related to infant health and
Disciplines | 137
Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) was the first woman in the United States to earn
a medical degree, graduating from Geneva Medical College in New York in 1849.
She promoted the medical education of women and went on to establish her own
hospital for training female physicians. Born in England, Blackwell's family emi-
grated to the United States when she was a child. She began her career as a
teacher, but educated herself in medicine by reading in the libraries of physician
friends. She was rejected by a dozen U.S. medical schools before being accepted
to Geneva, where the student body had voted for her admission as a joke. Still,
she was able to attend and complete her education and practiced medicine in
England, France, and the United States. In 1857, she and two other women
doctors — her sister Emily Blackwell and Marie Zakrzewska — opened the New
York Infirmary for Women and Children; during the American Civil War, they
trained women as nurses for the Union Army. Throughout her career, Blackwell
was active in the women's rights movement (her sisters-in-law, Antoinette Brown
Blackwell and Lucy Stone, were both prominent reformers), and she published
on issues related to women's education, professional opportunities, and health.
mortality. Elise L'Esperance received an M.D. from Women's Medical College of
New York in 1900 and led a public health and information campaign through her
clinics to promote early detection and treatment of cancer. Ida Hyde earned an
M.D. from Rush College in 1911 and was the first female member of the American
Physiological Society. Virginia Apgar developed the Apgar scoring system for
evaluating newborn health and became the first female full professor at Columbia
University's medical school in 1952. The AMA elected a female vice president in
1969, but the primary professional organization for medical doctors did not elect
its first female president until 1998, more than 150 years after its founding; the
AMA elected its second female president, Nancy Nielsen, in 2008.
By the end of the twentieth century, women had a greater presence in medicine
than in other scientific fields in general. In the 40-year period between 1968 and
2008, the number of female medical school students rose from 8.8% to 47.9%
(AAMC Table 31). During that same time period, the number of women as practicing
physicians also rose, from 7.6% of all physicians to 26.6% (Boulis and Jacobs 2008,
42). These numbers are the result of women's greater access to education and the pro-
fessions after 1970, but also reflect the growth of the healthcare industry in general.
As faculty of medical schools, however, there are similar patterns to those of wom-
en's employment in academic science in general. In 2006, women made up 33% of
all clinical medical faculty, but the numbers dwindle the higher up the academic
career ladder one moves. Women accounted for 38% of assistant (nontenured)
138 | American Women of Science since 1900
Fran?oise Barre-Sinoussi
French virologist Francoise Barre-Sinoussi (b. 1947) received the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine in 2008 for her discovery of HIV, the human immuno-
deficiency virus that causes AIDS. She shared the prize with her colleague in this
work, Luc Montagnier, and with German scientist Harald zur Hausen, for his dis-
covery of the human papilloma viruses (HPV) that causes cervical cancer.
Barre-Sinoussi has been affiliated with the Pasteur Institute in Paris since the
1970s and is currently director of the Regulation of Retroviral Infections Unit.
She began her career studying the link between viruses and cancers, such as leu-
kemia, and by the early 1980s was part of a team researching a new epidemic
among homosexuals as reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The
scientists at the Pasteur Institute had isolated the virus by early 1983 and pre-
sented the data that linked the new HIV virus to what became known as acquired
immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS. Since that time, Barre-Sinoussi has
focused on vaccine research and on international efforts to prevent, test for, and
treat HIV/AIDS, including understanding and preventing mother-child transmis-
sion, in countries throughout Africa and Asia.
professors, 27% of tenured associate professors, and only 15% of full professors in
the clinical sciences (AAMC Table 3). Furthermore, the American Association of
Medical Colleges listed only 14 individual women as deans or interim deans out of
130 accredited medical schools in the United States in 2006 (AAMC Table 12).
As in the sciences in general, women are better represented in some medical fields
or specialties than in others. A survey of medical residents in 2005 found that, within
the clinical sciences, the largest percentage of women (those in which women made
up 50% or more of the residents) were training in dermatology, family medicine,
obstetrics and gynecology, pathology, pediatrics, and psychiatry. Women are there-
fore substantially represented in fields related to the primary care of women and
children, and to the "helping" professions. The lowest percentage of women is seen
in surgery and a variety of surgical specialties, fields that are the most prestigious,
and highest-paid, among medical specialties (AAMC Table 2). The increasing num-
bers of female doctors overall has an impact on the quality and focus of healthcare
services and research. The medical specialties with larger numbers of women are
not only those that cultivate long-term one-on-one relationships with patients (which
may be more attractive to some women), but are also career choices in fields that
make it easier for work/life balance; that is, primary-care physicians are more likely
to have regular office hours, and are less focused on research or publication and (in
most cases) less likely to be subject to unscheduled emergencies or surgical calls.
Disciplines | 139
Physician Virginia Apgar attending a newborn baby, 1957. She created the Apgar Score,
the first standardized method for evaluating newborn health. (National Library of Medicine)
Besides the impact on the careers of individual women as physicians, women as
patients and consumers of healthcare has also been a subject of inquiry since the
1970s, and reformers and female medical professionals have pushed for new stud-
ies and funding for women's and minority health issues. The National Institutes of
Health (NIH) established guidelines requiring female subjects in all government-
funded medical and pharmacological research proposals, and sponsored new stud-
ies on women and heart disease, osteoporosis, AIDS, and breast and other cancers.
At the grassroots level as well, the women's health movement encouraged women
to take control of their own bodies and health, with projects such as the book Our
Bodies, Ourselves (http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org), which has gone through
numerous editions and been translated into several languages, the National Black
Women's Health Project (http://www.blackwomenshealth.org), the National
Women's Health Network (http://www.nwhn.org), and other health advocacy and
consumer groups. Geneticist Mary Harris founded Journey to Wellness (http://
www.journeytowellness.com), an organization committed to African American
health issues and information, and psychologist Jane Delgado is the president
140 | American Women of Science since 1900
Our Bodies, Ourselves and the Women's Health Movement
The book, Our Bodies, Ourselves, was first published in 1973 and became a
classic of the American women's health movement. Published by the Boston
Women's Health Book Collective, the book was the result of a grassroots movement
of women inspired by feminism to encourage women to take charge of their own
health. The project was radical at the time of its publication for its open discussion
of sexuality (including lesbianism), women's sexual health, body image, gender
identity, violence against women, menstruation, pregnancy and childbearing,
abortion, mental health, and other general health issues. Although incorporating
the latest medical information available, the collectively-authored book was
grounded in women's first-hand experiences and rejected the male-dominated
medical profession's dismissal or pathologizing of women's issues and sexuality.
Our Bodies, Ourselves has gone through several editions, sold millions of copies,
and has been published in more than 20 languages. It has also inspired companion
volumes on specific topics, such as Ourselves, Growing Older, Our Bodies,
Ourselves: Menopause, Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth, and a special
volume for teens.
and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (http://www.hispanic
health.org). Helen Gayle is a pediatrician and public-health epidemiologist who
became the director of CARE USA, a humanitarian agency that addresses poverty,
education, and healthcare as social issues, and Susan Love left a surgical career to
focus on legislative, funding, and research commitments to ending breast cancer
and to empower women with the latest information on treatment alternatives.
Anthropologist and nurse-midwife Ruth Lubic founded an organization in
Washington, D.C., committed to the care of families with children.
Other women physicians have been prominent in government and research posi-
tions. In 1990, President George H. W. Bush appointed Antonia Novello as the first
woman, and first Latino, U.S. Surgeon General; Joycelyn Elders was the second
female Surgeon General, serving under President Bill Clinton. Cardiologist
Bernadine Healy has served as president of the NIH and the American Red Cross,
as well as president of the American Heart Association; in each of these roles, Healy
has focused on the healthcare needs of women and minorities. Several astronauts
and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists have been
trained in medicine, including Mae Jemison, who studied weightlessness and
motion sickness, and Irene Long, who served as chief of the Occupational Medicine
and Environmental Health Office at NASA, overseeing the health and safety of the
astronauts and other NASA employees. Eight American women have been awarded
Disciplines | 141
the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, but these have all been Ph.D. -holding
biomedical researchers and not physicians.
See also Biochemistry; Biology; Biomedical Sciences; Genetics; Neurosci-
ence; Psychiatry and Psychology
References
American Medical Association. Women Physicians Congress (WPC). http://www.ama
-assn.org/ama/pub/about-ama/our-people/member-groups-sections/women-physicians
-congress. shtml.
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). "Table 2: Distribution of Residents by
Specialty, 1995 Compared to 2005." http://www.aamc.org/members/gwims/statistics/
stats06/table02.pdf.
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). "Table 3: Distribution of Faculty by
Department, Rank & Gender, 2006." http://www.aamc.org/members/gwims/statistics/
stats06/table03.pdf.
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). "Table 12: Women Deans of the U.S.
Medical Schools, October 2006." http://www.aamc.org/members/gwims/statistics/
stats06/table 12.pdf.
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). "Table 31: Women Enrollment and
Graduates in U.S. Medical Schools, 1961 2008." http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/
2008/women-count.htm.
Association of American Medical Colleges, Women in Medicine (WIM). "Women in U.S.
Academic Medicine Statistics and Medical School Benchmarking, 2005 2006." http://
www.aamc.org/members/gwims/statistics/stats06/start.htm.
Boulis, Ann K. and Jerry A. Jacobs. 2008. The Changing Face of Medicine: Women Doctors
and the Evolution of Health Care in America. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Fames, Patricia. 1990. "Women in Medical Science." In Women of Science: Righting the
Record, edited by G. Kass-Simon and Patricia Fames, 268 299. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
More, Ellen S. 1999. Restoring the Balance: Women Physicians and the Profession of
Medicine, 1850 1995. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
National Library of Medicine. Online Exhibit. "Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating
America's Women Physicians." http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/
exhibition/.
Meteorology
Meteorology is the science of the Earth's atmospheric processes and phenomena,
including short-term weather forecasting. Meteorology is related to climatology,
the longer-term study of the climate, including weather patterns, air pressure,
142 | American Women of Science since 1900
humidity, and temperature, either
locally or globally. Another branch
of meteorology is hydrology, which
is the study of the Earth's water re-
sources, whether ground or air, and
overlaps with work in geography,
geology, and environmental sciences
on sustainability and use of resources.
Meteorologists provide weather
information to the general public via
the media, but also inform (and may
be employed in) the military, avia-
tion, space, and maritime industries,
and local and national governments
for purposes of natural disaster pre-
paredness. Many meteorologists in
the United States are employed as
forecasters for the National Weather
Service of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA). In 2009, Jane Lubchenco,
a marine ecologist who specialized
in global climate change, was named
the first female head of NOAA. Meteorology is usually considered one of the earth
sciences, and education and training may occur under combined interdisciplinary
programs for earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences.
Even ancient societies had a material interest in observing and predicting weather
events and changes, primarily for planning in agriculture. Early weather observa-
tions and forecasting went hand in hand with astronomy, as an understanding of
the solar and lunar cycles informed the understanding of seasons, winds, rainfall,
and other weather patterns and events. In the age of exploration, sailors recorded
tropical and other ocean-related weather events that aided future travelers, and in
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the first weather maps (or atlases) were pub-
lished and the Celsius temperature scale was created. The U.S. Weather Bureau
(now the National Weather Service) was first established in 1 870 and later became
part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The first weather-observation stations
were also established, and soon an international network of weather information
and a standardized form of communication was needed. By the mid-twentieth cen-
tury, computers and satellites aided these efforts, making it possible to map global
weather patterns and generate statistical analyses for forecasting.
Marine ecologist and conservation biologist,
Jane Lubchenco. In 2009 she was chosen as
head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, the first woman to hold that post.
(AP/Wide World Photos)
Disciplines | 143
The actual numbers of trained meteorologists remains small, but a few women
have stood out in the field since the mid-twentieth century. The national Weather
Bureau began to employ many women during and after World War II; some of these
were only temporary workers, but others built careers in meteorology out of this
experience. Florence Van Straten monitored weather conditions for the Pacific fleet
during the war and went on to work for the Naval Weather Service as a civilian
meteorologist, providing weather forecasting to support military operations, such
as launching long-range missiles. Pauline Morrow Austin held a Ph.D. in physics
and worked as a "computer" in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Radiation Lab before being trained as a meteorologist during World War II. Joanne
Simpson was the first woman to receive a doctorate specifically in meteorology
(earning her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1949) and worked as a fore-
caster for the military during World War II; she also held several positions at NOAA
and was the first female president of the American Meteorological Society (1989).
Bernice Ackerman was also trained as a meteorologist during World War II and
went on to earn a doctorate in meteorology in 1965; she is considered the first female
weather forecaster in the United States, and worked as a research meteorologist in the
Cloud Physics Laboratory at the University of Chicago and as the first woman
meteorologist at Argonne National Laboratory.
In the 1970s, Joanne Simpson and Margaret LeMone, an observational meteor-
ologist whose research focuses on storm and cloud systems and who received her
Ph.D. in 1972, began tracking the education and careers of women in meteorology.
They found that, between 1971 and 1976, women earned just 3.3% of the more than
500 doctorates awarded in meteorology (LeMone et al. 1984). Women's representa-
tion in the field rose significantly over the subsequent decades. By 1999, women
earned 17.7% of doctorates in the field of atmospheric sciences; by 2006, that num-
ber had risen to 3 1 .3% (NSF Table F-2). Again, the overall numbers of meteorology
or atmospheric science doctorates and professionals remains small; the 2006 number,
for example, represents only 46 women out of a total of 147 doctorates in atmos-
pheric sciences awarded that year (NSF Table F-l).
Women meteorologists continue to make important contributions in
government, industry, and academic settings, especially as global climate change
has become an important social and political issue of our time. Tamara Ledley is
known for her research on the role of the polar regions in shaping climate and has
examined how the interaction of atmosphere and sea with ice and oceans influences
climate change. She has conducted research in both Alaska and Antarctica, and
been active in presenting information on climatology to elementary school children
as well as to university students. Eugenia Kalnay received a Ph.D. in meteorology
from MIT in 1971. Kalnay uses computer models and analysis to make numerical
global weather predictions based on ocean and atmospheric climates and has been
144 | American Women of Science since 1900
one of the most outspoken voices on the role of humans in global climate change.
Atmospheric scientist and engineer Susan K. Avery had a long career in academia
before being appointed the first female director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution in 2008. Scientists in the field may be affiliated with the National
Weather Association (http://www.nwas.org) and the American Meteorological
Society (http://www.ametsoc.org).
See also Astronomy and Astrophysics; Environmental Sciences and Ecology;
Geology; Geography; Ocean Sciences
References
LeMone, Margaret A., Joan V. Frisch, and Lesley T. Julian. 1984. "Tracking Women and
the Weather." Weatherwise. 176 181. (August 1984).
National Science Foundation. "Table F-l. S&E doctoral degrees awarded, by field:
1999 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engi-
neering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey
of Earned Doctorates, 1999 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabf-l.pdf.
National Science Foundation. "Table F-2. S&E doctoral degrees awarded to women, by field:
1999 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineer-
ing. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey of
Earned Doctorates, 1999 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabf-2.pdf.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Women in the Weather Bureau
during WWII." NOAA History. A Science Odyssey, http://www.history.noaa.gov/
stories tales/w omenl.html.
World Meteorological Organization. Gender theme page, http://www.wmo.ch/pages/
themes/gender/index en. html.
World Meteorological Organization. 1995. "Statement to the Fourth World Conference on
Women, Beijing, China." United Nations. http://www.un.org/esa/gopher-data/conf/
fwcw/conf/una/950908210829.txt.
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the study of the brain and nervous system, and may include scien-
tists working in a variety of backgrounds, fields, and subdisciplines, including cel-
lular and molecular neurosciences, neuroscience systems, pharmacology,
behavioral or cognitive neuroscience, neurolinguistics, developmental neurosci-
ence, evolutionary neuroscience, and brain diseases, disorders, or injuries. Neuro-
scientists may focus on the chemical, genetic, or behavioral aspects of brain
science. Neuroscience differs from psychiatry, however, in its foundation in the
physical structure and processes of the brain and nervous system.
Disciplines | 145
Numerous ancient cultures observed the effects of brain damage and many
engaged in practices to relieve physical and mental pain, such as cranial drilling.
The exact function and structure of the brain, however, was not understood for
many centuries. In some sense, phrenology and early psychology and philoso-
phy of the nineteenth century were precursors to neuroscience, in that these sci-
entific endeavors sought to understand the relationship between the brain and the
mind, or between the physical structure of the brain and human thought and
behavior. Microscope technology allowed scientists in the late nineteenth cen-
tury to study brain tissues and led to the discovery of nerve cells, or neurons.
Neuroscientists in the twentieth century have focused their research on the func-
tion or role of specific parts of the brain, finding that certain regions of the brain
correspond to different behaviors and skills, such as language, movement, or
organ function. Other researchers focus on the chemical, hormonal, or environ-
mental influences upon the brain and nervous system. Neuroscience as it exists
today, then, is a relatively new field, made possible by great technological
advances in radiology and computer imaging that allow us to see what is going
on inside the human brain.
In 1963, women earned just 10% of higher degrees in neuroscience; by 1973,
that number had increased to 20%. Although the numbers and status of female stu-
dents, faculty members, and researchers are sometimes difficult to track since neu-
roscientists may be working within a variety of interdisciplinary fields and settings
related to the biological or life sciences, most reports show a continued increase in
women's numbers in neuroscience. By 1998, women made up as many as 45% of
graduate students in the neurosciences, approximately 31% of assistant (nonten-
ured) professors, but still less than 20% of tenured full professors (Haak 2002).
This is a "leaky pipeline" pattern found throughout the sciences in which there
are fewer women at each successive stage of the career ladder.
Elizabeth Crosby, who earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1915,
was one of the earliest women brain researchers and published several textbooks
on neuroanatomy and neurosurgery. Barbara Brown was trained in pharmacol-
ogy and was another among the first generation of women in neuroscience. Brown
received her doctorate from the University of Cincinnati in 1950 and was a pioneer
researcher in the concept of "biofeedback," a method of learning to control one's
bodily functions by monitoring one's own brain waves and other bodily functions.
A professional organization, Women in Neuroscience (WIN) was founded in 1980
to support women in careers in neuroscience. WIN (now the Committee on
Women in Neuroscience, http://www.sfn. org/index.cfm?pagename=womenin-
neuroscience) was founded by Candace Pert, a neurophysiologist who, as a
graduate student, co-discovered the brain's opiate receptors, the areas in which
painkilling substances such as morphine can be inserted. Her work led to the
146 | American Women of Science since 1900
Neurophysiologist Candace Pert with a CAT scan of a brain. Pert researches the
connection between brain chemicals and emotions. (Claudio Edinger/Corbis)
discovery of endorphins, the naturally occurring substances manufactured in the
brain that relieve pain and produce sensations of pleasure.
Thelma Estrin is a bioengineer who pioneered the use of computers in brain
research, and Patricia Goldman-Rakic is a neurobiologist who mapped the fron-
tal lobe of the brain and combined methods in anatomy, psychiatry, and biochem-
istry to understand certain brain disorders, behaviors, and the effects of drug
treatments for memory loss; Goldman-Rakic also founded and co-edited the jour-
nal Cerebral Cortex. Nobel Prize winner Rita Levi Montalcini is a neurologist
who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986 for her discovery of
nerve growth factor (NGF), which is responsible for the rapid growth of immature
cells implicated in diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's.
Marian Cleeves Diamond studies the physical structure of the cerebral cortex
and the impact of environmental factors (such as diet, exercise, stress, and emo-
tions) on the development of the brain. Nancy Wexler holds a Ph.D. in clinical
psychology and combined neuroscience and psychology as a neuropsychologist
who looked at Huntington's disease, a hereditary disease that kills nerve cells in
the brain, causing dementia and rapid, uncontrollable movements of the joints
Disciplines | 147
and limbs. Susan Hockfield is a neurobiologist who studies pain and the nervous
system — in 2004, she became the first woman (and first life or biological scientist)
president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Other neuroscientists have contributed to the debate over whether male and
female brains are different, looking at the physical structure of brains as well as
the effect of hormones and environment, for insight into gendered differences in
language, behavior, sexuality, and even math and science aptitude. Elizabeth
Spelke is a cognitive psychologist whose research focuses on language and knowl-
edge acquisition in young infants; Spelke has been one of the most outspoken crit-
ics of the idea of innate gendered differences in the brain, arguing that there are no
biological differences between the brains of male babies and female babies.
Spelke's colleague, Nancy Kanwisher, is a cognitive psychologist who has also
argued against innate gender difference; Kanwisher uses neurological research
methods and tools to study the various functions of specific parts of the brain as
well as the social and evolutionary development of the brain. Psychologist Susan
Carey also focuses on the brain development of young infants and the acquisition
of language and other knowledge.
See also Biochemistry; Biology; Biomedical Sciences; Genetics; Medicine;
Psychiatry and Psychology
References
Haak, Laurel L. 2002. "Women in Neuroscience (WIN): The First Twenty Years." Journal
of the History of the Neurosciences. 11(1): 70 80. (March 2002).
Taylor, Jill Bolte. 2006. My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey.
Penguin Books, http://drjilltaylor.com/book.html.
Nutrition and Home Economics
Nutrition sciences is the study of human nutritional needs and intake, and their
relationship to health, illness, and disease. Nutritional scientists study individual
aspects of the human diet and the body's processing of fats, proteins, carbohy-
drates, vitamins, and minerals. Nutritionists may be trained in biochemistry, path-
ology, plant biology, microbiology, and toxicology, and may work in fields related
to education, community health, medicine and healthcare, government policy-
making, and food development, safety, and preparation.
The growing, gathering, and processing and cooking of food has traditionally
been the work of women across human cultures. In the nineteenth century, the
U.S. government became involved in regulating agricultural production through
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), founded in 1862. Work in food
148 | American Women of Science since 1900
sciences and nutrition was supported
and carried out through government
land-grant colleges in the Midwest,
where women were admitted into pro-
grams in animal, agriculture, and
household sciences. The USDA sub-
sequently became one of the earliest
and largest employers of women sci-
entists. Mary Engle Pennington,
who earned a Ph.D. in 1895 and was
trained in chemistry and botany,
worked for the USDA, where she
established guidelines for poultry and
egg production as well as new meth-
ods of killing and transporting chick-
ens; this technology was important
for farm productivity as well as for
food safety.
It was during World War I, how-
ever, that the U.S. government became
involved in creating dietary standards,
first out of concern for the nutritional
needs of those serving in the armed forces, and then in establishing guidelines
for the population at large. Interest in these issues coincided with the entrance of
women into higher education and the scientific professions, and with reformers'
concerns about the dietary habits of urban families and children. Frances Stern
applied her dietary research to the needs of the urban poor and immigrants through
her internationally recognized Boston Dispensary Food Clinic in the 1920s. Nutri-
tion science was also aided by technological advances in biology and chemistry.
The isolation of vitamins and minerals, and research on human vitamin require-
ments, advanced steadily beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, and by the 1940s
and 1950s (again prompted by wartime concerns), the government had established
Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) for various vitamins and minerals, and
the idea of food groups and the food pyramid for the general public. Eventually,
food packaging was changed to include nutritional information guidelines for
consumers.
Many of the first women nutrition scientists focused on the specific dietary
needs of women and children. Mary Swartz Rose received a Ph.D. in physiologi-
cal chemistry from Yale University in 1909 and was a pioneer in research on vita-
mins and minerals. She published several textbooks and popular books for the
Chemist and nutritionist Mary Swartz Rose
was a pioneer in research on nutrition and
dietetics. (National Library of Medicine)
Disciplines | 149
public, such as Feeding the Family (1916) and Teaching Nutrition to Boys and
Girls (1932). Icie Macy-Hoobler, another Ph.D. in physiological chemistry from
Yale (1920), focused on the nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating women,
on the connection between nutrition or malnutrition and birth defects, and on
infant development and growth; she also served as president of the American Insti-
tute of Nutrition in 1944. Grace MacLeod (Ph.D., Columbia, 1924) focused on
calcium, iron, and other supplements, and on the energy metabolism of children.
Several women nutritional researchers were involved in government efforts
to establish the RDA and food guidelines in the mid-twentieth century. Lydia
Roberts held a Ph.D. in home economics from the University of Chicago
(1928), and was a pioneer in the field of children's nutrition, and Helen Swift
Mitchell was another early physiological chemist (Ph.D., Yale, 1921) who
studied vitamins; both women had a key role in development of the RDA. Hazel
Stiebeling also held a Ph.D. in chemistry (Columbia, 1928) and had a long career
at the USDA, where she also helped develop the government dietary guidelines
and RDA of vitamins and minerals. Gladys Emerson (Ph.D., 1932) was a bio-
chemist who researched amino acids and vitamins and helped isolate vitamin E.
Doris Calloway earned her Ph.D. in nutrition in 1947 and did research for the
U.S. Army on the effect of nuclear radiation on soldiers' rations and later food
processing and packaging research for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) astronaut program. Others interested in nutrition have
launched more popular programs, such as Jane Brody, who combined degrees in
biochemistry and journalism to become a popular nutrition and personal health
columnist, author, and media personality.
Many women nutritionists worked in the field of home economics in the first
half of the twentieth century. Catharine Beecher published A Treatise on Domestic
Economy in 1841, but home economics was established as a profession by a new
generation of women with advanced education who combined the social, physical,
and natural sciences to elevate the status of household studies in the early twenti-
eth century. The American Home Economics Association (AHEA) was founded
in 1908. Home-economics programs included courses in food and nutrition, but
also household consumption, management, and budgeting, household technolo-
gies, child development, and sewing and textiles. The Bureau of Home Economics
was the first USDA department to have a female bureau chief; Louise Stanley
(who held a doctorate in biochemistry from Yale, 1911) spent over 25 years at
the USDA as one of the highest-paid and highest-ranking female scientists in the
federal government.
Other women built and directed home-economics programs at major univer-
sities. Agnes Fay Morgan held a doctorate in chemistry (from the University of
Chicago in 1914) and helped build an outstanding scientific research-based
150 | American Women of Science since 1900
program at the University of California, Berkeley, insisting that chemistry was an
integral part of the home-economics curriculum. Flora Rose and Martha Van
Rensselaer founded and co-directed the School of Home Economics at Cornell
University. Abby Marlatt had a master's degree in chemistry and studied nutri-
tion, and she brought her scientific background and commitments to her work as
head of the home-economics department at the University of Wisconsin.
In these early years, home economics was often a place to channel the work and
interests of women scientists, who may have been excluded from other depart-
ments or programs. In this sense, home economics institutionalized the idea of
domesticity as "women's work." Its proponents argued, however, that it legiti-
mized household work by deeming it skilled and scientific, and that home-
economics training not only took women's work seriously, but made it more effi-
cient. This was the argument exemplified in the life and career of Lillian
Gilbreth, a trained psychologist who developed household efficiency studies
which she modeled in running her own household of 12 children. Other critics
have focused on the ethnocentrism of early nutritional and home-economics
reformers, who sought to alter the lifestyles and households of immigrants and
the working poor. Several black colleges also offered courses and therefore trained
black women as scientists, teachers, and consultants. Cecile Edwards held a doc-
torate in nutrition (1950) and helped establish the program in nutrition at Howard
University, but she worked evaluating interdisciplinary programs that provided re-
sources for low-income people around issues of not only nutrition, but also parent-
ing, childcare, household budgeting, and job skills. Still, after the 1950s, home-
economics programs were increasingly aimed at female undergraduates who
would presumably devote their post-college lives to roles as wives, mothers, and
household consumers.
In the late twentieth and now twenty-first centuries, home economics has taken
a more international approach. The International Federation for Home Economics
(IFHE) focuses its research and practitioners on international development,
addressing poverty and malnutrition, and agricultural programs. Such work often
requires training and field work in cultural anthropology or politics, as well as lan-
guage studies, more so than in the natural or biological sciences.
See also Animal Sciences; Biochemistry; Biomedical Sciences; Botany;
Chemistry; Economics
References
Iowa State University Library. 1998. "Today's Seeds for Tomorrow's Harvest: The Impact
of Women Nutritionists." Online exhibit. Archives of Women in Science & Engineer-
ing. Special Collections. Iowa State University Library, http://www.lib.iastate.edu/
spcl/exhibits/Seeds/.
Disciplines | 151
Harper, Alfred E. 2003. "Contributions of Women Scientists in the U.S. to the Develop-
ment of Recommended Dietary Allowances. "The Journal of Nutrition. 133:
3698 3702. (November 2003). http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/133/ll/3698.
King, Janet C. 2003. "Contributions of Women to Human Nutrition." The Journal of Nutri-
tion. 133: 3693 3697. (November 2003). http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/133/ll/
3693.
Levine, Susan. 2008. School Lunch Politics: The Surprising History of America's Favorite
Welfare Program. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Shapiro, Laura. 2009. Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century.
2nd edition. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Stage, Sarah and Virginia Vincent, eds. 1997. Rethinking Home Economics: Women and
the History of a Profession. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Ocean Sciences
Ocean sciences is one of the earth, atmospheric, and environmental sciences, and
includes oceanography and marine biology. Oceanography is the study of the
physical nature and processes of the oceans, and includes the chemical, geologi-
cal, and ecological features of the Earth's oceans, including currents, tides, and
ocean weather or climate, underwater landforms and plate tectonics, or the chemi-
cal and biological interaction of species and environment. Marine biology is a sub-
field of both general biology and oceanography, and focuses on the study of
marine life, from the microscopic, to invertebrates, fish, and marine mammals, to
plants and algae. Marine biologists use the same methods and tools of the biologi-
cal sciences, and may focus on cellular or molecular biology, genetics, develop-
ment and evolution, or the behavior of organisms, or may concentrate on life
forms within a particular environment or habitat, such as the ocean floor, the coral
reefs, or the open ocean. Marine biology is therefore a scientific field determined
by environment or location, rather than by subject or method. The ocean sciences
are usually specializations studied at the graduate level, and undergraduate prepara-
tion may be in fields such as earth or environmental sciences, biology, or geology.
Covering three-quarters of the Earth's surface, the oceans are often considered
the last frontier, and remain less explored by humans than space. The oceans and
marine life support human life as a resource for food, medicines, oil, and other
raw materials used in a variety of industries and products. The oceans also impact
landforms (coastlines, ice formation, etc.) and affect both local weather events and
global weather systems and climate change through the system of evaporation,
rain, wind, and atmospheric changes. The health of the oceans is crucial to human
152 | American Women of Science since 1900
life and is thus at the center of global ecological and environmental concerns .The
work of oceanographers also informs other disciplines related to use of the ocean's
resources, such as engineering, food and pharmaceutical industries, and ocean
travel.
The interdisciplinary nature of oceanography led early scientists to develop sci-
entific principles from astronomy, meteorology, and physics, and apply them to the
ocean currents and tides system. The history of oceanography thus overlaps with
the astronomical and meteorological sciences, and begins with human efforts to
observe and track the tides and currents, and chart ocean weather patterns, for pur-
poses of coastal living and maritime travel. The age of exploration took Europeans
around the globe, leading to the discovery of new animal and plant species, and
science replaced earlier mythologies of sea monsters, mermaids, and mysterious
forces ruling the seas. Explorers and coastal inhabitants recorded observations
about the shoreline and reef systems. The nineteenth century brought the first
efforts to measure the depths of the oceans and chart the undersea geography of
cliffs, ridges, and valleys. The accuracy of this work, however, required
twentieth-century technology and computer mapping systems.
Oceanography began as a serious scientific endeavor in the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries, with expeditions focused on geographical and marine
biology research to the Arctic and other regions. In the United States, the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography (http://sio.ucsd.edu) was founded on the west coast,
in California, in 1892, and the next major oceanographic research facility, Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution (http://www.whoi.edu), was founded on the east
coast, in Massachusetts, in 1930. The U.S. government created several agencies
focused on scientific ocean research and conservation, beginning with the U.S.
Coast Survey (founded in 1807), the U.S. Weather Bureau (1870), and the U.S.
Commission of Fish and Fisheries (1871). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),
founded in 1879, is also involved in oceanographic research; indeed, marine
geologist Marcia McNutt, formerly director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Research Institute in California, was named by President Obama as the first female
director of USGS in 2009. In 1966, the U.S. government created a National Coun-
cil for Marine Resources and Engineering Development, and a few years later, in
1970, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was
founded. In 2009, Jane Lubchenco, a marine ecologist who researched issues
related to global climate change, was also chosen by the president as the first
female head of NOAA. In 2008, Woods Hole also named its first female president
and director, Susan K. Avery, an atmospheric scientist.
There were few doctorates specifically in oceanography before 1960. Oceanog-
raphers have studied in many different degree programs and are still included
in statistics on the combined earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences (EAOS).
Disciplines | 153
In 1974, women earned just 4.9% of
earth, atmospheric, and ocean science
doctorates; by 1999, that number had
risen to 27.8%, and it is estimated that
in 2001, women earned 38% of all
specifically oceanographic doctorates,
a number consistent with women's
representation across all scientific
fields (O'Connell and Holmes 2005).
As part of the earth sciences, oceanog-
raphers are represented by the same
professional organizations, such as
the Association for Women Geo-
scientists (http://www.awg.org), and
through special programs such as
Mentoring Physical Oceanography
Women to Increase Retention
(MPOWIR) (http://www.mpowir.org),
sponsored by NOAA and other
organizations. The Society for
Marine Mammology (http://www
.marinemammalscience.org) repre-
sents marine biologists with a spe-
cialty in mammals, and other subfields within oceanography and marine biology
have their own professional networks and organizations, many of which are
international in scope, related to specific regions, organisms, or research concerns.
One of the most renowned American women oceanographers is Sylvia Earle,
who holds a Ph.D. in botany and has been involved in numerous organizations
and projects concerned with observing and preserving marine environments; she
was also the first female chief scientist of NOAA. Kathryn Sullivan was an astro-
naut who was trained as a marine geologist and replaced Earle as the next chief
scientist of NOAA. Kathleen Crane received her doctorate in oceanography at
Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1977 and became the Program Manager
in NOAA's Arctic Research Office, leading several U.S.-Russian expeditions to
the Arctic. Many oceanographers have been trained in geology and geosciences.
Elizabeth Bunce was a geophysicist who spent a long career at Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution studying marine seismology and underwater acoustics.
Marie Tharp studied underwater geology and created some of the first maps of
the ocean floor, including her discovery of the valley that divides the Mid-
Atlantic Ridge. Marcia McNutt, who became director of both the Monterey
Marine botanist Sylvia Earle next to a
submersible suit. (Bettmann/Corbis)
154 | American Women of Science since 1900
Bay Aquarium Research Institute and then USGS, also mapped and measured the
depth of the sea floor and researched plate tectonics. Helen McCammon is a
marine geologist who began her career in marine paleontology, but then began to
research living invertebrates and marine ecology. Joan Owens is considered the
first African American woman to earn a doctorate in geology; she studied marine
geology and researched deep-sea button corals.
An earlier generation of women also conducted research on marine ecology,
which provides insight into human and planetary health. Josephine Tilden earned
her master's degree in 1897 and in the early 1900s was a specialist in marine bot-
any and ecology who studied coastal and Pacific algae. Mary McWhinnie was a
marine biologist and ecologist who studied krill in the ocean food chain; she was
one of the first women scientists to winter in Antarctica. Audrey Haschemeyer
was trained in physical chemistry and was another of the earliest American
women to conduct research in Antarctica, where she studied how temperature
change affects the biological processes of fish. Renowned ecologist Rachel Car-
son held a master's degree in zoology and began her career as an aquatic biologist
at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, publishing
two early books on marine ecology and oceanography: Under the Sea Wind
(1941) and The Sea Around Us (1951). In the 1980s, Rita Colwell became a leader
in marine biotechnology, concerned with medical, industrial, and aquaculture re-
sources available from the sea; she served as president of the University of Mary-
land Biotechnology Institute (UMBI).
Marine biologists study animal life in the oceans, work that overlaps with zool-
ogy. Francesca La Monte did not hold an advanced scientific degree, but worked
as an ichthyologist at the American Museum of Natural History for her entire
career, between 1919 and 1962; she wrote several books on large marine species,
such as marlin and swordfish. Eugenie Clark received her Ph.D. in zoology in
1950 and became a world-renowned marine biologist who specializes in sharks
and other fishes. Dixy Lee Ray was trained as a zoologist and marine biologist
who focused on crustaceans, but she became involved in environmental policy
and then politics as governor of the state of Washington.
See also Biology; Botany; Environmental Sciences and Ecology; Geogra-
phy; Geology; Meteorology; Paleontology; Zoology
References
Crane, Kathleen. 2003. Sea Legs: Tales of a Woman Oceanographer. Boulder, CO:
Westview Press.
Delaney, Peggy, ed. 2005. "Autobiographical Sketches of Women in Oceanography."
Oceanography 18(1): 65 246. (March 2005). The Oceanography Society, http://
www.tos.org/oceanography/issues/issue archive/issue pdfs/18 1/18.1 sketches.pdf.
Disciplines | 155
Hamblin, Jacob Darwin. 2005. Oceanographers and the Cold War: Disciples of Marine
Science. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
O'Connell, Suzanne and Mary Anne Holmes. 2005. "Women in Oceanography: Women of
the Academy and the Sea." Oceanography 18(1): 12 24. (March 2005). The Oceanogra-
phy Society, http://digitalcommons.unl. edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1068&context
=geosciencefacpub.
Rozwadowski, Helen M. 2005. Fathoming the Ocean: The Discovery and Exploration of
the Deep Sea. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
"Women Exploring the Oceans." Women Oceanographers. http://www. women
oceanographers.org/.
"Women in Oceanography: Investigators of the Earth, Oceans, and Atmosphere." Scripps
Institution of Oceanography. http://www.siommg.ucsd.edu/wio/Women pi. html.
Paleontology
Paleontology is the study of ancient (or prehistoric) life forms and geological struc-
tures through the Earth's fossil record. The work of paleontologists may depend
upon the tools and methods of biology, botany, chemistry, geology, oceanography,
and zoology, as well as evolutionary biology, environmental sciences, anthropology,
and history. Although archaeology is also the study of the ancient past, archaeology
focuses on the material record of the human past, whereas paleontology might also
include fossils of rocks, shells, animals, and plants. Paleontology involves fieldwork
for specimen collection, and scientific tools for analysis, but shares with the social
sciences the attempt to observe and explain phenomena, rather than formulating the-
ories through experiments. Although we tend to think of dinosaurs as the primary
subject of paleontologists, some subfields of paleontology are paleobotany, paleo-
ecology, paleoclimatology, paleoceanography, and paleogeography. Paleontologists
may also focus on specific types of fossils or species, such as mammals, reptiles,
birds, insects, invertebrates, or specific types of plant life forms.
The science of paleontology developed beginning in the eighteenth century, and
the first professional scientific organizations and museum collection efforts began
in the nineteenth century. The first North American dinosaur fossil was found in
1858, coinciding with the westward expansion of the population in the United
States, which promoted new geological discoveries and competitive fossil-
collecting expeditions in the late nineteenth century. In the early twentieth century,
other scientific advances, tools, and concerns led to new inquiries and new prior-
ities in paleontology. Modern paleontologists use a variety of technologically
advanced tools in genetics, biochemistry, and computer science, making possible
156 | American Women of Science since 1900
computer and DNA analysis and dating of fossils for the study of the chemical and
biological origins and evolution of life, and for specific problems such as the
extinction of species, historical changes in the Earth's climate and ecosystems,
and the origins and dating of Earth itself.
British women made some of the earliest discoveries in paleontology. In the
nineteenth century, more women were involved as "amateurs" in fieldwork and
specimen collecting, not only in paleontology, but also in natural history, botany,
geology, and archaeology. Mary Anning was an early-nineteenth-century British
fossil collector and paleontologist who sold fossils to tourists, scientists, and
museums for income. Anning discovered the first complete skeleton of an ichthyo-
saur and the first known skeleton of a plesiosaur, both sea reptiles, and her contri-
bution was acknowledged by membership in the Geological Society of London
and a later pension from the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
In the United States, one of the earliest and most significant female fossil hunters
was Annie Montague Alexander, who did not hold a science degree but went on
several field expeditions in the early 1900s, discovered new species, and donated
thousands of animal and fossil specimens to the University of California, Berkeley
for their zoology and paleontology museums (Stein 2001).
In the twentieth century, many
women have worked in the field of
paleontology, although as with
archaeology, geology, or other field-
based sciences, they have come up
against stereotypes and concerns
about women joining in expeditions,
working alongside male scientists,
and leaving home and family behind.
Carlotta Maury was one of the ear-
liest professional American women
paleontologists, receiving her doctor-
ate from Cornell University in 1902;
she specialized in South American
geological expeditions and was the
official paleontologist of Brazil for
20 years. Winifred Goldring did not
hold an advanced degree, but she took
graduate courses at Columbia, Har-
vard, and Johns Hopkins University
in the early 1900s and became the
state paleontologist of New York.
Paleontologist Tilly Edinger proved that the
brain's evolution could be studied through
fossils. (Bettmann/Corbis)
Disciplines | 157
Mary Anning
Mary Anning (1799-1847) was a British fossil collector who made some of the
most important marine fossil discoveries of the nineteenth century through explor-
ing the cliffs and fossil beds along the shore near her home in Lyme Regis. She
uncovered a complete ichthyosaur skeleton and the first plesiosaur skeletons ever
found. Her work changed the nineteenth-century scientific understanding of pre-
historic life and extinction, paving the way for Darwin's theory of evolution and
for the modern studies of geology and paleontology.
Anning and her brother, Joseph, began by selling shells, rocks, and fossils to
tourists at Lyme Regis, inspiration for the later tongue-twister "She sells sea shells
by the seashore." They later opened a storefront where the ichthyosaur skeleton
was on display and were soon visited by fossil hunters and museum collectors
from across Europe and the United States. As a self-educated woman (she read
scientific journals and dissected animals to study anatomy and classification),
Anning was always an outsider to the scientific community, but she was able to
support herself through the sale of her specimens and through the patronage of
those who supported her work. Eventually, one such friend arranged for her to
receive a government pension for her contributions to science. Interest in Anning's
compelling story continues, as she is the subject of two modern biographies, as
well as a novel inspired by her life.
She wrote several books on fossils for the general public and was named the first
female president of the Paleontological Society in 1949. Julia Gardner earned a
Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1911 and was also president of the Paleontological
Society in 1952. Gardner studied mollusks found in sedimentary and other
rocks and was one of the first women employed by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Katherine Palmer had a Ph.D. in paleontology from Cornell University (1925)
and also studied mollusk fossils; she was president of the American Malacological
Union in 1960. Tilly Edinger received her doctorate in Germany in 1921
and researched fossils of mammal brains to understand the evolution of the
brain; she became president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in 1964.
Christina Lochman Balk earned a Ph.D. in 1933 and researched invertebrate
fossils; she was also a geologist who specialized in stratigraphy, or the analysis
of rock layers.
In the post- 1960s generation, paleontologists continue to combine work in biol-
ogy, botany, geology, and environmental studies in a variety of fields and research
interests. Margaret Bryan Davis is a paleoecologist and plant biologist trained in
biology at Harvard University (Ph.D., 1957) who analyzed ancient pollen and
158 | American Women of Science since 1900
vegetation and has taught in departments of ecology and evolution. Estella
Leopold is also a paleoecologist and botanist who received her Ph.D. in botany
from Yale University in 1955 and has studied ancient environments through the
pollen and spore fossil record. Helen Loeblich earned a Ph.D. in geology from
the University of Chicago in 1942, and was another plant paleontologist whose
research focused on living and fossil plant microorganisms. Pat Shipman has
combined paleontology and archaeology (she holds a doctorate in anthropology
from New York University, 1977) to understand how ancient humans evolved
and interacted with their physical environments.
Women paleontologists are represented by professional organizations accord-
ing to their subspecialties (botany, geology, or zoology, for example), or by broad
groups such as the Paleontological Society (http://www.paleosoc.org), the Society
of Vertebrate Paleontology (http://www.vertpaleo.org), or the Society for Sedi-
mentary Geology (http://www.sepm.org). In many cases, the fieldwork and
research of paleontologists is international in scope and is carried out throughout
the globe, and in cooperation with professional societies, institutions and govern-
ments in other countries.
See also Anthropology and Archaeology; Biology; Botany; Geology; Zoology
References
Aldrich, Michele L. 1982. "Women in Paleontology in the United States, 1840 1960."
Earth Sciences History. 1: 14-22.
Hager, Lori. 1997. Women in Human Evolution. New York: Routledge.
Stein, Barbara R. 2001. On Her Own Terms: Annie Montague Alexander and the Rise of
Science in the American West. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Pharmacology
See Biochemistry; Biomedical Sciences; Botany; Chemistry; Medicine
Physics
Physics is the science of the physical properties and laws of matter, energy, force,
time, and motion. In broadest terms, physics is an attempt to understand the prin-
ciples or laws of the natural world and the universe. As such, it is grounded in
natural philosophy as much as in scientific observation and experimentation.
Physics relies upon and also informs work in mathematics, engineering, chemistry,
and astronomy. Physics results in the creation of new theories about the natural
world as well as new technologies. Because of this comprehensiveness and
Disciplines | 159
Marie Curie
Perhaps the most well-known woman scientist, Marie Sklodowska Curie
(1867-1934) is the only woman (and one of the few scientists) to win two Nobel
Prizes. For her work on radium, she shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 with
her husband, Pierre Curie, and with Antoine Henri Becquerel, the discoverer of radio-
activity; Marie Curie went on to win a second prize, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, in
191 1. The Curies developed techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes, and dis-
covered two new chemical elements: radium and polonium, named for Marie Curie's
native country of Poland. During and after World War I, Marie Curie (along with her
daughter Irene Joliot-Curie, who also later received a Nobel Prize) dedicated her
research to medical uses for radium and radiography in treating wounded soldiers.
Born in Warsaw, Poland, Marie Curie studied physics and math at the Sorbonne
in Paris, France, where she met and married Pierre Curie. She received her doctor-
ate in 1903 and later took her husband's place as Head of the Physics Laboratory,
and was the first woman appointed Professor of General Physics at the Sorbonne.
In 1914, she became director of the newly founded Curie Laboratory in the Radium
Institute of the University of Paris, and later founded the Radium Institute in
Warsaw. A curie is now a scientific term for a unit of radioactivity.
breadth of inquiry, physics has a long history and developed along with discoveries
in chemistry, mathematics, and astronomy. Physics began as a distinct discipline
with the experiments and observations on motion, mechanics, and space of indi-
viduals such as Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton in the seventeenth century. By
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, more abstract theories about the
natural world were formulated based on scientific discoveries in mechanics, mag-
netism, sound, light, and electricity. The discovery of X-ray radiation and the atom
led to the development of crystallography and atomic physics as subfields of phys-
ics. One of the most famous women scientists, Marie Curie of France, won Nobel
Prizes in both Physics (1903) and Chemistry (1911) for her theory of radioactivity
and for her isolation of radioactive isotopes.
One of the earliest American women physicists was Margaret Maltby, who
was an undergraduate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but went on
to earn her Ph.D. from the University of Gottingen in 1895. Maltby 's areas of
research included radioactivity and the physics of sound. She taught courses in
chemistry and physics to female students at Barnard College for more than
30 years. Elizabeth Laird was another one of the earliest professional female
physicists in the United States, earning her Ph.D. in physics and mathematics from
Bryn Mawr in 1901. Laird went on to train an entire generation of women in the
160 | American Women of Science since 1900
Women and the Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was the U.S. government's secret project to develop
nuclear weapons during the early years of World War II. The government
employed military and civilian scientists to research and develop three atomic
bombs. Many women scientists and engineers were involved in various stages
of the project, many of them through the Women's Army Corps (WAC), but others
were scattered as civilians at government research centers and universities
throughout the country as physicists, chemists, engineers, mathematicians, biolo-
gists, medical researchers, technicians, and machine operators. Nuclear science,
and the development of nuclear power, was an exciting new field in the early
decades of the twentieth century, and not all scientists involved in the project sup-
ported or fully understood the military intentions for a bomb. Some of the highest-
level female physicists of that generation were involved in the project, including
later Nobel Prize winner Maria Goeppert-Mayer, Leona Woods Marshall Libby,
Chien-Shiung Wu, and Katharine Way, who eventually joined with other scien-
tists in addressing the ethical uses of and concerns about nuclear power.
sciences during her 40-year career at Mount Holyoke College. During World War
II, she returned to her home country of Canada as a physicist in radar development
and radio techniques for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Dorothy Nickerson was a
physicist who applied color-graded standards to agricultural and horticultural
products and soil; she developed the Nickerson color fan of more than 300 color
samples graded by light value, hue, and chroma, and had a long career with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture beginning in the 1920s.
By the mid-twentieth century, there was a great demand for physicists in the
United States and the development of several specialized subfields for particular
industries and government/military applications, including optics, astrophysics,
geophysics, physical chemistry, materials engineering, and nuclear physics. Many
women worked for the U.S. government on various aspects of the atomic bomb
project during and after World War II. American scientist Maria Goeppert-
Mayer was the second woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physics; she was co-
recipient of the prize in 1963 for her work on the structure of atomic nuclei.
Katharine Blodgett earned her Ph.D. in physics in 1926 and spent her entire
career in industry, working for General Electric, and her work contributed to two
world wars; her early research on the ability of activated charcoal to absorb gases
was important to the design of gas masks during World War I, and during World
War II she researched ways to de-ice airplane wings and developed a method for
military weather balloons to measure air humidity. Several women were directly
Disciplines | 161
Physicist and electrical engineer, Elsa
Garmire. (Courtesy of Dartmouth/Kathryn
LoConte)
involved in the Manhattan Project,
the U.S. government project to
develop the atomic bomb. Katharine
Way worked at the Naval Ordnance
Laboratory and the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, and also worked
in atomic physics for the National
Bureau of Standards and the National
Research Council; she later joined
with other prominent scientists to
warn of the ethical considerations of
developing and using the atomic
bomb. Chien-Shiung Wu was one of
the top women in elementary particle
physics in the world in the mid-
twentieth century; she helped develop
sensitive radiation detectors for the
atomic bomb project.
The post- World War II generation of women earning doctorates in physics
have worked in academia, government and industry on a variety of applications.
Mildred Dresselhaus is a physicist renowned for her research on electronic prop-
erties of materials such as semiconductors and semimetals. Doris Kuhlmann-
Wilsdorf is a metallurgist and materials scientist who holds patents on six
inventions related to electrical brushes for machines and engines, and Elsa
Garmire holds 10 patents for her work in laser and optical research. Betsy
Ancker- Johnson was a solid-state physicist who spent many years at General
Motors as vice president in charge of environmental policy and was one of the
early advocates for more fuel-efficient cars. Esther Conwell was head of research
departments at both GTE and Xerox, and Diana Prichard conducts research on
fundamental photographic materials as a research scientist for Eastman Kodak
Company. Caroline Herzenberg used spectrometry to analyze the first lunar sam-
ples returned to Earth from the Apollo missions. Shirley Ann Jackson achieved
many firsts in physics: In 1973, she was the first African American woman to
receive a doctorate in any field from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
and she was the first woman and the first African American to serve as chair of
the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In 1999, Jackson was
appointed president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Other physicists have worked in medical and bioengineering fields. Rosalyn
Yalow was a physicist and neuroendocrinologist who helped establish modern
biomedical physics; she was co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or
162 | American Women of Science since 1900
Lise Meitner
Austrian-bom physicist Lise Meitner (1878-1968) made great advances in the
new field of nuclear physics and collaborated on the discovery of nuclear fission,
for which her colleague Otto Hahn won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1944.
Meitner attended the University of Vienna and in 1905 was only the second
woman to receive a doctorate from that institution. She went on to study with
Max Planck in Berlin and then formed a research group with Hahn at Kaiser Wil-
helm Institute, where they began their work on radioactive isotopes, work that
would eventually lead to the creation of nuclear weapons. The Jewish Meitner
was forced to emigrate to The Netherlands in 1938 to escape the Nazi takeover
of Austria, eventually finding a position in Stockholm. Although she continued
her research through correspondence (and even secretly meeting) with Hahn
and others, and published her own paper in the journal Nature explaining the
physics of nuclear fission, her exile meant that Hahn was acknowledged sepa-
rately for his chemical research and Meitner was overlooked by the Nobel Prize
committee. Twenty years later, colleagues Meitner, Hahn, and Fritz Strassmann
were co-recipients of the prestigious Enrico Fermi Award of the U.S. Department
of Energy.
Medicine in 1977, the second woman to win in that category. Eugenie Mielczarek
is known for her work in biophysics, and researches metal and biological com-
pounds, including iron in the blood. Women have contributed to the profession
of physics in other ways. Mary Warga received her doctorate in spectroscopy in
1937. After a distinguished career in teaching and research, Warga served the
physics profession during a period of rapid growth and technological development
for many years as the first executive secretary of the Optical Society of America.
Gloria Lubkin held a master's degree in physics and contributed to the profession
in her 40-year career as editor of Physics Today, the publication of the American
Institute of Physics.
Despite the early gains made by a first generation of women physicists before
and through the 1940s, there was a marked decrease in women's presence in phys-
ics during the 1950s, when gender roles became more fixed and scientific disci-
plines more specialized and prestigious. Despite the astonishing accomplishments
and significance of a few individual women, the representation of women in phys-
ics throughout the twentieth century was one of the lowest of all sciences, and the
lowest of the physical or "hard" sciences (physics, chemistry, astronomy, and
math). In 1972, women earned just 3% of doctorates in physics; by 2003, women
earned 22% of the bachelor's degrees awarded in physics and just 18% of physics
Disciplines | 163
Ph.D.s (Ivie and Ray 2005). In 2006, women made up 12% of all physics faculty,
but only 6% of full professors; many physics departments still have no women fac-
ulty at all (Ivie 2006).
Although there are so few women in physics (and in the physical sciences in
general, compared to the biological and social sciences), the view that physics is
a neutral or hard science has protected the field from much feminist analysis or cri-
tique. As with mathematics, there is also a widely held belief that success in the
highest levels of the field depends as much upon talent or innate "genius" as upon
education or training. Physics does, in fact, rely heavily on theoretical abstraction
and interpretation as much as on the scientific laws of objects; in other words,
physics involves on some level dealing with metaphysics, and physicists often talk
about "the face of God," "the God particle," or "the mind of God" in their work
(Wertheim 1995). As feminist historian of science Londa Schiebinger has charac-
terized the discipline, physics is often held apart from other scientific endeavors in
part because it takes as its goal nothing less than "the mastery of the whole world"
(Schiebinger 1999, 162). Indeed, physics is often considered the most difficult and
therefore the most prestigious of the sciences. As is often the case, the more presti-
gious the field, the more hierarchical the profession, and the fewer women are rep-
resented.
See also Astronomy and Astrophysics; Chemistry; Crystallography; Engi-
neering; Mathematics
References
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Ivie, Rachel and Kim Nies Ray. 2005. "Women in Physics and Astronomy, 2005. High-
lights." American Institute of Physics, http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/highlite/
women05/women05 .htm.
Ivie, Rachel. 2006. "Women in Physics and Astronomy Faculty Positions. Highlights."
American Institute of Physics, http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/highlite/women3/
faculty.htm.
Jones, L. M. 1990. "Intellectual Contributions of Women to Physics." In Women of Sci-
ence: Righting the Record, edited by G. Kass-Simon and Patricia Fames, 188 214.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Rayner-Canham, Marelene and Geoffrey Rayner-Canham. 1998. Women in Chemistry:
Their Changing Roles from Alchemical Times to the Mid-Twentieth Century. Philadelphia,
PA: Chemical Heritage Foundation.
Schiebinger, Londa. 1999. "Physics and Math." In Has Feminism Changed Science?,
159 180. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
164 | American Women of Science since 1900
Wertheim, Margaret. 1995. Pythagoras' Trousers: God, Physics, and the Gender Wars.
New York: W.W. Norton.
"Women in Physics." American Institute of Physics, http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/
gendertrends.html.
"Women in Physics." American Physics Society, http://www.aps.org/programs/women/
index. cfm.
Plant Sciences
See Botany
Primatology
Primatology is the study of the biology, behavior, and evolution of nonhuman pri-
mates. As the study of animals, primatology is related to zoology, but also often
overlaps with and directly informs studies of human biology and behavior in fields
such as anthropology, biomedical research, genetics, psychology, and evolutionary
biology. Primatology began as a separate field of study inspired by the work of
Charles Darwin in the mid-nineteenth century and an interest in the behavior, com-
munication, habitats, and evolution of humankind's closest relatives. This interest
was combined with the development of anthropology as a scientific discipline,
and shares many of the same methods and tools. Primatologists work in laborato-
ries, in zoos or other captive habitat settings, and in the wild or natural habitats in
Africa, South America, or other locations. There are several major primate research
centers in the United States, both university-affiliated and privately run.
Women have featured prominently in primatology since the 1960s, including as
some of the most famous primatologists of the twentieth century. A trio of women
were influenced and trained by famed British archaeologists and anthropologists
Louis and Mary Leakey: British researcher Jane Goodall is perhaps the most well
known for her work with chimpanzees, German-Canadian Birute Galdikas is an
authority on orangutans, and American Dian Fossey devoted her life to the study
and protection of mountain gorillas. These scientists pioneered the study of primates
as individuals and as members of complex social and familial networks, applying the
tools of human-based studies in anthropology, psychology, and sociology.
Since the 1970s, so many women have entered into primatology that it has been
perceived as a "women's" field. Whereas no women held doctorates in primatol-
ogy before 1960, by the 1990s, women earned nearly 80% of Ph.D. s in primatol-
ogy (Schiebinger 1999, 126). One explanation for women's predominance in this
field is that primatology is a relatively new field and so women did not face
Disciplines | 165
Birute Galdikas
Birute Marija Filomena Galdikas (b. 1946) is a German-born primatologist and
ecologist who is the world's leading authority on the orangutan, now an endan-
gered species due to poaching and habitat destruction. She is president of the
Orangutan Foundation International (http://www.orangutan.org) and since 1971
has served as head of the orangutan research station at Tanjung Puting Reserve
in Borneo. Galdikas is one of three pioneering women primatologists of the twen-
tieth century, along with Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, who worked with
anthropologist Louis Leakey to study the three major primate groups — the gorilla,
the chimpanzee, and the orangutan. The work of these women changed the meth-
ods by which primatologists conduct research by studying animals as individuals,
with life and family histories.
Galdikas's family fled Europe after World War II and emigrated to Toronto,
Canada. She began her studies at the University of British Columbia, but then
transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles. She met Leakey when
he spoke to one of her graduate anthropology classes, and she volunteered
for his project of studying wild orangutans in Borneo and rehabilitating those ille-
gally held in captivity. Her research on orangutans became a lifetime commitment,
for the animals have a life span of 50 to 60 years. Galdikas has been profiled in
numerous articles, books, and television shows. Her autobiography is Reflections
of Eden: My Years with the Orangutans of Borneo (1995).
historical bias in the profession. Another explanation, however, is that primatology
is closely related to other fields in which women also have significant representa-
tion, such as anthropology, psychology, or other animal sciences. Finally, it must
be acknowledged that high-profile women such as Jane Goodall (who has also
launched a successful global education campaign) provide strong role models for
young girls and women considering scientific professions, and have interested
many in primatology (Fedigan 1994).
The work of primatologists has had a significant influence on our understanding
of gender roles and biases among humans as well. Primatologists begin by rejecting
the idea that human assumptions and social roles apply to the animal world, and
instead look at the ways the lives of the great apes inform our understanding of
human development and evolution. Female primatologists have also often shifted
the focus of scientific research to female primates as subjects of study, focusing
on individual behavior, sexuality, family groups, and care of offspring. They have
uncovered greater roles for female primates beyond stereotypical submissive child-
bearers and thus have called into question the idea of a "natural" sexual division of
labor or submissive sexual or maternal roles among humans as well. For more than
166 | American Women of Science since 1900
Anthropologist and primatologist, Meredith Small. (Courtesy of Cornell University)
40 years, Jeanne Altmann has studied the impact of genetics, demography, and
behavior on issues such as mate choice and care of offspring among baboons in
the wild. Meredith Small also studies mating and childrearing among primates,
and her research has informed her several popular books and articles on human
behavior and evolutionary biology, especially on the topic of mothering. Sarah
Blaffer Hrdy is also an evolutionary biologist and primatologist who has written
several controversial works on infanticide among primates, on gender and evolu-
tion, and on motherhood.
See also Anthropology and Archaeology; Biology; Biomedical Sciences;
Genetics; Paleontology; Psychiatry and Psychology; Zoology
References
Fedigan, Linda Marie. 1994. "Science and the Successful Female: Why There Are So Many
Women Primatologists." American Anthropologist. 96(3): 529 538. (September 1994).
Haraway, Donna. 1989. Primate Visions: Gender, Race, and Nature in the World of
Modern Science. London and New York: Routledge.
Schiebinger, Londa. 1999. "Primatology, Archaeology, and Human Origins." In Has Femi-
nism Changed Science?, 126 144. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Schubert, Glendon A. and Roger D. Masters, eds. 1991. Primate Politics. Carbondale:
Southern Illinois University Press.
Disciplines | 167
Strum, Shirley Carol and Linda Marie Fedigan, eds. 2000. Primate Encounters: Models of
Science, Gender, and Society. University of Chicago Press.
Psychology and Psychiatry
Psychology and psychiatry are applied sciences that rely upon both qualitative and
quantitative tools and methods for the scientific study of the human mind.
Psychology is the analysis of human behavior, personality, perception, emotions,
and cognition, and seeks to understand both the conscious and unconscious motiva-
tions behind responses to social and individual situations and relationships. Psychol-
ogists may address issues related to family life, child development, sexuality, life
stages, transitions, choices, and so forth, as well as mental-health issues such as
depression, anxiety, or fears. A professional psychologist usually holds a Ph.D.,
but some therapists may hold a master's degree or other certification in psychology,
social work, or counseling. Psychiatry combines the behavioral, social, and medical
sciences to understand behavior and mental health, including mental disorders and
diseases. A psychiatrist has completed medical training for the M.D. degree and
may prescribe drugs to patients; she may also hold a Ph.D. Psychiatric specialties
include cognitive or developmental psychology, neuroscience and brain research,
psychometrics (quantitative analyses such as educational, intelligence, or aptitude
testing), psychopathology, and psychotherapy. Both psychologists and psychiatrists
may also specialize in a particular subset of patients (such as women, children, ado-
lescents, or gays and lesbians) or on particular issues, and may be employed in a
variety of settings, including academic research, private therapy practice, hospitals,
mental-health facilities, schools, corporations, or other institutions.
Early studies of human behavior were encompassed within the field of philoso-
phy. It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that psychology developed as a
separate scientific field of study; in the United States, William James is often consid-
ered the founder of modern American psychology. The American Psychiatric Asso-
ciation (http://www.psych.org) was founded in 1844 and the American
Psychological Association (http://www.apa.org) in 1892. Mary Whiton Calkins
was the first female president of the American Psychological Association in 1905,
and the second was Margaret Floy Washburn in 1921. The gender bias that lim-
ited women's opportunities throughout the sciences, however, was justified by the
new psychological science, with male psychologists warning that women were intel-
lectually inferior and that "mental exertion" was damaging to women's health.
Psychologist and neurologist Helen Thompson Woolley (who published a book,
The Mental Traits of Sex, in 1903) voiced the frustrations of a woman scientist at
that time in her 1910 review of the psychological literature, concluding, "There is
168 | American Women of Science since 1900
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Lynde Dix (1 802-1 887) was a reformer and nurse who is best-known for
her work organizing and training volunteer nurses during the American Civil War.
Dix began her career as a teacher, but her own poor health forced her to give up
teaching and focus on writing instead. She published a science textbook as well
as stories for children. She traveled to London and was introduced to the ideas
of prison and health reformers, convincing her to visit prisons back in the United
States to examine the terrible conditions under which the "insane" were kept.
She enlisted the help of other prominent Massachusetts reformers to expose the
abuse, starvation, and torture of the mentally ill, leading to the establishment of
the Worcester Insane Asylum (later the Worcester State Hospital), the first institu-
tion of its kind. Dix then took the campaign to establish mental health hospitals to
other states and to Canada, Japan, and Europe. In 1 861 , she served in an official
military role as superintendent of nurses for the Union Army. She spent the final
years of her life living on the grounds of the New Jersey State Hospital.
perhaps no field aspiring to be scientific where flagrant personal bias, logic martyred
in the cause of supporting a prejudice, unfounded assertions, and even sentimental
rot and drivel, have run riot to such an extent as here" (Benjamin 2007, 178).
In the twentieth century, the views of thinkers such as Sigmund Freud (who
defined women's primary mental state as one of jealousy of men) came to define
psychological theories about women for several more generations. Still, women
made great inroads into the profession, and early female psychologists created
new research fields related to women's education, motherhood, and child welfare.
Leta Hollingworth received her Ph.D. in 1916 and was a pioneer in the psychol-
ogy and education of women and children; like Woolley, she found that there was
no differences between the sexes when it came to intellectual ability. June Etta
Downey (Ph.D., 1907) developed one of the earliest scientific personality tests to
assess character traits separate from the question of intelligence, and Florence
Goodenough (Ph.D., 1924) conducted early research on intelligence testing in
children. In the next generation, Eleanor Gibson (Ph.D., 1938) also focused on
learning and perception in young children, and Eleanor Maccoby (Ph.D., 1950)
continued the work on intelligence tests and the developmental and social psychol-
ogy of young children as related to gender differences.
Women psychologists in academia have taught in departments of psychology or
sociology, political science, education, child development, and home economics,
but psychologists are also employed in schools, childcare centers, government
and policymaking institutions, industry, and hospitals. By 1940, women made up
Disciplines | 169
only 26% of college and university faculty in psychology, but they accounted for
51% of employed psychologists in schools, clinics, and counseling and mental-
health centers (APA "Appendix A"). Women received 23% of U.S. doctorates in
psychology from 1920 to 1974 (APA "Women in Academe"), but there was a strik-
ing racial difference, as most of these were white women. In roughly that same era
of growth, between 1920 and 1950, only eight black women earned Ph.D.s in psy-
chology or Ed.D.s in educational psychology (out of a total of 32 African Ameri-
cans earning doctorates in psychology) (APA "Appendix A"). The first of these
was Inez Prosser, who earned an Ed.D. from the University of Cincinnati in 1933,
but whose career was cut short by her early and tragic death. The following year,
in 1934, Ruth Howard-Beckham became the first black woman to earn a Ph.D.
in psychology. Few black women overall earned higher degrees in psychology,
and few had careers in academia, until after the 1970s.
Psychology now accounts for the highest numbers of doctorates awarded each
year in any field, and is the one scientific field in which women, since the 1960s, have
earned an overwhelming majority of degrees granted. In 2006, women earned 77% of
bachelor's degrees in psychology (NSF Table C- 14) and an astonishing 7 1 .3% of doc-
torates (NSF Table F-2). In sheer numbers, only the biological or life sciences
account for more doctorates to women,
but in those fields, men still earn about
half of the degrees awarded.
Since the 1970s and 1980s, women
have worked within a variety of
psychological research fields, over-
lapping with work in industrial
psychology (Lillian Gilbreth),
linguistics (Lila Gleitman and
Barbara Partee), the anthropology
and sociology of death (Elizabeth
Kubler-Ross), addiction (Judianne
Densen-Gerber), disability (Phyllis
Harrison-Ross), counseling and
social work (Carolyn Payton, who
served as director of the Peace Corps),
neuroscience (Nancy Kanwisher and
Elizabeth Spelke), and the human
relationship to computers (Sherry
Turkle). Other popular psychologists
have become well-known media fig-
ures, such as Joyce Brothers and
Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, 1970. She
specialized in the study of the experience of
dying and death. (AP/Wide World Photos)
170 | American Women of Science since 1900
Ruth Westheimer. Both Brothers and Westheimer focused on family, relationships,
and sexuality, as did Virginia Johnson in her work on sexual behavior and Elaine
Hatfield in her studies on love, sex, and choices of marital partners.
Like medical researchers, psychologists and psychiatrists also address the ques-
tion of women as subjects or patients. Therapists and researchers deal with a range
of issues of concern to women as patients, and research topics include family life,
depression, sexuality, domestic violence, sexual abuse, gender identity, parenting,
marriage, lifespan issues, transitions, career issues, and trauma and grief counsel-
ing. The Society for the Psychology of Women (a division of the APA, http://
www.apa.org/divisions/div35) was founded in 1973 as "a voice of feminist issues
within organized psychology." The division publishes a newsletter, The Feminist
Psychologist, and compiles biographical information on important women in psy-
chology. The Association for Women in Psychology (http://www.awpsych.org)
was co-founded in 1976 by Phyllis Chesler, not just as a source for professional
networking, but with an explicitly feminist approach to psychological and psychi-
atric practice and education.
Some feminist psychologists, such as Chesler and Naomi Weisstein, have cri-
tiqued the psychological definition of femininity itself as a form of mental ill-
ness; that is, the tendency to characterize all women as submissive, docile, and
overly emotional. Whether it is barrenness, pathological sexual desire (which
could be anything from lesbianism to too much interest in sex), or pathological
mothering, women's mental state and stability has often been explicitly con-
nected with sexuality and reproduction; even the word hysteria is derived from
the womb. Current research shows that women are more likely than men to suf-
fer from mental-health disorders, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders,
and social phobias. Studies in the mid-1990s found that women were twice as
likely as men to suffer from depression, and that female patients received 70%
of prescriptions for antidepressant drugs (APA "Briefing"). The question is
whether women are being misdiagnosed due to gender bias, or whether there
is, indeed, an epidemic of female depression and other ailments as a response
to gender role expectations, sexual or physical abuse, the stresses and isolation
of mothering, or a lack of fulfillment in the lives of modern women (see also
Caplan and Cosgrove 2004).
Feminist practitioners and researchers have tried to separate the biological or
medical issues from the psychosocial causes of women's mental-health concerns.
For example, research in the late twentieth century found that while the psychological
effects of stress, role expectation, isolation, and discrimination affect women's men-
tal health, conditions such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or postpartum depres-
sion have a biological or chemical component that needs to be taken seriously as a
medical issue. Women are still told that their illnesses and symptoms are "all in their
Disciplines | 171
head," leading to misdiagnosis and lack of treatment for diseases that have come to be
associated with women, such as lupus, chronic fatigue, and even some allergies.
See also Anthropology and Archaeology; Neuroscience; Sociology
References
American Psychological Association (APA). "Briefing Sheet Women and Depression."
Government Relations. Public Interest Policy, http://www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/
women/depression. aspx.
American Psychological Association (APA). "Women in Academe: Two Steps Forward,
One Step Back." Public Interest. Women's Programs Office, http://www.apa.org/pi/
women/programs/academe/taskforce-report.pdf.
American Psychological Association (APA). "Appendix A: A Brief History of Women Fac-
ulty in Psychology, Women in Academe: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back." Public
Interest. Women's Programs Office, http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/academe/
taskforce-report.pdf.
Benjamin, Ludy T. 2007. A Brief History of Modern Psychology. Oxford, UK: Blackwell
Publishing.
Caplan, Paula J. and Lisa Cosgrove, eds. 2004. Bias in Psychiatric Diagnosis. Lanham,
MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Capshew, James H. 1999. "Home Fires: Female Psychologists and the Politics of Gender."
In Psychologists on the March: Science, Practice and Professional Identity in America,
1929 1969, 71 90. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Guthrie, Robert V. 2004. Even the Rat Was White: A Historical View of Psychology. Boston,
MA: Allyn and Bacon.
National Science Foundation. "Table F-2. S&E doctoral degrees awarded to women, by field:
1999 2006." Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineer-
ing. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, Survey of
Earned Doctorates, 1999 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabf-2.pdf.
National Science Foundation. 2006. "Table C-14. Bachelor's degrees, by race/ethnicity,
citizenship, sex, and field: 2006."Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in
Science and Engineering. National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources
Statistics, special tabulations of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, Completions
Survey, 2006. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/pdf/tabc-14.pdf.
Sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human interactions and social organization,
and may be informed by or based in research in other quantitative social science
fields, such as political science, anthropology, psychology, economics, or
172 | American Women of Science since 1900
medicine and public health. Topics of focus for sociologists may include
gender, sexuality, race or ethnicity, workplace, family, healthcare, the media
and popular culture, religion, the military, prisons, or schools, to name a few.
Historically, sociological inquiry was encompassed within philosophy and
political philosophy, which sought to understand the nature of human interac-
tions and society. The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries brought
massive social changes in the form of industrialization, migration, urbanization,
poverty, and the democratization of politics and religion. Like other scientific dis-
ciplines, sociology was professionalized as a separate field of study in the late nine-
teenth century; the first sociology courses were taught in the 1890s, and the
American Journal of Sociology was founded in 1895. The American Socio-
logical Association was founded in 1905. Sociologists may work in academia, or
in a variety of positions in social work, nonprofits, politics, business, and media
or communications.
The feminist movement of the 1970s and 1980s brought new questions and new
methods to sociology, similar to the critiques and changes made in anthropology,
psychology, or other social sciences. By the late 1970s, many colleges and univer-
sities were offering new courses in the sociology of women and, indeed, sociology
and sociological theory often serve as the foundation or core of interdisciplinary
Women's and Gender Studies programs and departments. Professional groups
specifically for women sociologists or sociologists of women's issues include
Sociologists for Women in Society (http://www.socwomen.org), which also pub-
lishes a journal, Gender and Society, and the American Sociological Association's
(ASA) Committee on the Status of Women in Sociology (http://www.asanet.org/
about/statuscommittees/women.cfm).
As in the field of psychology, women have earned a majority of undergraduate
degrees in sociology since the mid-1960s and, since the 1980s, women have consis-
tently earned as high as 70% of sociology bachelor's degrees. The rate at which
women have earned sociology doctorates, however, has been slower but more dra-
matic, with women earning only 16% of Ph.D. s in 1966 but 59% of Ph.D. s by the
year 2000. It is difficult to trace a direct connection between undergraduate and
graduate study, however, as many students may see a sociology bachelor's degree
as a terminal degree, or as a foundation for graduate work in other social or natural
science fields. Those who go on for a doctorate in sociology overwhelmingly work
in academia; only 17% of new sociology Ph.D.s in the early 2000s were employed
in nonacademic positions, and 8 out of 10 ASA members in 2001 were employed in
academic teaching positions (CSWS 2009).
Feminist sociologists incorporate race, ethnicity, class, and gender into
research on issues that affect women, such as motherhood, work/life balance,
the household division of labor, poverty, welfare reform, childcare, gender
Disciplines | 173
discrimination in the workplace and
society, sexual harassment, the law,
sexuality, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisex-
ual, and transgender) issues, illness,
and aging. Maxine Baca Zinn con-
ducts sociological work on Latino
families and Mexican American
women. Jacquelyne Jackson earned
her Ph.D. in 1960 and has conducted
research and created a documentary
film on minority aging and the needs
of elderly African Americans. Matilda
Riley was an earlier-generation
female sociologist (receiving a mas-
ter's degree from Radcliffe College
in 1937) and was also an authority on
aging and on the need for employ-
ment opportunities and meaningful
work for the elderly. Other sociolo-
gists have focused on work and the
workplace. Rosabeth Kanter studied
the human aspects of corporate cul-
ture, management, and job performance. Dorothy Nelkin did not hold an
advanced degree (she received a B.A. in sociology from Cornell University
in 1954), but she became a researcher and eventually a faculty member at
New York University studying workplace safety and risk assessment in a variety
of occupations.
Barbara Reskin was inspired by the women's and civil rights movements at
the time she received her doctorate (in 1973) to study sexual and racial inequality
in the workplace, including issues of racial and gender segregation, discrimina-
tion in hiring and promotion, and work/life issues for female professionals
(including women scientists). Jane Ava Menken received her Ph.D. in 1975
and combined her background in mathematics and statistics as a demographer
who interprets numbers and trends related to government policy and reproductive
rights. Sherry Turkle, also of this generation (receiving her Ph.D. in 1976), com-
bined interests in sociology and psychology in her pioneering research on human
interactions with computers and how computer use shapes our identities and
behavior.
See also Anthropology and Archaeology; Economics; Geography; Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry
Demographer and sociologist, Jane Ava
Menken. (Courtesy of the University of
Colorado)
174 | American Women of Science since 1900
References
Committee on the Status of Women in Sociology (CSWS). "2009 Report of the American
Sociological Association's Committee on the Status of Women in Sociology." American
Sociological Association. http://www.asanet.org/about/statuscommittees/DOCS
- 65911-v2-Council Aug 09 Final Rpt Status Comm on Women.pdf.
Zoology
Zoology is the biological study of animals and their physical characteristics,
behavior, and evolution. Modern zoology is a broad field that overlaps signifi-
cantly with various subspecialties within biology, and with interdisciplinary stud-
ies in the ecological, environmental, and evolutionary sciences. Zoologists may
also focus on specific groups or species of animals, such as invertebrate zoology,
entomology (insects), ichthyology (fish), herpetology (reptiles), ornithology
(birds), mammalogy (mammals), primatology (nonhuman primates), and subfields
or specialties within those groups. Because of the broad term of "zoology" applied
to this range of fields and research topics, many early women zoologists were
identified as biologists, naturalists, or specimen collectors and museum curators.
Modern zoology begins with the classification and naming (taxonomy) of plants
and animals under Carl Linnaeus 's system in the eighteenth century. Linnaeus, a
Swedish botanist, introduced the system of assigning a genus and a species name
to every living organism. In the nineteenth century, naturalist and conservation
efforts led to the creation of the first zoos and zoological societies. Charles
Darwin's theories of adaptation and evolution in his On the Origin of Species
(1859) also had a major impact on zoological research and taxonomy, and techno-
logical and scientific advances (such as in genetics and cell biology) set the course
for zoological research in the twentieth century.
In the twentieth century, zoology became a popular field of study for women in
the sciences. In 1938, a survey of employed scientists listed more women in zoology
than any other discipline (followed closely by botany as the second choice). The
greatest number of these pre- 1940 female zoologists were employed at two wom-
en's colleges, Wellesley and Mount Holyoke, even though the greatest number of
women holding doctorates in zoology had been trained in programs at the Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley and at Columbia University in New York (Rossiter
1982, 170, 184). Ethel Harvey received her Ph.D. from Columbia in 1913 and
made significant breakthroughs in cell biology with her research on sea urchins.
Libbie Hyman received her Ph.D. in 1915 from the University of Chicago and pub-
lished several zoology textbooks and a multivolume work on invertebrates; she was
elected president of the Society for Systematic Zoology in 1959. Alice Boring
(Ph.D., Bryn Mawr, 1910) was a zoologist who spent most of her career in China
Disciplines | 175
Maria Sibylla Merian
German-bom Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) was a naturalist and scientific
illustrator who became well-known for her detailed studies and drawings of plants,
flowers, and insects. One of the first naturalists to study insects firsthand, she
made important early contributions to the field of entomology, informing the later
classification efforts of Carl Linnaeus. She published several books of nature
and plant drawings, and, in 1679, already the mother of two daughters, she pub-
lished her work on The Caterpillar, Marvelous Transformation and Strange Floral
Food. This was the first work to trace the development of caterpillars into butter-
flies, with detailed information on their plant food needs at each stage. Living pri-
marily in Amsterdam, in the early 1700s, Merian traveled to the Dutch colony of
Suriname with her daughter, where she recorded notes and sketches of local
plant, animal, and insect life, and collected specimens to study and sell back in
The Netherlands.
Although Merian's work was groundbreaking, and her books were popular and
sold well, she was not always acknowledged by the male scientific community
because she did not publish in Latin. Still, several species of plants and insects
were named in her honor, and her beautiful botanical illustrations and engravings
have been enjoyed by students of science as well as art.
and made significant contributions to the literature on the taxonomy of Chinese
amphibians and reptiles. Hope Hibbard also earned a doctorate from Bryn Mawr
(1921) and was a cell biologist who conducted early tissue studies of marine inver-
tebrates. Roger Arliner Young researched sea urchin eggs and other organisms,
and was the first African American woman to earn a degree in zoology (from the
University of Pennsylvania in 1940).
Ornithology, especially, seemed to be an outgrowth of women's early interest in
nature observation and wildlife preservation. Florence Bailey did not hold an
advanced degree, but published several books on natural history, wildlife, and
birds in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Frances Hamerstrom
held a master's degree in wildlife biology and wrote several popular books, child-
ren's books, and autobiographies about her work observing the habitats of ground
birds and birds of prey. Margaret Nice was trained in psychology and extended
her work to the study of the behavior of birds. Other zoologists also combined
their research on animals with not only species-preservation efforts but also envi-
ronmental and ecological messages about the interrelationship between human
and animal species and habitats. Ann Haven Morgan (Ph.D., 1911) studied the
biology and ecology of freshwater animals and insects. Renowned ecologist
176 | American Women of Science since 1900
Ornithologist, Margaret Morse Nice, 1944. She adapted the scientific techniques of
psychology to new research on bird behavior. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Rachel Carson held a master's degree in zoology (from Johns Hopkins in 1932)
and began her career as an aquatic biologist. Lucille Stickel earned her Ph.D. in
zoology in 1949 and was a pioneer in the study of pesticides and chemical residues
found in animal brain tissue.
Women were also prominent in entomology in the early twentieth century.
Isabel McCracken was an entomologist and zoologist (Ph.D., Stanford, 1908)
who conducted research and published scientific papers on the genetics of beetles
and on birds of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Entomologist Annette Braun
(Ph.D., University of Cincinnati, 1911) and her sister, botanist Lucy Braun, com-
bined their scientific interests on joint research expeditions and preservation
efforts. Edith Patch (Ph.D., Cornell, 1911) studied the life histories and ecology
of migratory aphids, and in 1936 was elected the first female president of the Ento-
mological Society of America. Elizabeth Peckham was an early entomologist
Disciplines | 177
who, in collaboration with her husband, had a significant career researching the
social lives of wasps before returning to earn her doctorate later in life; she earned
a Ph.D. from Cornell in 1916 at the age of 62. Bertha Cady also earned her Ph.D.
later in life, receiving a doctorate from Stanford University in 1923 at the age of 50;
Cady was trained as an entomologist, but her research and teaching interests
included natural history and psychology.
In the later twentieth century, women entomologists continued to contribute to
scientific research and to apply their studies to problems in agriculture and other
industries. Mary Jane West-Eberhard is a renowned entomologist who has stud-
ied the evolution of social behavior of paper-wasps and other insects, primarily in
Central and South America. Entomologist May Berenbaum has focused on the
unexplained reductions in the honey bee population in the early twenty-first cen-
tury, launching a public campaign to highlight the importance of bees not only
for supplies of honey and wax, but for pollination of other plants, flowers, and food
crops. Marjorie Hoy is an entomologist who pioneered the development of new
methods for insect control in food crop plants.
Other zoologists focus on specific large animal species. Francesca La Monte
did not hold an advanced degree, but spent her entire career as an ichthyologist
at the American Museum of Natural History researching and developing exhibits
on marlin, swordfish, and other species. Eugenie Clark holds a Ph.D. in zoology
and has specialized in sharks. Cynthia Moss is a renowned wildlife biologist
who is an expert on the African elephant; with colleague Joyce Poole (who holds a
Ph.D. in animal behavior) she has also led the fight to stop the world trade in ivory.
Primatologists may be trained in zoology or in specialized fields, such as animal
behavior and development. Jeanne Altmann and Dian Fossey are both primatol-
ogists who have also combined scientific research with public education and pres-
ervation efforts to protect the large primates from poaching and habitat
destruction.
Finally, the work of many zoologists and animal biologists has informed medi-
cal research on human health and disease. Florence Peebles was one of the ear-
liest cell biologists and zoologists (Ph.D., Bryn Mawr, 1900); her work on the
embryology of chicks informed tissue-regeneration research in both plants and
animals. Early zoologist Elizabeth Adams received her Ph.D. in 1926 and taught
some of the first courses in heredity and in human embryology and the reproduc-
tive system. Margaret Lewis was an embryologist and zoologist who worked in
the early decades of the twentieth century on in vitro mammalian tissue cultures
to study tumor growth. Mary Jane Guthrie was also a cell biologist and mamma-
lian zoologist who created in vitro ovaries to understand how tumors begin.
Salome Waelsch earned a Ph.D. in Germany in 1932 and was another early mam-
malian geneticist who focused on genetic mutations of mice spines and tails; she
178 | American Women of Science since 1900
later researched the hereditary nature of blood cells and chromosomal defects that
affect liver function. Also trained in Germany, Berta Scharrer studied inverte-
brate zoology and with her scientist husband pioneered a new field of neuroendo-
crinology. In the 1940s and 1950s, zoologist Dorothy Pitelka was one of the
earliest cell researchers to use the electron microscope, and her research on simple
organisms contributed to the understanding of cancer-causing viruses. In the late
twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, there is not always a clear distinction
between zoology and research that is now regularly conducted (using animal
experiments, tissues, and cultures) in departments of microbiology, cell biology,
genetics, and other biomedical specialties.
See also Animal Sciences; Biology; Biomedical Sciences; Environmental
Sciences and Ecology; Genetics; Ocean Sciences; Primatology
References
Norwood, Vera. 1993. Made From This Earth: American Women and Nature. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press.
Riley, Glenda. 1999. Women and Nature: Saving the "Wild" West. Lincoln: University of
Nebraska Press.
Rossiter, Margaret. 1982. Women Scientists in America: Struggles and Strategies to 1940.
Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
A
Aberle, Sophie Bledsoe
1896 1996
Nutritionist, Anthropologist
Education: A.B., Stanford University, 1923, M.S., 1925, Ph.D., genetics, 1927;
M.D., Yale University, 1930
Professional Experience: assistant histologist, Stanford University, 1924-1925,
assistant embryologist and neurologist, 1925-1926; instructor, anthropology,
Institute of Human Relations, Yale University, 1927-1930, Sterling Fellow, School
of Medicine, 1930-1931, instructor, 1930-1934; research associate, Carnegie
Institute, 1934-1935; superintendent of Pueblo Indians, Bureau of Indian Affairs,
and secretary, Southwest Superintendents Council, 1935-1944; division of medical
science, National Research Council, 1944-1949; special research director, University
of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 1949-1954; chief nutritionist, Bernalillo County
Indian Hospital, 1953-1966; staff member, psychiatry, medical school, University
of New Mexico, 1966-1970
Sophie Aberle enjoyed a remarkable career that included working as an anthropolo-
gist, a physician, a nutritionist, and a psychiatrist. Starting about 1935, when she
held a position with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Aberle became visible as an
advocate for the Pueblo people in all areas of their lives, including health, educa-
tion, culture, and living conditions. Her book, The Pueblo Indians of New Mexico,
Their Land, Economy and Civil Organization, was published by the American
Anthropological Association in 1948, and argued that retaining rights to their land
was essential for Pueblo economic survival, as livestock farming was their primary
source of financial, cultural, and tribal stability. She was married to William A.
Brophy, who was a lawyer for the Pueblo Indians and served as U.S. Commissioner
of Indian Affairs between 1945 and 1948. Together, Brophy and Aberle published a
collection of reports on The Indian: America's Unfinished Business (1966;
reprinted, 2001).
Aberle worked at both the local and national levels on such projects as the upper
Rio Grande drainage basin committee; consultant for the health committee of the
179
180 | Aberle, Sophie Bledsoe
Sophie Aberle, anthropologist, nutritionist, and physician. (Harry S. Truman Presidential
Library)
All Indian Pueblo Council; member of New Mexico Nutrition Committee; member
of the Committee of Maternal and Infant Mortality; member of White House
Conference on Children in Democracy; chair of the board of directors for the South-
west Field Training School for Federal Service; member and later executive director
of the Commission on Rights, Liberties, and Responsibilities of American Indians;
director of a survey of Indian Education for the Bureau of Indian Affairs; consul-
tant to the All Indian Pueblo Council on computer-assisted instruction programs;
consultant for Stanford University's study of Indian education; and consultant
for the bilingual/bicultural project of the Bernalillo School District. She served
on the board of directors of numerous organizations such as Planned Parenthood,
the county YWCA, and the Bernalillo County Indian Hospital.
Aberle was the first woman member of the National Science Board (the policy-
making body for the National Science Foundation), serving on the board from
1950 to 1957. She was a member of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, American Anthropological Association, and the American Medical
Association.
Abriola, Linda M. | 181
Abriola, Linda M.
b. 1954
Civil Engineer
Education: B.S., civil engineering, Drexel University, 1976; M.S., civil engineer-
ing, Princeton University, 1979, M.A., 1980, Ph.D., civil engineering, 1983
Professional Experience: project engineer, Procter and Gamble Manufacturing
Co., New York, 1976-1978; research and teaching assistant, Princeton University,
1979-1983, postdoctoral researcher, civil engineering, 1983; assistant to associate
professor, civil and environmental engineering, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, 1984-1996, director, Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Pro-
gram, 1996-2001, professor, 1996-2003, Horace Williams King Collegiate Profes-
sorship, 2001-2003; dean and professor, civil and environmental engineering, and
adjunct professor, chemical and biological engineering, Tufts University, 2003-
Concurrent Positions: visiting associate professor, petroleum engineering,
University of Texas, Austin, 1991;
visiting scientist, geotechnical engi-
neering, Universitat Politecnica de
Cataluna, Barcelona, Spain, 1992
Linda Abriola is a civil engineer whose
research combines laboratory experi-
ments and mathematical modeling of
organic chemical liquid contaminants.
She is one of the leaders of the Inte-
grated Multiphase Environmental
Systems (IMPES) laboratory at Tufts
University, where she has been on the
faculty and has been dean of engineer-
ing since 2003. She received her doc-
torate from Princeton in 1979 and,
before her affiliation with Tufts, was
professor and director of the Environ-
mental and Water Resources Engineer-
ing Program at the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Abriola was elected to the National
Academy of Engineering in 2003. Her CM engineer, Linda Abriola. (Courtesy of
numerous awards include a National Tufts University)
182 | Ackerman, Bernice
Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award (1985), the Associa-
tion for Women Geoscientist's Outstanding Educator Award (1996), the National
Ground Water Association's Distinguished Darcy Lectureship (1996), and the
SERDP Project of the Year Award in Environmental Restoration (2006). She is
a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, and has been a member and invited
participant of committees for the National Academy of Engineering, U.S. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Department of Energy, and the National
Research Council, including the NRC Committee on Gender Differences in
Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty.
Further Resources
Tufts University. Faculty website, http://engineering.tufts.edu/cee/people/abriola/.
Tufts University. Integrated Multiphase Environmental Systems Laboratory (IMPES).
http://engineering.tufts.edu/cee/impes/.
Ackerman, Bernice
1924 1995
Meteorologist
Education: B.S., meteorology, University of Chicago, 1948, M.S., meteorology,
1955, Ph.D., geophysical science, 1965
Professional Experience: meteorologist and hydrologist, U.S. Weather Bureau,
1948-1953; research associate, Cloud Physics Laboratory, University of Chicago,
1953-1965, assistant professor, meteorology, 1965-1967; associate professor,
meteorology, Texas A&M University, 1967-1970; associate meteorologist,
Atmospheric Sciences Section, Argonne National Laboratory, 1970-1972; senior
meteorologist, Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois, 1972-1978, prin-
cipal scientist, 1978-1989, head of meteorology section, 1980-1989
Bernice Ackerman was a meteorologist at a time when the field was almost exclu-
sively the domain of male scientists. During World War II, the U.S. government
began to train women as meteorologists and hydrologists to make more men avail-
able for military service. Some of the female meteorologists, such as Ackerman,
were members of the U.S. Navy's Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency
Services (WAVES), while others were civilian employees. Ackerman was the first
woman weather forecaster in the United States, the only woman research meteor-
ologist in the Cloud Physics Laboratory at the University of Chicago, and the first
woman meteorologist at Argonne National Laboratory. After her wartime service
Adams, (Amy) Elizabeth | 183
as a weather observer and flight briefer with WAVES, she attended the University
of Chicago, where she received a bachelor's degree in meteorology with a minor in
mathematics. She worked for the U.S. Weather Bureau for several years before
returning to the University of Chicago to complete her master's degree. She stayed
at Chicago as a research associate while completing her doctorate in geophysical
sciences, which she received in 1965. She went on to teach boundary layer mete-
orology and cloud physics at Texas A&M University. She then joined the staff of
Argonne National Laboratory, where she stayed two years before moving to the
Illinois State Water Survey.
Ackerman was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science and a fellow of the American Meteorological Society. She was also a
member of the American Geophysical Union.
Adams, (Amy) Elizabeth
1892 1962
Zoologist
Education: A.B., zoology, Mount Holyoke College, 1914; University of Chicago,
1916; A.M., Columbia University, 1919; Ph.D., zoology, Yale University, 1926;
University of Edinburgh, 1930-1931
Professional Experience: laboratory assistant, zoology, Mount Holyoke College,
1914-1915, instructor to associate professor, 1915-1928, professor, 1928-1957
Concurrent Positions: honorary fellow, Yale University, 1922-1923
Elizabeth Adams was a zoologist who spent her entire career at Mount Holyoke
College, where many female zoologists of the early twentieth century received their
degrees. Her areas of research were experimental embryology and endocrinology,
and she taught some of the first courses in heredity and in human embryology at
Mount Holyoke as well as some of the first studies of the reproductive system. Her
brother-in-law was a physician in Pennsylvania who helped collect fetal specimens
for the college laboratories, including those used in Adams's courses. She was one
of the most renowned women zoologists of her generation and obtained grants, even
during the Depression Era of the 1930s, from sources such as the Bache Fund of the
National Academy of Sciences, Sigma Xi, the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, several committees of the National Research Council,
and the Rockefeller Foundation. Particularly in women's colleges at that time,
research funds, facilities, and faculty leave time were scarce or nonexistent.
184 | Adelman, Irma Glicman
Adams and her sister, Katherine Mary, both attended Mount Holyoke College as
undergraduates. She went on to earn a master's degree from Columbia University
and a doctorate in zoology from Yale University. She also took courses at the Uni-
versity of Chicago and University of Edinburg, but spent her entire teaching career
at Mount Holyoke College. On several occasions, she served as acting head of the
zoology department, and in 1926 served one semester as acting dean of the college.
She retired in 1957. Adams was a member of several scientific societies, including
the Endocrine Society and the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. She
was also an elected fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Further Resources
Levin, Miriam R. 2005. Defining Women's Scientific Enterprise: Mount Holyoke Faculty
and the Rise of American Science. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England.
Morgan, Lynn Marie. 2006. "The Rise and the Demise of a Collection of Human Fetuses
at Mount Holyoke College." Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 49(3): 435 451.
(Summer 2006).
Adelman, Irma Glicman
b. 1930
Economist
Education: B.S., University of California, Berkeley, 1950, M.A., 1951, Ph.D.,
economics, 1955
Professional Experience: instructor, University of California, Berkeley, 1956—
1957, assistant professor, 1957-1958; visiting assistant professor, Mills College,
1958-1959; assistant professor, Stanford University, 1959-1962; associate profes-
sor, Johns Hopkins University, 1962-1965; professor, economics, Northwestern
University, 1966-1972; professor, economics, University of Maryland, 1972-
1978; professor, economics and agricultural economics, University of California,
Berkeley, 1979-1994, emeritus
Concurrent Positions: consultant, Division of Industrial Development, United
Nations, 1962-1963; consultant, Agency for International Development, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, 1963-1972; consultant, World Bank, 1968—
Irma Adelman is an internationally renowned economist whose research focuses on
how the economic growth of nations is affected by and, in turn, affects economics
and political institutions; how institutions and economic structure and choices affect
the diffusion of benefits from economic and institutional change; and examining
Agogino, Alice M. | 185
income distribution and poverty, both descriptively and from a policy viewpoint.
Adelman was born in Romania and emigrated to the United States with her family
in 1949, her family escaping the fate of many Jews during that period. She attended
Berkeley and, after completing her graduate work, was unable to find a permanent
position. She held a series of short appointments at several schools, and when her
physicist husband, Frank Adelman, accepted an appointment in the Washington,
D.C., area, she obtained a position at Johns Hopkins University and began working
on summer research projects at the Brookings Institution. She was invited to join the
faculty at Northwestern University in 1966, and her husband followed her to the
Chicago area. She went on to teach at the University of Maryland before returning
to Berkeley as a professor. She has also served as a consultant to the United Nations
Division of Industrial Development and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Adelman has received numerous appointments and awards for her work interna-
tionally, including awards in Korea and Vietnam. In 1977, she was invited to hold
the Cleringa Chair at Leiden University in The Netherlands, a one-year appoint-
ment that rotates between a Dutch professor and a foreign professor. She was the
fourth holder of the chair and the second economist. She has published more than
130 papers and books, was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences, and is a member of the Econometric Society and the American Eco-
nomic Association.
Agogino, Alice M.
b. 1952
Mechanical Engineer
Education B.S., mechanical engineering, University of New Mexico, 1975; M.S.,
mechanical engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1978; Ph.D.,
engineering-economic systems, Stanford University, 1984
Professional Experience: project engineer, Dow Chemical, Texas, 1972-1973;
mechanical engineer, General Electric, 1975-1978, commercial specialist, 1978-
1979; systems analyst, SRI, 1980; director, Women-in-Engineering Program,
University of Santa Clara, California, 1980-1981; principal, Agogino Engineering,
1979-; assistant professor to professor, mechanical engineering, University of
California, Berkeley, 1984-
Concurrent Positions: associate dean, College of Engineering, University of
California, Berkeley, 1995-1999; director, Instructional Technology Program,
University of California, Berkeley, 1999-2001
186 | Agogino, Alice M.
Alice Agogino is a mechanical engineer whose research interests include intel-
ligent learning systems, wireless sensor networks, design theory and methods,
multimedia and computer-aided design (CAD), artificial intelligence, and gender
equity. She has strong ties in both academia and industry and has played a
prominent role in developing and reforming technology education, including
bringing more women and minorities into science and engineering careers. She
is director of the Berkeley Expert Systems Technology (BEST) Laboratory and
the Berkeley Instructional Technology Studio (BITS), and director of Synthesis,
a National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored project committed to under-
graduate engineering education.
Dr. Agogino has authored numerous articles and publications and received
prizes for best papers at engineering conferences. She has served on the edito-
rial board of professional journals. Beyond her role in the university, she has
been involved in collaborative projects with industry and has been a member
or advisor for governmental and industry organizations and committees such
as the National Science Foundation Advisory Committee for Engineering
(1991-96, chair 1996-97), the National Research Council (NRC) Government-
University-Industry Roundtable (1997-98), the NRC Committee on "Standards
for Technology Education" (1997-98), the National Academy of Engineering
(NAE) Academic Advisory Board (1998-2002), and the National Academies
Board on Science Education (2005-2007), and is co-chair of the NAE Mechanical
Engineering Nominating Committee (2007-2010). She also served on the
National Academies Women in Academic Science Engineering Committee
(2005-2006), the goal of which was to "report on maximizing the potential of
women in academic science and engineering, including findings and recommen-
dations for recruiting, hiring, promoting, and retaining women scientists and
engineers."
Agogino was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 1997,
and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(engineering chair, 2001-2002), the European Academy of Science, the Associ-
ation of Women in Science, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
She is also a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and
the Society of Women Engineers. Some of her earliest awards and honors
include a NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award (1985) and the Young
Manufacturing Engineer of the Year Award of the Society of Manufacturing
Engineers (1987).
Further Resources
University of California. Faculty website, http://www.me.berkeley.edu/faculty/
aagogino.html.
Ajzenberg-Selove, Fay | 187
Ajzenberg-Selove, Fay
b. 1926
Nuclear Physicist
Education: B.S.E., University of Michigan, 1946; M.S., University ofWisconsin,
1949, Ph.D., physics, 1952
Professional Experience: assistant to associate professor, physics, Boston
University, 1952-1957; associate professor to professor, Haverford College,
1957-1970; professor, physics, University of Pennsylvania, 1970-
Concurrent Positions: Smith-Mundt Fellow, U.S. State Department, 1955; visiting
assistant professor, Columbia University, 1955; visiting professor, National Univer-
sity of Mexico, 1955; visiting associate physicist, Brookhaven National Laboratory,
1956; lecturer, University of Pennsylvania, 1957; Guggenheim Fellow, Lawrence
Radiation Laboratory, 1965-1966; consultant, California Institute of Technology,
1970-1972
Fay Ajzenberg-Selove is an internationally recognized authority on nuclear structure.
She was born in Berlin of Russian parents, but because of financial problems the
family moved to Paris in 1930. The family was forced to flee that city in 1940
because some family members were Russian Jews who had supported the Commu-
nist Party. Fortunately, her family believed in education for women, and they allowed
her to study any subjects she chose. She completed her high school education after
arriving in the United States in 1941 and enrolled in the Engineering School at the
University of Michigan, the only woman in a class of 100. After spending a year in
the graduate school at Columbia University, she taught college-level mathematics
at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She then entered the graduate school at the
University ofWisconsin and received her degree in physics in 1952.
She was a joint editor of Energy Levels of Light Nuclei for the fourth edition
(1952) and the fifth edition (1955); she has been solely responsible for the sixth
edition (1973) and all subsequent editions. In addition to numerous other scientific
publications, she has been active in encouraging women to pursue careers in phys-
ics. Her autobiography, A Matter of Choices: Memoirs of a Female Physicist
(1994), describes many of the professional problems she faced, problems that still,
unfortunately, plague women scientists today.
Ajzenberg-Selove is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science and of the American Physical Society, serving as chair of the Division
of Nuclear Physics (1973-74). She was also a member of the Nuclear Science Advi-
sory Committee of the Department of Energy (1977-80). Her numerous awards
include the Christian and Mary Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished
188 | Altmann, Jeanne
Teaching (1991), the Nicholson Medal for Humanitarian Service, American Physical
Society (1999), the Distinguished Alumni Fellow Award, Department of Physics,
University of Wisconsin (2001), and several honorary doctorates. In March 2006,
the University of Pennsylvania held a special symposium in honor of the work of
Fay Ajzenberg-Selove and her husband, Walter Selove, also a physicist.
Further Resources
University of Pennsylvania. Faculty website, http://www.physics.upenn.edu/people/
f.ajzenberg.html.
Ajzenberg-Selove, Fay. 1994. A Matter of Choices: Memoirs of a Female Physicist. New
Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Altmann, Jeanne
Primatologist, Anthropologist
Education: B.A., mathematics, University of Alberta, 1962; M.A.T., mathematics
and teaching, Emory University, 1970; Ph.D., behavioral sciences/human develop-
ment, University of Chicago, 1979
Professional Experience: statistical clerk, Laboratory of Human Development, Har-
vard University and Office of Mathematical Research, National Institutes of Health,
1959-1960; research associate and co-investigator in primate field studies, zoology,
University of Alberta, 1963-1965; research associate and co-investigator, Yerkes
National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, 1965-1967
and 1969-1970; research associate, biology, University of Chicago, 1970-1985,
associate professor, ecology and evolution, 1985-1989, professor, 1989-1998;
professor, ecology and evolutionary biology, Princeton University, 1998, faculty
associate, Office of Population Research, 1999-, faculty associate, Princeton Envi-
ronmental Institute, 2005-, Eugene Higgins Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology, 2007-
Concurrent Positions: research curator and associate curator of primates,
Chicago Zoological Society, 1985-; honorary lecturer, zoology, University of
Nairobi, 1989-, visiting professor, animal physiology, 2003-2008
Jeanne Altmann is a primatologist and anthropologist who studies the demography,
genetics, behavior, and life histories of wild primates. She has been involved in
long-term full-time studies of baboon family units since founding the Amboseli
Baboon Research Project in Kenya, Africa, in 1963 with her husband, primatologist
Stuart Altmann. The Altmanns have organized the work of dozens of scientists and
Altmann, Margaret | 189
researchers at Amboseli while serving
as professors of primatology and evo-
lutionary biology at the University of
Chicago and, since 1998, at Princeton
University. Jeanne Altmann became
the primary director of the project; her
work focuses on group social behavior
and on the effects of genetics and envi-
ronment on individual behavior, such
as mate choice and parental care. Her
1980 book, Baboon Mothers and
Infants, was one of the first studies of
primate maternal roles and changed
the course of primate research; a new
edition was published in 2001.
Altmann was elected to the National
Academy of Sciences in 2003. She is
the recipient of an Animal Behavior
Society Exemplar Award (1996), and a
fellow of the American Association of
Zoological Parks and Aquariums, Ani-
mal Behavior Society, and American
Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Primatologist and anthropologist Jeanne
Altmann. (Princeton University, Office of
Communications, Brian Wilson)
Further Resources
Princeton University. "Altmann Laboratory." http://www.princeton.edu/~altlab/.
"Amboseli Baboon Research Project." http://www.princeton.edu/~baboon/people.html.
Altmann, Margaret
1900 1984
Animal Science, Biologist
Education: Ph.D., rural economics, University of Bonn, 1928; Ph.D., animal
breeding, Cornell University, 1938
Professional Experience: farm manager, Germany, 1921-1930; dairy researcher,
German government, 1928-1929; lecturer, German Agriculture Ministry, 1929-
1931; Agricultural Council specialist, 1932-1933; assistant in animal breeding,
190 | Ancker-Johnson, Betsy
Cornell University, 1933-1938, research associate, psychobiology, 1938-1941;
associate professor, biology and animal husbandry and department chair, Hampton
Institute, 1941, professor, animal husbandry and genetics, 1941-1956; visiting
lecturer, psychology, University of Colorado, 1958; visiting professor, psychology
and biology, Kenyon College, 1959; professor, psychology, University of Colorado,
1959-1969; emerita, 1969-1984
Concurrent Positions: big game researcher, Biology Research Station, 1948-1956
Margaret Altmann was a researcher in psychobiology and animal husbandry and
one of the first women who worked in the area of agricultural animal sciences, a field
nearly the exclusive domain of male scientists at the time she was employed. Born
in Berlin, she worked for several German government agricultural agencies and
received a doctorate in rural economics from the University of Bonn in 1928. She
then moved to the United States, where she earned a second doctorate in animal
breeding from Cornell University in New York. She worked at Cornell as a psychobi-
ologist before moving to the Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) in Virginia
as professor of animal husbandry and genetics. She spent another 10 years as a pro-
fessor of psychology, combining her interests in biology and psychology, at the Uni-
versity of Colorado, retiring in 1 969 . Earlier she was also a big game researcher at the
Biology Research Station, where she studied and eventually published several papers
on the maternal behavior of large mammals, such as moose and elk. Even today, this
typically is considered a male profession, and it is a credit to Altmann's expertise and
persistence that she succeeded in two male-dominated areas of research.
Altmann was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, Genetics Society of America, and American Society of Mammalogists.
Further Resources
Chiszar, David and Michael Wertheimer. 2006. "Margaret Altmann: A Rugged Pioneer in
Rugged Fields." Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences. 24(1): 102 106.
Ancker-Johnson, Betsy
b. 1929
Solid-state Physicist
Education: B.A., Wellesley College, 1949; Ph.D., physics, Tubingen University,
1953
Professional Experience: junior research physicist and lecturer in physics, Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley, 1953-1954; staff member, Inter- Varsity Christian
Ancker-Johnson, Betsy | 191
Fellowship, Chicago, 1954-1956; senior research physicist, Microwave Physics
Laboratory, Sylvania Electric Products, Inc., 1956-1958; member of technical
staff, David Sarnoff Research Center, Radio Corporation of America (RCA),
1958-1961; research specialist, Plasma Physics Laboratory, Boeing Scientific
Research Laboratories, 1961-1970; supervisor, solid-state and plasma electronics,
Boeing Aerospace Company, 1970-1971, manager, advanced energy systems,
1971-1973; assistant secretary for science and technology, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1973-1977; associate laboratory director, physics research, Argonne
National Laboratory, 1977-1979; vice president, Environmental Activity Staff,
GM Technical Center, General Motors Corporation, 1979-1992
Concurrent Positions: affiliate professor, electrical engineering, University of
Washington, 1961-1973; visiting scientist, Bell Laboratories, 1967-1968; Regents
Lecturer, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University
of California, Berkeley, 1988-1989
Betsy Ancker-Johnson is an internationally known solid-state physicist who had a
distinguished career working for several corporations, reaching the level of a vice
president at General Motors Corporation. In 1973, she was the first woman scien-
tist to be appointed assistant secretary for science and technology at the U.S.
Department of Commerce. She began her career as a lecturer at the University of
California, Berkeley, where she met her future husband, Harold Johnson, a math-
ematics professor. When her husband accepted a position at Princeton University,
she found a job at Boeing Corporation. After working several years in research,
she requested that she be transferred to a management position.
While employed at Boeing, Ancker-Johnson received at least four electrical or
related patents, of which she was the sole inventor of three. Other patents were for a
solid density probe, a solid signal generator, and a solid-state amplifier and phase
detector. She then spent four years at the Department of Commerce and, after leaving
her position there, worked as associate laboratory director for physics research at
Argonne National Laboratory. She then moved to General Motors as vice president
in charge of environmental policy, the first woman vice president in the auto industry.
In this capacity, she headed a staff of over 200 and was responsible for automobile
safety, fuel economy, and noise and auto emissions, as well as for all waste from
GM plants worldwide. In the 1980s, she became concerned about the automotive
industry's role in global climate change, but the GM leadership did not yet heed her
warnings. She retired from GM in 1992, but she went on to serve on the National
Research Council to address the issue of global warming.
Ancker-Johnson was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engi-
neering in 1975. She has been very active in promoting the role of women scientists,
especially through her memberships in professional organizations. She served as
192 | Anderson, Gloria (Long)
chair of the Energy Policy Committee (1981-84) and later Director of the Motor
Vehicle Manufacturers Association (1982-92). Her concern about the environment
led to her position as chair (1988-94) and later Director of the World Environment
Center (1988-1994). She was also a councilor for the National Academy of Engi-
neering beginning in 1995. She wrote the book Nobel Prize Women in Science:
Their Lives, Struggles, and Momentous Discoveries (1993). She received honorary
doctorates from New York Polytechnic Institute (1979), Bates College (1980), and
the University of Southern California (1984), and is a fellow of the American
Physical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and
a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers. In some sources, her name is
spelled as "Anker."
Anderson, Gloria (Long)
b. 1938
Chemist
Education: B.S., Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical and Normal College (now
the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff), 1958; M.S., Atlanta University, 1961;
Ph.D., organic chemistry, University of Chicago, 1968
Professional Experience: instructor, chemistry, South Carolina State College,
1961-1962; instructor, chemistry, Morehouse College, 1962-1964; summer
school professor, South Carolina State College, 1967; Calloway Associate Profes-
sor and chair, chemistry, Morris Brown College, 1968-1973, professor and chair,
chemistry, 1973-1984, acting Vice President of Academic Affairs, 1984-1985,
Dean of Academic Affairs, 1985-1989; Distinguished Scholar, United Negro
College Fund UNCF, 1989-1990; professor, chemistry, Morris Brown College,
1990-, Interim President, 1992-1993, Dean of Science and Technology, 1996-
Concurrent Positions: vice chair, Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB),
1977-1979; research consultant, BioSPECS, Hague, Netherlands, 1990-; Certified
Professional Chemist, American Institute of Chemists, 1992-
Gloria Anderson is an authority on the industrial, medical, and military applica-
tions of fluorine- 19 chemistry. Fluorine- 19 chemistry began to be an important field
of research prior to World War II, when many commercial applications were dis-
covered. Anderson chose fluorine- 19 as her thesis topic and has retained it as her
major interest in research. Her research has involved the use of nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, a procedure that enables an extremely sophisti-
cated analysis of the molecular structures and interactions of various materials.
Anderson, Mary P. | 193
Anderson has conducted research in a variety of fields, and starting in 1971, the
National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of
Naval Research have funded her investigation of fluorine- 19. She conducted
research on amantadines, a drug used to prevent viral infection, under the sponsor-
ship of the National Institutes of Health, and she held a faculty industrial research
fellowship with the National Science Foundation in 1981 and with the Air Force
Office of Scientific Research in 1984. In 1985, she conducted research on the
synthesis of solid rocket propellants under the auspices of the Air Force Office of
Scientific Research. She has been a research consultant for BioSPECS of the Hague,
Netherlands, since 1990.
Anderson has been very much involved in education on the national level. She
was appointed to the board for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 1972
for a six-year term, and while there, she chaired committees on minority training,
minorities and women, and human resources development, and served as vice chair
of the board from 1977 to 1979. She has also served on the review panel for the
National Science Foundation's Women in Science Program. She is a member of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical
Society, the National Institute of Science, the National Science Teachers Associa-
tion, and the Georgia Academy of Science. In addition to teaching, she has held
numerous academic and administrative positions, including department chair, dean,
and interim president, at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Anderson, Mary P.
b. 1948
Geologist, Hydrologist
Education: B.A., geology, State University of New York, Buffalo, 1970; M.S.,
geology, Stanford University, 1971; Ph.D., hydrology, Stanford University, 1973
Professional Experience: adjunct assistant professor, geology, Southampton
College of Long Island University, 1973-1975; assistant to associate professor,
geology and geophysics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1975-1985, professor,
1985-
Concurrent Positions: visiting lecturer, geology, State University of New York,
Stony Brook, 1974
Mary P. Anderson is a professor of hydrogeology, which is the study of the Earth's
groundwater and lake systems. Her research is focused in Wisconsin, where she is
professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She
194 | Angier, Natalie
has been involved in ongoing studies of how global climate change impacts
groundwater and lake water levels as part of the National Science Foundation's
Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project in northern Wisconsin. This
research also contributes to questions of environmental and ecological importance,
such as restoration of wetlands and detection of groundwater contamination. She
has published numerous articles and book chapters, and her books have been
through multiple editions, including the textbooks Introduction to Groundwater
Modeling (originally published 1982; co-authored with H. F. Wang) and Applied
Groundwater Modeling (originally published 1992; co-authored with W. W.
Woessner), which has been printed in Japanese and Chinese editions as well.
Anderson was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006. She is a
fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America,
which awarded her the O. E. Meinzer Award (1998) for her work in hydrogeology.
She also received the Hubbert Award of the Association of Ground Water Scientists
and Engineers and the National Ground Water Association (1992). She has been
editor or editorial board member for numerous professional journals, most recently
as editor-in-chief of Ground Water (2002-2007), the journal of the National Ground
Water Association. Anderson has been sought out as a member of professional,
regulatory, and government research committees such as the National Research
Council Committee on Ground- Water in Relation to Coal Mining (1978-80), the
Panel on Groundwater Contamination of the Geophysics Study Committee
(1981-83), the Water Science and Technology Board (1984-87), an ad hoc
Committee to advise the U.S. Army on groundwater modeling needs (1992), and
the Committee on Hydrologic Science (1999-2003). She has been especially
active with the American Geophysical Union, serving on its award selection and
executive committees and as President of the Hydrology Section (1996-1998).
Further Resources
University of Wisconsin. Faculty website, http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~andy/
HOMEPAGE.htm.
Angier, Natalie
b. 1958
Science Writer
Education: student, University of Michigan, 1974-1976; B.A., Barnard College, 1978
Professional Experience: technical writer, Texas Instruments, 1979; researcher to
staff writer, Discover magazine, 1980-1983; editor, Savvy magazine, 1983-1984;
Angier, Natalie | 195
staff writer, Time magazine, 1984-1986; instructor, journalism, New York University,
1987-1989; reporter to science correspondent, New York Times, Washington, D.C.,
bureau, 1990-
Concurrent Positions: Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large, Cornell University,
2007-2012
Natalie Angier is a journalist who writes on scientific topics and has been
acknowledged and praised for making the latest scientific research accessible to
a wider audience. She has been a longtime science correspondent for the New York
Times and a prolific contributor to essay anthologies, popular newspapers, and
magazines. Her books include Natural Obsessions: The Search for the Oncogene
(1988; reissued 1999), The Beauty of the Beastly: New Views on the Nature of Life
(1995), Woman: An Intimate Geography (1999), and The Canon: A Whirligig Tour
of the Beautiful Basics of Science (2007). She also co-edited the 2002 edition of
The Best American Science and Nature Writing. In 1991, she received the presti-
gious Pulitzer Prize for reporting.
Angier's first book, Natural Obsessions, was based on time spent in a cancer
research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The book
provided what one reviewer described as an important look at "the brutal intellectual
Darwinism that dominates the high-stakes world of molecular genetics research." For
the essay collection The Beauty of the Beastly, she examined various life forms in her
characteristically technical but amusing writing style. Her book Woman: An Intimate
Geography was a sweeping overview of scientific research on the female body, from
the cellular to the anatomical and psychological. In The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of
the Beautiful Basics of Science, Angier took an even wider view in an effort to get
at the big issues in various scientific disciplines. She read the research and talked to
active scientists from a variety of disciplines — biology, chemistry, physics,
astronomy, evolutionary biology, environmental sciences, and others — bringing
together the latest findings and presenting complex ideas to the lay reader. Angier
has been praised in all of these works for advocating scientific literacy among the gen-
eral public and for helping readers understand how science works in our daily lives.
Angier is a member of the National Association of Science Writers and, in addi-
tion to the Pulitzer Prize, she has been awarded the Lewis Thomas Prize from
Rockefeller University (1990), an excellence in journalism award from the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (1992), a Distinguished Alumnae
Award from Barnard College (1993), and the Maggie Award of Planned Parenthood
Federation (1999).
Further Resources
"Natalie Angier." http://www.natalieangier.com.
196 | Anslow, Gladys Amelia
Anslow, Gladys Amelia
1892 1969
Physicist
Education: A.B., Smith College, 1914, A.M., 1917; Ph.D., physics, Yale University,
1924
Professional Experience: demonstrator, physics department, Smith College,
1914-1915, assistant, 1915-1917, instructor, 1917-1924, assistant professor to
professor, 1924-1958
Concurrent Positions: chair, graduate school, Smith College, 1941-1958; chief,
communications and information, Office of Scientific Research and Development
(OSRD), 1944-1945
Gladys Anslow was physicist who studied spectroscopy of biological materials,
ultraviolet vacuum spectroscopy, and nuclear structure problems. She was an
outstanding teacher and researcher in the early twentieth century, when many
women's colleges did not have adequate facilities for research in physics. At Smith
College, Anslow took a course in spectroscopy with Janet T. Howell, with whom
she researched the emission spectra of radium. After receiving her master's degree,
Anslow completed some graduate coursework at the University of Chicago before
entering the doctoral program at Yale. While working toward her Ph.D. in high-
energy physics, she also taught courses at Smith and collaborated on research proj-
ects and joint publications in physics journals. After receiving her doctorate from
Yale, Anslow spent her entire academic career at Smith College. She was invited
to Berkeley in the summer of 1939 to work in the laboratory of E. O. Lawrence,
who won the Nobel Prize in Physics that year. She returned to Smith to implement
some of the methods she learned at Berkeley, but her projects were interrupted by
the onset of World War II. Anslow was recruited by one of her Yale professors as
a special assistant for the OSRD during the war. The OSRD was created to support
research on wartime applications for scientific research, including radar, explo-
sives, drug research, and the atomic bomb. Although many male scientists found
employment with the OSRD during the war, Anslow was one of the few, and
appears to have been one of the highest-ranking, women working in the organiza-
tion. She became chief of communications, in liaison with civilian scientists work-
ing on military projects, and also retained her position at Smith throughout the war.
She received a Presidential Certificate of Merit in 1948 from Harry Truman.
The postwar United States maintained a new level of commitment to and sup-
port for scientific research, and in the 1950s, Anslow was able to fund her work
with government grants. While unable to secure enough funding for a new science
Apgar, Virginia | 197
building at Smith as originally hoped, Anslow and her colleagues were able to
upgrade facilities and buy new equipment, such as spectrophotometers, to support
"physical and chemical studies of biologically important molecules" for medical
applications. The women at Smith struggled with additional funding, however,
when their findings did not corroborate those of leading male scientists, such as
Linus Pauling. In the 1960s, however, their work was supported by the National
Science Foundation, and Anslow was awarded an emeritus Sophia Smith Fellow-
ship in 1966 to continue her research even after retirement.
Anslow was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi, and she was a fellow of
the American Physical Society and a member of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the Optical Society
of America, and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy.
Apgar, Virginia
1909 1974
Pediatrician
Education: B.S., zoology, Mount Holyoke, 1929; M.D., Columbia University, 1933;
M.S., public health, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, 1959
Professional Experience: resident and intern, surgery, Columbia Presbyterian
Hospital, 1933-1937, director, anesthesia division, 1938-1959, professor, anesthe-
siology, 1949-1959; director, division of congenital malformations, National Foun-
dation for Infantile Paralysis, 1959-1967, director, basic research, 1967-1968, vice
president, medical affairs, 1971-1974
Concurrent Positions: honorary lecturer, medicine, Johns Hopkins School of
Public Health, 1959, lecturer, genetics, 1973; lecturer, pediatrics, Cornell Univer-
sity, 1965-1971, clinical professor, pediatrics, 1971-1974
Virginia Apgar was a pioneer anesthesiologist, neonatologist, and pediatrician best
known for developing the "Apgar score," a scale for assessing the physical and men-
tal health of newborn babies immediately after birth. Apgar had an early interest in
science and medicine and graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1929 with a
major in zoology. She went on to receive her medical training from the Columbia
University College of Physicians and Surgeons, receiving the M.D. in 1933. She
completed a surgical residency at Columbia, but was discouraged from becoming a
surgeon and sought training instead in the relatively new field of anesthesiology at
both the University of Wisconsin, Madison and New York's Bellevue Hospital in
New York. She was only the second woman to be board-certified in anesthesiology
198 | Apgar, Virginia
and returned to Columbia as director of the new anesthesia department in 1938.
In 1949, she became the first female full professor at the College of Physicians and
Surgeons. Apgar was interested in the effects on the baby of labor and delivery,
including the effects of any anesthesia given to laboring women. She developed the
"Apgar score," assigning a 0- to 2-point rating to five measurements of newborn
health assessed at 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth: heart rate, respiratory effort,
muscle tone, reflex response, and color. The letters of her last name were later
used to create an acronym for the five measurements: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace
(reaction and irritability), Activity, and Respiration.
Apgar first published her method in 1953, and the score was accepted as a
worldwide obstetrical standard for assessing newborn neurological health and sur-
vival rates. The test has been used by neonatologists for more than 50 years now
and has been credited with contributing to a decline in infant mortality worldwide
by changing birthing practices and alerting physicians to potential problems,
allowing for early interventions. Apgar authored dozens of scientific papers and
articles for magazines and newspapers, as well as co-authored the book Is My
Baby All Right? (1972). She went on to earn a master's degree in public health
from Johns Hopkins University in 1959 and, after that time, left teaching to focus
on public education and research funding, including an affiliation with the
National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes) as director
of the division on birth defects and vice president of medical affairs.
Apgar was a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a member of the American Society
of Anesthesiologists (treasurer, 1941-1945). She received honorary doctorates
from the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (1964), from her alma mater,
Mount Holyoke College (1965), and from the New Jersey College of Medicine
and Dentistry (1967). Her other awards and honors include a Distinguished
Service Award from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (1961), Elizabeth
Blackwell Award of the American Women's Medical Association (1966), Alumni
Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement from Columbia University College of
Physicians and Surgeons (1973), and the Ralph M. Waters Award of the American
Society of Anesthesiologists (1973). In 1973, she was also named Woman of the
Year in Science by the Ladies' Home Journal, and she has been honored post-
humously with a U.S. postage stamp (1994) and with induction into the National
Women's Hall of Fame (1995). The American Academy of Pediatrics named its
Virginia Apgar Award in Perinatal Pediatrics in her honor.
Further Resources
March of Dimes. "Virginia Apgar: Her Score Was a Win for Babies." (28 May 2009).
http://www.marchofdimes.com/789 5973 1 .asp.
Archambault, JoAllyn I 199
Archambault, JoAllyn
b. 1942
Anthropologist, Museum Program Director
Education: B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1970, M.A., 1974, Ph.D.,
anthropology, 1984
Professional Experience: lecturer, Native American studies, University of
California, Berkeley, 1976-1979; chair, Ethnic Studies Department, California
College of Arts and Crafts, 1979-1980; part-time research associate, Center for
the Study of Race, Crime and Social Policy, Cornell University, 1980-1982; assis-
tant professor, anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 1983-1986;
director, American Indian Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smith-
sonian Institution, 1986-
JoAllyn Archambault is a prominent anthropologist and director of the American
Indian program at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. She was born
into a mixed-blood Standing Rock
Dakota, Creek, Irish, and French
family in Claremore, Oklahoma. Her
responsibilities at the museum consist
of preserving and promoting Native
American art, culture, and political
anthropology. She functions as an
ethnic liaison, supervises Native
American fellowship interns, and
manages a $110,000 annual program
budget. She was responsible for the
redesign of the North American
Indian Ethnology Halls for the
"Changing Culture in a Changing
World" exhibit. She has curated and
implemented four major exhibits:
"Plains Indian Arts: Change and Con-
tinuity" (1987), "100 Years of Plains
Indian Painting" (1989), "Indian Bas-
ketry and Their Makers" (1990), and
"Seminole!" (1990). She contributed
to the Los Angeles Southwest Muse-
um's quincentennial exhibit "Grand-
father, Hear Our Voices" in 1992.
Anthropologist JoAllyn Archambault, director
of the American Indian program at the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
(Peter Turnley/Corbis)
200 | Attneave, Carolyn (Lewis)
Her research for her doctorate centered on the Gallup ceremonial, an annual
tourist event held in Gallup, New Mexico, to display Native American arts of that
region. Originally, the ceremonial was sponsored by white people as a business
venture, but by the 1980s, the Native Americans had established their own dealer
contacts. Since that time, her interests have included research in several urban
and reservation communities, including reservation land use, health evaluation,
expressive art, material culture, contemporary native culture, and the sun dance
ceremony of eight different Plains groups. She has provided a great deal of assis-
tance with respect to conservation, architecture, public programming, and research
projects to tribes and to Native American-controlled museums, archives, and other
types of cultural projects. She has lectured at several colleges both before and after
joining the Smithsonian.
One of the controversies in Native American anthropology involves the number
of skeletal remains that are housed in museums and laboratories across the United
States. The problem continues to escalate because federal regulations require an
anthropological analysis of any potentially historical material that is discovered.
Although many people agree that the Native American skeletal remains should
be returned to the tribes, it is often difficult to establish which tribe is involved
or whether an established tribe still exists. Archambault has served on the
Commission on Native American Reburial of the American Anthropological
Association as well as on the University of California Joint Academic-Senate-
Administration Committee on Human Skeletal Remains. She is a member of
the American Ethnological Society as well as of several similar associations. Her
work can be found in the permanent collections of several museums that specialize
in Native American art. She published An Annotated Bibliography of Sources on
Plains Indian Art (ca. 1995).
Attneave, Carolyn (Lewis)
1920 1992
Psychologist
Education: A.A., Yuba College, 1939; B.A., Chico State College (now California
State University, Chico), 1940; M.A., Stanford University, 1947, Ph.D., psychology,
1952
Professional Experience: elementary school teacher, 1940-1942; director of
student personnel, Texas Woman's University, 1956-1957; assistant professor,
psychology and human development, Texas Technological College (now Texas
Attneave, Carolyn (Lewis) | 201
Tech University), 1957-1961; coordinator, Oklahoma State Department of Health,
1962-1969; senior psychologist, Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, 1969-1971;
assistant professor, clinical psychology, Tufts University School of Medicine,
1971; coordinator of public service careers programs, Massachusetts Department
of Mental Health, 1971-1972; supervisor of family therapy, Boston University,
1972-1975; research associate and lecturer, Harvard University School of Public
Health, 1973-1975; professor, psychology and adjunct professor, behavioral sci-
ences, University of Washington, Seattle, 1975-1987, director of American Indian
studies, 1975-1977
Concurrent Positions: consulting psychologist and family therapist, private prac-
tice; U.S. Coast Guard Women's Auxiliary (SPARS), 1942-1946
Carolyn Attneave was the founder of network therapy and probably the best-
known Native American psychologist. She was internationally renowned for her
expertise in cross-cultural topics in counseling and psychotherapy and for
her pioneering work to extend family therapy to include the social network of
the client. Her book Family Networks: Retribalization and Healing (1973) is con-
sidered the most comprehensive and significant presentation of social
network therapy for families. Instead of merely assisting the client and family to
solve an immediate problem, the therapist convenes a group as large as 40 people
who are related to the identified client by blood, friendship, need, or physical
proximity. The members of this large, diverse group bring their strengths to help
the client cope with the problem and to prepare the client to handle the next crisis
of living.
After receiving her Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford University in 1952,
Attneave completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Chicago and the
University of Oklahoma Medical School. Attneave's theory of network therapy
developed out of her work as an elementary school teacher working with troubled
children within the larger context of family and community. However, her own
experiences as a child visiting her grandparents during the summer on the Dela-
ware Indian tribal lands in Oklahoma impressed on her the need to retain contact
with her Indian heritage. Her mother was descended from the Delaware Indian
tribes but had grown up with little knowledge of the customs and traditions of
the community. While working for the Oklahoma State Department of Health,
Attneave was able to develop the idea further. There, she collaborated with physi-
cians, civic organizations, tribal and federal agencies, tribal leaders, and medicine
men in providing mental-health services to the seven Native American tribes in
the region.
Attneave became a founding member of the Boston Indian Council, one of the
largest Native American centers in the country, and she started a newsletter,
202 | Austin, Pauline Morrow
Network of Indian Psychologists, to exchange information about services available
to the American Indian community. The subscribers to the newsletter eventually
evolved into a formal organization, the Society of Indian Psychologists. In 1981,
she directed a project sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health to com-
pile a computerized bibliography of American Indian mental-health research. The
bibliography is housed at the National Center for American Indian and Alaska
Native Mental Health Research at the University of Colorado, Denver.
Austin, Pauline Morrow
b. 1916
Meteorologist
Education: B.A., Wilson College, 1938; M.A., Smith College, 1939; Ph.D., physics,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1942
Professional Experience: computer, Radiation Laboratory, Massachusetts Insti-
tute of Technology (MIT), 1941-1942, staff member, 1942-1945, research staff,
1946-1953; lecturer, Wellesley College, 1953-1955; senior research associate,
MIT, 1956-1979
Pauline Austin was a meteorologist and at one time was the director of weather
radar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her areas of research were radar-
scattering cross sections, propagation of electromagnetic waves in the atmosphere,
storm tracking, and precipitation physics. She was a major participant in a profes-
sion that until World War II was almost exclusively a male domain. Austin was
one of the first women identified as a meteorologist in the new era of radar tech-
nology. Her association with MIT started with the position of "computer" in the
Radiation Laboratory in 1941, the year she was married to James Murdoch Austin,
a meteorologist who specialized in air pollution and a pioneer weather broad-
caster. At that time, several women, both civilians and military personnel, were
trained under government auspices at the Radiation Laboratory to perform the
work men formerly had handled. She studied both mathematics and physics as
an undergraduate, earned a master's degree at Smith, and received her doctorate
in physics from MIT in 1942, in a program that included only four female students.
She continued as a member of the MIT Radiation Laboratory research staff until
1979, except from 1953 to 1955, when she was a lecturer at Wellesley College.
She became director of MIT's Weather Radar Project. Even after her formal retire-
ment, she has remained involved in scientific research, and volunteers with the
Florida Museum of Natural History.
Avery, Mary Ellen | 203
Austin received several honors, including an honorary doctorate from Wilson
College in 1964 and election as a fellow of the American Meteorological Society.
She served as associate editor of the Journal of Applied Meteorology.
Further Resources
Wilson College. Profile. http://www.wilson.edu/wilson/asp/content.asp?id=3431.
Avery, Mary Ellen
b. 1927
Pediatrician
Education: B.A., Wheaton College, 1948; M.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1952
Professional Experience: pediatrics staff, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1952-1957;
research fellow, pediatrics, Harvard University Medical School, 1957-1959; fellow
in medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 1959-1960, assistant to associate professor,
pediatrics, 1961-1969, pediatrician, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1962-1969; professor,
pediatrics, McGill University Children's Hospital, 1969-1974; Thomas Morgan
Rotch Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard University Medical School, and physician-
in-chief, Children's Hospital, Boston, 1974-1985, physician-in-chief emeritus,
1985-
Mary Ellen Avery is a neonatologist who discovered the medical condition called
infant respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and participated in developing treatments
for the condition. She became interested in diseases of the lungs when she developed
tuberculosis soon after completing medical school in 1952. The standard treatment at
the time was simply bed rest, and medications to treat the disease were just being
developed. In her research on infants, she found that RDS resulted from the lack of
a fluid called pulmonary surfactant, which normally coats the internal surface of
the lungs. Prior to her studies, it was thought that the hyaline membranes were the
cause of the infant deaths. She also pioneered the discipline of the metabolism of
the lung as her work on the surfactant led to the study of the nature of lung tissue.
In addition to numerous journal publications, Avery has written several books: The
Lung and Its Disorders in the Newborn Infant (first published in 1964 and considered
a classic in the field; 4th ed., 1981), Diseases of the Newborn (6th ed., 1991), Born
Early (1984), and Pediatric Medicine (2nd ed., 1994).
Avery was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1994. In addition to honorary degrees, she has received numerous awards, includ-
ing the Trudeau Medal from the American Lung Association (1984), the National
204 | Avery, Susan K.
Medal of Science (1991), the Virginia Apgar Award from the American Academy
of Pediatrics (1991), a Medical Alumnus Award from Johns Hopkins Medical
School (1997), the Alfred I. duPont Award for Excellence in Children's Health
Care (2005), and the John Howland Medal of the American Pediatric Society
(2005). She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence (president, 2003), and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sci-
ences, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Physiological Society,
the Society of Pediatric Research (president, 1972-1973), and the American Pedi-
atric Society (president, 1990).
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
"Dr. Mary Ellen Avery." Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America's Women
Physicians. National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of Health, http://
www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography 17.html.
Avery, Susan K.
b. 1950
Oceanographer, Atmospheric Scientist
Education: B.S., physics, Michigan State University, 1972; M.S., physics,
University of Illinois, 1974, Ph.D., atmospheric science, 1978
Professional Experience: research associate, Aeronomy Laboratory, University
of Illinois, Urbana, 1978, assistant professor, electrical engineering, Aeronomy
Laboratory, 1978-1982; associate professor, electrical and computer engineering,
University of Colorado, Boulder, 1985-1992, professor, 1992-2008; director and
president, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Massachusetts, 2008-
Concurrent Positions: visiting fellow, Cooperative Institute for Research in Envi-
ronmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder, 1982-1983, fellow,
1983-, director, CIRES, 1994-2004; director, Center for Limb Atmospheric
Sounding (CLAS), University of Colorado, Boulder, 1996-2004
Susan Avery is an oceanographer and atmospheric researcher who became the first
female director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 2008. As the head
of Woods Hole (one of the oldest and most prestigious oceanographic research cen-
ters in the United States), Avery presents ocean and earth sciences research and
Avery, Susan K. | 205
perspectives to the U.S. government and to international organizations and confer-
ences that inform policy and educational agendas. Before joining Woods Hole,
Avery was a professor of atmospheric engineering at the University of Colorado
and, previously, the University of Illinois. Her own research has focused on the
development of radar techniques and remote sensing for studying precipitation,
climate, and other geophysical and atmospheric data. Avery also held a number
of high-level administrative posts at Colorado, including associate dean of the
College of Engineering and Interim Vice Chancellor. She served for 10 years as
director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, a
research and policy organization for which she also coordinated K-12 education
efforts.
Avery earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Michigan State University
and a master's degree in physics and a doctorate in atmospheric science from the
University of Illinois in 1978. She has consulted for or served on the boards or
advisory panels of numerous educational, policy, and government organizations,
including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the
national Climate Change Science Program, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the National Science Founda-
tion, and the National Research Council.
Avery was acknowledged for her service, teaching, and scholarship by several
awards of the University of Colorado, including the Margaret Willard Award of the
University Women's Club (1995), Elizabeth Gee Memorial Lectureship Award
(1998), and Robert L. Stearns Award (1999). She was also honored with a National
Science Foundation Faculty Award for Women (1991) and an Outstanding Publica-
tion Award of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (1990), and was a
Charter Member of the National Associates Program of the National Academies of
Science (2001). She is also a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engi-
neers, American Meteorological Society (president, 2004), American Association for
the Advancement of Science, and a member of the American Geophysical Union.
Further Resources
"Biography: Susan K. Avery, PhD." http://www.whoi.edu/page. do ?pid= 19538.
B
Baber, Mary Arizona "Zonia"
1862 1956
Geographer
Education: B.S., University of Chicago, 1904
Professional Experience: principal, private school, 1886-1888; teacher, Cook
County Normal School, 1888-1890, head, department of geography, 1890-1899;
associate professor and head, geography and geology department, School of Edu-
cation, University of Chicago, 1901-1921, principal, Elementary School, School
of Education, University of Chicago, 1901-1921
Zonia Baber was one of the earliest women geographers and was recognized as a
pioneer in developing a rational basis for teaching geography. Her career paral-
leled the pattern of many women of her age, that of teaching school for a number
of years before obtaining an undergraduate degree; in fact, she was already teach-
ing geography and geology at the University of Chicago at the time she received
her degree in 1904, another practice common at that time. She was noted for the
quality of the curriculum of her geology department at the university. She was a
member of several professional societies and was one of the founding members
of the Chicago Geographic Society. At the fiftieth anniversary meeting of the society
in 1848, Baber was presented with a Gold Medal in recognition of her role in its
founding and her service as President of the Society.
Baber authored Stony Island: A Plea for its Conservation (1917), a publication
of the Geographic Society of Chicago. Later, she was involved in the peace move-
ment and published a pamphlet of the Women's International League of Peace and
Freedom (WILPF) entitled Peace Symbols (1948). A member of the National
Society for the Scientific Study of Education, she wrote several journal articles
on the topic of teaching geography. Some sources erroneously identify her name
as "Barber."
Further Resources
Monk, Janice. 2004. "Women, Gender, and the Histories of American Geography." Annals
of the Association of American Geographers. 94(1): 1 22. (March 2004).
207
208 | Baca Zinn, Maxine
Baca Zinn, Maxine
b. 1942
Sociologist
Education: B.A., California State College, Long Beach (now California State
University, Long Beach), 1966; M.A., University of New Mexico, 1970; Ph.D.,
sociology, University of Oregon, 1978
Professional Experience: instructor, New Careers Program, University of New
Mexico, 1969-1971; instructor, sociology, University of New Mexico, 1970-1971;
instructor, sociology and Chicano Studies, University of Michigan, Flint, 1975-
1978, assistant professor to professor, sociology, 1978-1990; professor and Senior
Research Associate, Julian Samora Research Institute, Michigan State University,
1990-
Concurrent Positions: program faculty, Master of Liberal Studies in American
Culture, University of Michigan, Flint, 1978-1990; faculty associate, Survey
Research Center, University of Michigan, 1979-1981; visiting scholar, Center
for Research on Women, Memphis State University, 1984; visiting professor, soci-
ology, University of California, Berkeley, 1986; Research Professor in Residence,
Center for Research on Women, Memphis State University, 1987; Distinguished
Visiting Professor, Women's Studies, University of Delaware, 1988-1989; guest
professor, sociology, University of Connecticut, 1988; visiting scholar, Henry A.
Murray Research Center, Radcliffe College, 1997
Maxine Baca Zinn was one of the first people to conduct sociological work on Latino
families and Mexican American women. She is a pioneer in the field of family, race,
and ethnic relations, and some of her colleagues refer to her as one of the mothers of
Chicana feminism. As an undergraduate sociology student, she could not identify
with what her professors were saying when they were discussing minorities, for the
discussions in no way reflected the Chicana life she knew.
Baca Zinn argues that Mexican American women have been especially
maligned because of erroneous assumptions and limited empirical research. In
an 1982 essay in the journal Signs, she explained that Chicanas "have been por-
trayed as long-suffering mothers who are subject to the brutality of insecure hus-
bands and whose only function is to produce children — as women who
themselves are childlike, simple, and completely dependent on fathers, brothers,
and husbands. Machismo and its counterpart of female submissiveness are
assumed to be rooted in a native cultural heritage." Her research has focused on
examining the more complex roles of the Chicana in society, highlighting the simi-
larities between all minority women — Chicana, black, Asian, and so forth — and
Baetjer, Anna Medora | 209
arguing that minority women's subordination lies, in part, in their exclusion from
American public life. In her book, Women of Color in U.S. Society (1995), she
and other scholars explore race, class, and gender as systems of oppression against
women of color in the United States. She has published numerous articles and
books chapters on Chicana women and minority family structure.
Baca Zinn has received several awards for her research, including Outstanding
Alumnus Awards from both California State University, Long Beach (1990) and
the University of New Mexico (1993), the Cheryl Miller Lecturer Award on
Women and Social Change (1989), the Meyers Center Book Award for the Study
of Human Rights in North America (1997), and two separate prestigious awards
from the American Sociological Association in 2000. She has also received a spe-
cial recognition award for contributions to the Western Social Science Associa-
tion, of which she was president in 1985-1986.
Further Resources
Michigan State University. Faculty website, http://www.jsri.msu.edu/bacazinn/.
Baetjer, Anna Medora
1899 1984
Physiologist, Toxicologist
Education: A.B., Wellesley College, 1920; Sc.D., physiology, physiological
hygiene, and industrial health, Johns Hopkins University, 1924
Professional Experience: assistant, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns
Hopkins University, 1923-1924, instructor, 1924-1927, associate, 1927-1945,
assistant to associate professor, environmental medicine, 1945-1961, professor,
1962-1970
Anna Baetjer was a physiologist and toxicologist who studied the relationship
between chromium and cancer as a pioneer in the field of occupational health.
Among her many publications was the wartime report on Women in Industry:
Their Health and Efficiency (1946), which made recommendations on workplace
accommodations for women workers. She spent most of her career in the School
of Hygiene and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, where, in 1963, she
helped establish one of the first environmental toxicology programs and helped
set global standards for worker health. She was a frequent advisor and consultant
to associations and government committees concerning occupational health and
toxicology, such as the National Research Council, the Environmental Protection
210 I Bahcall, Neta
Agency, and the U.S. Army Environment Hygiene Agency. Her earliest studies in
the 1920s examined the effects of temperature and humidity on workers. By the
1950s and 1960s, she was warning about the effects of air pollution and calling
for further studies on workplace chemical exposure. Even after her retirement in
1970, she remained active as a researcher and public health advocate, and her find-
ings had an impact on studies related to environmental toxins, cancer, and lead
poisoning, among other issues.
Baetjer was a member of numerous commissions and committees, including a
consultant for the preventive medicine division of the Office of Surgeon General
of the Army (beginning in 1947), a member of the board of trustees of the Mellon
Institute (beginning in 1958), and a member of the advisory committee on safety
of pesticide residues in foods to the Food and Drug Administration (1966-1970).
She was elected president of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (1951),
and she received the Cummings Memorial Award (1964), the Kehoe Award of
the American Academy of Occupational Medicine (1976), the Stokinger Award of
the American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists (1980), and the Alice
Hamilton Award (1997). She received honorary degrees from Woman's Medical
College of Pennsylvania (1953), Wheaton College (1966), and Johns Hopkins
University (1979). Johns Hopkins also established a chair in her name, the Anna M.
Baetjer Chair in Environmental Health Sciences. Baetjer was a member of the
American Physiological Society and the American Public Health Association.
Further Resources
"Occupational Health's Dynamo." Prologues. Johns Hopkins Public Health Magazine.
(Fall 2001). http://www.jhsph.edu/magazineFall01/Prologues.htm.
Bahcall, Neta
b. 1942
Astrophysicist
Education: B.S., physics and mathematics, Hebrew University, Israel, 1963; M.S.,
physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, 1965; Ph.D., astrophysics, Tel Aviv
University, Israel, 1970
Professional Experience: research fellow, physics, California Institute of Technol-
ogy, 1970-1971; research associate to senior research astronomer, astrophysical sci-
ences, Princeton University, 1971-1983; chief, General Observer Support Branch,
and head, Science Program Selection Office, Space Telescope Science Institute,
Bahcall, Neta | 211
M
: ' j
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I
N
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■*
/
1983-1989; professor, astrophysical
sciences, Princeton University, 1989-;
director, Council on Science and Tech-
nology of Princeton University, 2000-
2008
Neta Bahcall is an astrophysicist and
cosmologist whose research focuses
on dark matter, the formation and evo-
lution of galaxies, quasars, and the
large-scale structure of the universe.
She has mapped the structure and loca-
tion of galaxies within the universe
using the Hubble Space Telescope and
other survey tools. Her most significant
contribution to the field of astrophysics
is her calculations of the total mass of
the universe, which helps scientists
understand both the origins and fate of
the universe. She received her Ph.D.
in astrophysics at Tel Aviv University
in Israel and that same year became
affiliated with Princeton University. She has spent her entire teaching career at
Princeton University and has been a full professor since 1989. During the
1980s, she spent time at the Space Telescope Science Institute and was in charge
of selecting science programs that would use the Hubble Space Telescope. She
collaborated for many years with her late husband, John Bahcall, also a renowned
astrophysicist who worked on the development of the Hubble Space Telescope.
She has authored or co-authored (with John Bahcall and others) hundreds of
scientific papers and articles.
Neta Bahcall was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in
1997. She has been an invited lecturer for professional organizations and univer-
sities across the United States and internationally, including as lecturer at the
Nobel Symposium in Stockholm (1998). She is a member of the American Astro-
nomical Society (vice president, 1995-1998) and has served on numerous profes-
sional and governmental committees including the National Astronomy and
Astrophysics Advisory Committee (2003-present), Space Telescope Institute
Council (1993-1997), U.S. National Committee to IAU (1998-2004), Scientific
Advisory Committee, Sloan Digital Sky Survey (1990-1995), and the American
Institute of Physics Committee on International Relations (1990-1993), and as
Astrophysicist Neta Bahcall. (Princeton
University, Office of Communications,
Denise Applewhite)
212 | Bailey, Florence Augusta Merriam
chair of the AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy (1983). She
has received an honorary doctorate from Ohio State University (2006). She has
three children, all of whom have earned doctorates in the sciences.
Further Resources
Princeton University. Faculty website, http://www.astro.princeton.edu/people/bahcall
neta.html.
Schultz, Steven. "Astrophysicist Reaches for the Stars and More." Princeton Weekly
Bulletin 92(15). (10 February 2003). http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/03/0210/lb
.shtml.
Bailey, Florence Augusta Merriam
1863 1948
Ornithologist
Education: A.B., Smith College, 1921
Professional Experience: independent author
Florence Bailey was a popularizer of natural history who specialized in ornithology.
Her first book was Birds through an Opera Glass (1889), which was comprised
of revised versions of articles she had contributed as a student to Audubon
Magazine. In 1894, she published My Summer in a Mormon Village, in 1896,
A-Birding on a Bronco, and in 1 898, Birds of Village and Field. The latter is a book
for beginners in ornithology and one of the first popular American bird guides. Her
brother, Clinton Hart Merriam, was the first chief of the U.S. Biological Survey,
and her husband, Vernon Bailey, was its chief naturalist. She joined her husband
on the majority of his field research trips, observing the birds about which she
wrote. She also wrote chapters on birds in some of her husband's books, notably
Wild Animals of Glacier National Park (1918) and Cave Life of Kentucky (1933).
Her Handbook of Birds of the Western United States (1902) was a standard work
for many years. She wrote the first comprehensive report on the bird life of the
Southwest in Birds of New Mexico (1928), published by the New Mexico Depart-
ment of Game and Fish.
Bailey was the first woman member of the American Ornithologists' Union in
1885 and, in 1929, was elected the first woman fellow. In 1931, she was the first
woman to receive the Brewster Award of the American Ornithologists' Union. In
1933, the University of New Mexico awarded her an honorary LL.D. degree. In
some sources, she is listed as "Mrs. Vernon Bailey."
Banfield, Jillian F. | 213
Further Resources
Bonta, MarciaM. 1995. American Women Afield: Writings by Pioneering Women Naturalists.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Kofalk, Harriet. 1989. No Woman Tenderfoot: Florence Merriam Bailey, Pioneer Naturalist.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Holmes, Madelyn. 2004. American Women Conservationists: Twelve Profiles. Jefferson,
NC: McFarland.
Banfield, Jillian F.
b. 1959
Geochemist
Education: B.Sc, Australian National University, Canberra City, 1981, M.Sc.,
1985; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1990
Professional Experience: exploration geologist, Western Mining Corporation,
1982-1983; research assistant, electron microscopy, Australian National Univer-
sity, 1985-1986; assistant to associate professor, geology and geophysics and
Materials Science Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1990-1999, pro-
fessor, 1999-2001; professor, earth and planetary science and environmental sci-
ence, policy, and management, University of California, Berkeley, 2001-
Concurrent Positions: associate professor, Mineralogical Institute, University of
Tokyo, 1996-1997, professor, 1998; visiting research fellow, Australian National
University, 1998-2000; affiliate faculty, chemistry, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, 1998-2001; researcher, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2001-
Jillian Banfield is an earth scientist who specializes in mineralogy and geochemis-
try. Her research focuses on the effect of microorganisms and biochemical pro-
cesses on minerals, metals, and crystal growth. Banfield was born in Australia
and received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Australian National Univer-
sity. She moved to the United States to conduct doctoral research at Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her Ph.D. in 1990 and joined the
faculty at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she taught for 1 1 years.
During that time, she took a leave of absence to teach for two years at the Mineral-
ogical Institute at the University of Tokyo. In 2002, she moved to the University of
California, Berkeley as professor of earth, planetary, and environmental sciences.
She is also affiliated with the geochemistry group at Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory. She has served on advisory committees for the National Academy of
Science Board on Earth Sciences and Resources and the U.S. Department of
214 | Baranescu, Rodica
Energy Geoscience Advisory Committee, and has been involved in an astrobiology
research with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) analyzing
potential evidence of biological materials in planetary geological samples.
Banfield was the recipient of a prestigious five-year MacArthur Foundation
"genius" grant (1999-2004) and, during this same time period, a Guggenheim
fellowship (2000). Her other awards and honors include the Mineralogical Society
of America Award (1997), D. A. Brown Medal from her alma mater, Australian
National University (1999), and Marion L. and Christie M. Jackson Award of the
Clay Minerals Society (2000). She has also been honored as the Gast Lecturer of
the Geochemical Society (2000), the Inaugural National Science Foundation Earth
Science Week Lecturer (2000), and the Rosenqvist Lecturer in Norway (2005),
and was the Pioneer Lecturer for the Clay Minerals Society (2005). She is a member
of the Mineralogical Society of America, Clay Minerals Society, American
Geophysical Union, and American Society for Microbiology.
Further Resources
University of California, Berkeley. Faculty website, http://eps.berkeley.edu/~jill/.
Baranescu, Rodica
b. 1940
Mechanical Engineer
Education: B.S., mechanical engineering, Institute Francais du Petrol, Rueil-
Malmaison; M.S., mechanical engineering, Politehnica University, Bucharest,
Romania, 1961, Ph.D., mechanical engineering, 1970
Professional Experience: assistant to associate professor, Politehnica University,
Bucharest, Romania, 1964-1978; chief engineer, Engine Performance Analysis,
Technical Center of Engine and Foundry Division, International Truck and Engine
Corporation, and manager, Fuels and Lubricants and Engine Group, International
Truck and Engine Corporation, 1980-; professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engi-
neering, University of Illinois, Chicago, 2005-
Rodica Baranescu is a mechanical engineer who has worked in the automotive
industry on the development of diesel truck engines, and researching alternative
fuels, energy, and emissions control. She received her education in France and at
the Politehnica University in Bucharest, Romania, where she also taught for
14 years. She came to the United States in 1980 to work for International Harvester
Company, now International Truck and Engine Corporation. She has served as
chief engineer for Engine Performance Analysis and manager of the Fuels and
Bartoshuk, Linda | 215
Lubricants division. She is co-author of two Romanian patents: Internal Combus-
tion Engine with Damping Chamber and Accumulator Fuel Injection System for
Diesel Engine. In 2005, she began an affiliation with the University of Illinois,
Chicago as professor of mechanical and industrial engineering and has been an
invited speaker and lecturer for industry and academic groups worldwide. She
was co-editor of the 1999 edition of the Diesel Engine Reference Book.
Baranescu was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2001. She is
a fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers International (S AE) and was S AE
president in 2000, the first woman to lead that group. Through the SAE, she com-
mitted herself to promoting engineering education and careers among young
people and to increasing the presence of women and minorities in the field of auto-
motive engineering; at that time, less than 5% of SAE members were women. She
is the recipient of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME)
Internal Combustion Engine Award (2003).
Further Resources
Hatch, Sybil E. 2006. Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers. Reston,
VA: American Society of Civil Engineers.
University of Illinois. Faculty website, http://www.mie.uic.edu/faculty/baranescu.htm.
Bartoshuk, Linda
b. 1938
Psychologist
Education: B.A., psychology, Carleton College, Minnesota, 1960; M.Sc,
psychology, Brown University, 1963, Ph.D., psychology, 1965
Professional Experience: research associate, Brown University, 1964-1966,
lecturer, 1966-1968; affiliate assistant professor, Clark University, 1966-1969;
research psychologist, Natick Army Laboratories, 1966-1970; assistant fellow,
John B. Pierce Foundation, 1970-1973, associate, 1974-1985, fellow, 1985-
1989; assistant professor, epidemiology and public health, Yale University,
1971-1976, associate professor, epidemiology and public health, and psychology,
1976-1985, professor, 1985-1988, professor, surgery (otolaryngology) and
psychology, Yale University, 1989-2005; professor, Community Dentistry and
Behavioral Science, University of Florida, College of Dentistry, 2005-
Linda Bartoshuk is a research psychologist who conducts innovative research on
perceptions of taste and smell. She has researched how genetic differences in taste,
216 | Bartoshuk, Linda
and damage to taste buds, affect our sense of pain and our overall health. She spent
many years as otolaryngology researcher and professor of epidemiology, public
health, and psychology at Yale University before moving to the McKnight Brain
Institute's Center for Taste and Smell at the University of Florida College of Den-
tistry. In particular, she has looked at how the taste buds send signals to the brain,
and the effects of hormones and of cancer therapy and disease on taste. Her work
has clinical and pharmaceutical applications for treating patients with oral pain
and taste bud damage, as well as applications to the food industries in linking taste
preferences to health and dietary needs.
Bartoshuk received her doctorate in psychology from Brown University in
1965. She worked at the Natick Army Research Labs before joining the Pierce
Foundation and then the faculty at Yale University in 1971. She has been an editor
or consulting editor for journals such as Chemical Senses, Perception and Psycho-
physics, and Sensory Processes. She has served on numerous advisory boards and
committees for the National Institutes of Health and the National Research Council,
and was on the Women's Affairs Advisory Committee of the American Association
of Dental Schools.
Bartoshuk was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2003 and
in 2008 was appointed to a three-year term on the Council of the NAS. She is a fel-
low of the Society for Experimental Psychologists, the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, and a
founding member of the Association for Psychological Science (president,
2008). She is also a member of the American Psychological Association, American
Psychological Society, Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS)
(president, 1980-1981), Eastern Psychological Association (president, 1990-
1991), Psychonomic Society, and Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior.
She received an honorary doctorate from Carleton College (2001). Among her
numerous other awards and honors are the Manheimer Award of Monell Chemical
Senses Institute (1990), the Leah Lowenstein Award of Yale University School of
Medicine (1991), AChemS Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Chemical
Senses (1998), a Distinguished Contribution Award of the New England Psycho-
logical Association (2000), and the International Flavors and Fragrances Award
for Innovative Research (2004).
Further Resources
O'Connell, Agnes N. and Nancy Felipe Russo, eds. 2001. Models of Achievement:
Reflections of Eminent Women in Psychology. Vol. 3. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
"Cool Careers in Science." PBS interview. http://www.pbs.Org/safarchive/5 cool/53c
bartoshuk.html.
Bascom, Florence | 217
Bascom, Florence
1862 1945
Geologist
Education: A.B., B.L., University of Wisconsin, 1882, B.S., 1884, M.A., geology,
1887; Ph.D., geology, Johns Hopkins University, 1893
Professional Experience: instructor, geology and petrology, Ohio State University,
1893-1895; lecturer and associate professor, geology, Bryn Mawr College, 1895—
1906, professor, 1906-1928; geological assistant, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),
1896-1901, assistant geologist, 1901-1909, geologist, 1909-1936
Florence Bascom introduced the microscopic study of minerals in the United States
and is considered the first female professional geologist. She was a petrologist who
studied rock formations and published numerous articles on the crystalline rocks of
the Piedmont area from the Susquehanna River to Trenton, New Jersey. She was the
first woman to receive a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University and the first
American woman to receive a doctorate in geology. After teaching for two years
at Ohio State University, she moved to Bryn Mawr College. At that time, Bryn
Mawr had no facilities for geological research, but Bascom secured rock and min-
eral specimens and expanded her geology course into a full major. She soon was
accepting graduate students from all over the country and from Europe, training
an entire generation of American women geologists. One of her students was
Eleanora Bliss Knopf, who also went on to work for the USGS. In 1896, Bascom
became the first woman scientist hired at the USGS. She retired from teaching at
Bryn Mawr in 1928 due to poor health, but continued conducting fieldwork and
laboratory research for USGS for several more years.
Bascom came from an academic background, as her father, John Bascom, was a
professor at Williams College in Massachusetts and later president of the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin, where Florence enrolled as an undergraduate, receiving three
separate bachelor's degrees as well as a master's degree in geology. She then
enrolled in Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Johns Hopkins did
not yet officially admit women or grant women degrees, but allowed them to take
graduate courses. Bascom sat behind a screen during classes, separate from the
male students, and received her doctorate from Johns Hopkins in 1893 by special
dispensation.
Bascom accomplished several other "firsts" in her field, including as the first
woman to present a scientific paper at the Geological Society of Washington, the
first woman to be elected a fellow of the Geological Society of America (1894),
and the first female officer of that organizations (vice president, 1930). She also
served as editor of The American Geologist.
218 I Bates, Grace Elizabeth
Further Resources
Arnold, Lois Barber. 1984. Four Lives in Science: Women's Education in the Nineteenth
Century. New York: Shocken Books.
Burek, Cynthia V. and Bettie Higgs. 2007. The Role of Women in the History of Geology.
London: Geological Society of London.
Bates, Grace Elizabeth
1914 1996
Mathematician
Education: B.S., Middlebury College, 1935; Sc.M., Brown University, 1938;
Ph.D., mathematics, University of Illinois, 1946
Professional Experience: teacher, high school, 1935-1936, 1938-1943; instruc-
tor, mathematics, Sweet Briar College, 1943-1944; assistant professor to profes-
sor, Mount Holyoke College, 1946-1979
Grace Bates is recognized for her work as a mathematician at a distinguished
women's college, Mount Holyoke. As a high school student in the 1920s, Bates
had to get special permission as a woman to take advanced mathematics courses.
Again, as a student on the women's campus at Middlebury College, she found that
the most advanced courses were open only to male students and she had to petition
the administration to be able to pursue her mathematics education. She worked as
a high school teacher for a year after receiving her undergraduate degree and again
taught after receiving her master's degree. She then moved to Sweet Briar College
for one year before joining the faculty at Mount Holyoke. She received her doctor-
ate from the University of Illinois, originally intending to study geometry but
switching to abstract algebra, working under renowned German mathematician
Reinhold Baer. She returned to teach at her alma mater, Mount Holyoke, where
she earned tenure and ultimately advanced to full professor. Like many professors
at the women's colleges, Bates never married and never had children. She lived
and worked on campus until forced to retire in 1979.
Bates was active as both a scholar and a teacher, continuing her education in
new mathematical fields to support her teaching. In the 1950s, she spent several
summers in Berkeley with Jerzy Neyman, considered by some to be the founder
of modern statistics. She ultimately contributed several papers on algebra and
probability theory to technical journals and was the co-author of two books, The
Real Number System (1960) and Modern Algebra, Second Course (1963). Among
the honors she received was an honorary degree from Middlebury College (1972).
Bateson, Mary Catherine | 219
She was a member of numerous professional societies, including the American
Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America.
Further Resources
Murray, Margaret Anne Marie. 2000. Women Becoming Mathematicians: Creating an
Identity in Post World War II America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Bateson, Mary Catherine
b. 1939
Cultural Anthropologist, Linguist
Education: B.A., Radcliffe College, 1960; Ph.D., Arabic languages, Harvard
University, 1963
Professional Experience: associate professor, anthropology, Ateneo de Manila
University, 1966-1968; senior research fellow, psychology and philosophy, Brandeis
University, 1968-1969; research staff member, Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology, 1969-1971; visiting professor, anthropology, Northeastern University,
1969-1971 and 1974-1975; researcher, University of Tehran, 1972-1974; professor,
anthropology and dean of graduate studies, Damavand College, Tehran, 1975-1977;
professor, anthropology and dean of social science and humanities, University of
Northern Iran, 1977-1979; visiting scholar, anthropology, Harvard University,
1979-1980; professor, anthropology, Amherst College, 1980-1987, dean of faculty,
1980-1983; Clarence Robinson Professor of Anthropology and English, George
Mason University, 1987-2002, Professor Emerita
Concurrent Positions: president, Institute for Intercultural Studies, New York
City, 1979-2009; Visiting Scholar, Center on Aging and Work, Boston College,
2006-
Mary Catherine Bateson is a cultural anthropologist whose most recent work,
Full Circles, Overlapping Lives: Culture and Generation in Transition (2000),
is a study of how individuals learn about gender, race, and other social differ-
ences through the intergenerational context of the family. For the book, Bateson
incorporated research on and life histories of women from a variety of ethnic and
economic contexts around the world. Bateson's early interest in anthropology
was influenced by her famous parents, the pioneer anthropologists Margaret
Mead and Gregory Bateson. Her parents had progressive ideas about rearing
and educating children, and her mother adopted certain mother-child interactions
220 | Bateson, Mary Catherine
she had observed in primitive societies,
such as on-demand breastfeeding,
which was not common in the United
States in the 1940s.
As a college student at Radcliffe,
Bateson met J. Barkev Kassarjian, an
Armenian student at Harvard, and
they married before either of them
had completed a doctorate. After
graduation, the couple moved to the
Philippines, where they both taught
at universities. Catherine added
anthropology and psychology to her
interest in linguistics in order to
secure employment. The couple then
moved to Iran, where both taught in
universities until the political situation
became unstable. The couple had a
daughter and moved to California for
a short time to help Gregory Bateson
complete his book, Mind and Nature
(1979). After several interim appoint-
ments, Bateson secured a position in
1980 as professor of anthropology and, later, dean of the faculty at Amherst
College. In her book Composing a Life (1989), she gives a detailed account of her
efforts to open the curricula to new areas of study and to retain more women faculty
members. Although she served as a dean for three years at Amherst, she herself
experienced discrimination by the college and left in 1987 for a position at George
Mason University, where she remained until her retirement in 2002.
Bateson is a member of the American Anthropological Association. She
has published numerous scientific papers and received prestigious fellowships
from the Ford Foundation (1961-63), the National Science Foundation (1968-69),
and Guggenheim (1987-88). In addition to her own autobiographies, information
about her early life is included in a biography of her famous parents, With a
Daughter's Eye (1984).
Anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson.
(Steve Liss/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)
Further Resources
"Biography." http://www.marycatherinebateson.com/bio.html.
Beall, Cynthia | 221
Beall, Cynthia
b. 1949
Anthropologist
Education: B.A., University of Pennsylvania, 1970; M.A., Pennsylvania State
University, 1972, Ph.D., anthropology, 1976
Professional Experience: assistant professor to professor, anthropology, Case
Western Reserve University, 1976-
Concurrent Positions: founding co-editor, Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology,
1986-1995
Cynthia Beall is a renowned anthropologist and an authority on how people live at
high altitudes. Beall has examined both the physical and the social aspects of
people in Tibet, Mongolia, Peru, Bolivia, Nepal, and Ethiopia. Her studies
have included such diverse topics as China's birth-control policy in Tibet, the
impact of China's reform policy on
I
the nomads, the hemoglobin concen-
tration in people at high altitudes,
age differences and sensory and cog-
nitive functions in elderly Nepalese,
and the physical fitness of elderly
Nepalese farmers.
In Nomads of Western Tibet: The
Survival of a Way of Life (1990), Beall
and co-author M. C. Goldstein present
an overview of the life of Tibetan
nomads in the years since the Chinese
invaded the country in 1950. It is a
collection of photographs with a short,
nontechnical text, and an article in
National Geographic (June 1989)
summarized their 16-month project.
Theirs was the first research team
to receive permission to conduct a
long-term study of the area since the
Chinese invasion. In The Changing
World of Mongolian Nomads (1994),
Anthropologist Cynthia Beall. (AP/Wide World
Photos)
222 | Beattie, Mollie Hanna
the authors described a three-year study of Mongolia after the death of communism
led to the privatization of the nomads' collective farming system. An overview of
that study was also published in National Geographic (May 1993).
Beall's research has been sponsored by grants from the National Science Foun-
dation, the National Geographic Society, and the American Federation for Aging
Research. She is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, American Anthropological Association, American Association of Physical
Anthropology, Human Biology Council (president, 1991-1994), Society for the
Study of Human Biology, Association for Anthropology and Gerontology, Council
for Nutritional Anthropology, and Gerontological Society of America. Beall was
elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1996.
Further Resources
Case Western Reserve University. Faculty website, http://www.case.edu/artsci/anth/
beall.html.
Beattie, Mollie Hanna
1947 1996
Forester, Government Official
Education: B.A., philosophy, Marymount College, 1968; M.S., forestry, University
of Vermont, 1979; M.A., public administration, Kennedy School of Government,
Harvard University, 1991
Professional Experience: newspaper reporter; tour guide, Outward Bound,
1974-1976; program director, Windham Foundation, 1983-1985; commissioner
of forests and parks, Vermont, 1985-1989; deputy secretary, Vermont Agency of
Natural Resources, 1989-1990; executive director, Richard A. Snelling Center
for Government, 1991-1993; director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1993-1996
Mollie Beattie was the first woman to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but
unfortunately she served only three years before she died of a brain tumor. Before
taking the position with the Fish and Wildlife Service, she was with the Richard A.
Snelling Center for Government, a public-policy institute that is now affiliated
with the University of Vermont. Its aims are to educate citizens about state and
local governments. Her experiences with the Vermont natural resources, forests,
and parks agencies prepared her for similar activities on a national level. While
Beattie, Mollie Hanna | 223
she was head of the Fish and Wildlife
Service, her organization enforced
wildlife laws, administered the Endan-
gered Species Act, and carried out
wetland protection and management.
Beattie was committed to the
Endangered Species Act and to envi-
ronmentalism in her personal life. As
a child, she was introduced to nature
studies by her grandmother, Harriet
Hanna, a self-trained botanist in
upstate New York. As an adult, she
and her husband lived in a house in
the Green Mountains, where they used
solar power for their energy require-
ments, but the noise of the urban envi-
ronment was still disturbing. In 1993,
she published Working with Your
Woodland: A Landowner's Guide.
Professionally, she oversaw the reintro-
duction of the gray wolf into the
northern Rocky Mountains and won the support of the environmental community
when she served as vice chair of a 1991 commission created by the Defenders of
Wildlife organization to study the condition and future of the 91 -million-acre
National Wildlife Refuge System. During her confirmation hearings for the posi-
tion, some of the senators asked her if she did any hunting. She replied that
although she did not hunt, she valued hunters as a major conservation support group
and did not see hunting or fishing as incompatible with biodiversity goals. She used
the culling of deer in the national parks to prevent the overgrazing of vegetation as
an example and said she found biodiversity concepts a good strategy for maintain-
ing wildlife. Her plan to conserve species was to manage the entire ecosystem
instead of waiting until individual species became endangered. After her death in
1996, a wilderness area in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska was named
in her honor.
Forester Mollie Hanna Beattie was the first
woman to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Further Resources
Holmes, Madelyn. 2004. American Women Conservationists: Twelve Profiles. Jefferson,
NC: McFarland.
224 | Bell, Gwen (Dru'yor)
Bell, Gwen (Dru'yor)
b. 1934
Geographer, Computer Museum Founder
Education: B.A., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1955; Master of City and
Regional Planning, Harvard University, 1957; Ph.D., geography, Clark University,
1967
Professional Experience: faculty member, Graduate School of Public and
International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh, 1966-1973; founder and director,
Computer Museum, Boston, 1980-
Gwen Bell has made a unique contribution to the computer industry by founding
and directing a museum to house a wide array of computers and components, even
including a number of computer games. In addition, she was the first person cred-
ited with developing a geographic information system on a computer and with pro-
ducing a variety of maps. She was first introduced to computers while on Fulbright
scholarship in Australia and then used the TX-0 at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology to analyze a redevelopment area of Boston.
After receiving her doctorate, she taught in the Graduate School of Public and
International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. In the 1970s, she worked as
a United Nations consultant on planning and edited a journal and three books.
Her husband, Gordon Bell, an engineering executive at DEC, was a computer
junkie who, along with his wife, had long been collecting computing and calculat-
ing artifacts. In 1978, Ken Olsen, president of Digital Equipment Corporation
(DEC), asked Bell if the TX-O computer could possibly be rebuilt in DEC head-
quarters at Marlboro, Massachusetts. This request started Gwen Bell on a project
to establish a computer museum, which she did in 1979. As computers have
shrunk in size, the museum has been able to include entire machines, like the
PDP-1, DEC's first computer, and the Altair of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. Many of the display items are in working order, especially the per-
sonal computers, and older models are loaded with the software that was devel-
oped for them. Many of the major exhibits have been designed by local students
using their own time and energy to develop lively presentations.
The museum, now called the Computer History Museum and located in Silicon
Valley in California, sponsors a number of lectures by computer pioneers each year,
and these have been videotaped for use by scholars in the future. A video by Bell
entitled "Computer Pioneers and Pioneer Computers" (1996) is available commer-
cially, and many exhibits can be viewed online. Bell is a member of the Association
for Computing Machinery (ACM) and served as president of the ACM between
1992 and 1994.
Benedict, Ruth Fulton | 225
Further Resources
"The Computer History Museum." http://www.computerhistory.org/.
Benedict, Ruth Fulton
1887 1948
Anthropologist
Education: A.B., English, Vassar College, 1909; Ph.D., anthropology, Columbia
University, 1923
Professional Experience: lecturer, anthropology, Columbia University, 1924-
1930, assistant professor to professor, 1930-1948
Ruth Benedict originated the controversial concept of patterns of culture, which
combined anthropology with sociology, psychology, and philosophy. At mid-
century, she was recognized along with Frank Boas as one of the country's leading
anthropologists. After receiving her undergraduate degree at Vassar (her mother
was also a Vassar graduate and school teacher), she taught school for a few years
and then married. Becoming bored with charitable work, in 1919, she enrolled in
The New School for Social Research at Columbia University, where she received
her doctorate in anthropology in 1923, and where she met and worked with Boas
as well as with Margaret Mead, with whom she had an intimate relationship.
Benedict made her first field trip in 1922 to the Serrano Indians and spent
subsequent summers studying other tribes, such as the Zuni Pueblo, Apache, and
Blackfoot.
In her 1934 book Patterns of Culture, Benedict proposed her holistic theory of
culture to explain why certain personalities and types were valued in one society
while discouraged in another. In an era of fascism, racism, and ethnic stereotyping
for political purposes, Benedict's theory was controversial because it called for
judging each culture only on its own merits and values, and argued that no culture
should be forced to conform to the standards or values of another. The book was
translated into 14 languages and became a standard anthropology text for many
years to come. More controversy surrounded the publication of her 1940 book
Race: Science and Politics, which took a strong activist tone against racism and
was criticized by a politician of the U.S. South. During World War II, she worked
for the Office of War Information studying cultures in Japan, Thailand, and New
Guinea. This was a new departure for anthropologists, that of analyzing complex
modern societies for purposes of politics and national intelligence. This work cul-
minated in her book The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese
226 | Benerito, Ruth Rogan
Culture (1946), a contribution to understanding America's enemy during the war
without relying upon stereotypes and racism. The book brought her such renown
that in 1947, the Office of Naval Research gave her a large grant to establish and
direct a research program on Contemporary Cultures at Columbia, where she
was promoted to full professor in what proved to be the last year of her life.
Benedict was a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, president of the
American Ethnological Society (1927-1929), vice president of the American
Psychopathological Association, and president of the American Anthropological
Association (1947); she resigned the latter position due to sexism within the Asso-
ciation at that time. She also served as editor of the Journal of American Folk-Lore
from 1923 to 1940. Benedict has been the subject of several biographies, begin-
ning with that written by her friend and colleague, Margaret Mead, who published
Ruth Benedict: A Humanist in Anthropology in 1974.
Further Resources
Banner, Lois W. 2003. Intertwined Lives: Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict, and Their
Circle. New York: Random House.
Lavender, Catherine J. 2006. Scientists and Storytellers: Feminist Anthropologists and the
Construction of the American Southwest. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Benerito, Ruth Rogan
b. 1916
Polymer Chemist
Education: B.S., Sophie Newcomb College, 1935; M.S., Tulane University, 1938;
Ph.D., chemistry, University of Chicago, 1948
Professional Experience: instructor, chemistry, Randolph-Macon Women's
College, Virginia, 1940-1943; assistant professor, Tulane University, New Orleans,
Louisiana, 1943-1953; physical chemist, Southern Regional Research Center,
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1953-1958, head of colloidal chemistry
investigation, 1958-1961, head of physical chemistry group, 1961-1986
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, chemistry, University of New Orleans;
adjunct and emerita professor, Tulane University
Ruth Benerito holds more than 50 patents and is most well-known for her work in the
development of the "wash-and-wear" or "permanent press" process for fabrics. Her
research was important both in terms of scientific breakthroughs and implications
Benerito, Ruth Rogan | 227
for commerce and industry. The
advent of polyester and other synthetic
fabrics threatened the future of cotton
textiles, but Benerito's work led to
technologies for creating wrinkle-free,
stain-free, and even flame-retardant
cotton fabrics. She developed a process
for soaking cotton in sodium plumbite
and heating it to create a slick, clean,
"glassy" surface. Her research had an
impact not only on the textile industry,
but on new wood and paper products
as well.
Benerito was a scholar at Bryn
Mawr College from 1935 to 1936 and
taught at Randolph-Macon Women's
College for several years after receiv-
ing her master's degree from Tulane
University. She moved to Tulane Uni-
versity, where she remained for several
years after receiving her doctorate in
1948. She was a scholar at the Univer-
sity of Chicago from 1946 to 1947. In
1953, she joined the USDA, and in
1958 became head of the Cotton Chemical Reactions Laboratory. She then spent
more than 30 years at the USDA Southern Regional Research Center in New
Orleans, which specializes in the study of cotton and synthetic fabrics due to the
textile industry in that region. Benerito had a long career with the USDA as head
of several divisions at New Orleans until her retirement in 1986, after which she
continued to work as an adjunct professor.
Benerito was twice honored with the USDA's highest award for Distinguished
Service (1964 and 1970), and has received numerous other awards for her work,
including the Federal Woman Award (1968), Southern Chemist Award (1968), the
Garvan Medal (1970), and the Southwest Regional Award of the American Chemical
Society (1972). In 2002, she received the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement
Award, and in 2004 was inducted into the USDA's Research Agency's Hall of Fame.
She received an honorary degree from Tulane in 1981. She has been a member of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical
Society, and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists.
Chemist Ruth Benerito developed a
"permanent press" technology for fabrics.
(AP/Wide World Photos)
228 | Benesch, Ruth Erica (Leroi)
Further Resources
'Ruth Rogan Benerito." 2000. MIT Inventor of the Week Archive, http://web.mit.edu/
invent/iow/benerito.html.
Benesch, Ruth Erica (Leroi)
1925 2000
Biochemist
Education: B.S., University of London, 1946; Ph.D., biochemistry, Northwestern
University, 1951
Professional Experience: demonstrator, chemistry, University of Reading,
1945-1947; research associate, chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, 1947-1948;
fellow, University of Iowa, 1952, Enzyme Institute, University of Wisconsin,
1955; independent investigator, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution, 1956-1960; research associate, College of Physicians
and Surgeons, Columbia University, 1960-1964, assistant professor to professor,
biochemistry and molecular biophysics, 1964-1995, emeritus professor
Ruth Benesch was a collaborator with her husband, Reinhold Benesch, in their
research on oxygen transport and other aspects of hemoglobin chemistry. The cou-
ple met in London, where Ruth (born in Paris) and her family were in hiding
during World War II. She entered the University of London, married Reinhold in
1946, and moved with him to the United States, where both became citizens and
received doctorates from Northwestern University. For 40 years, the Benesches
conducted research and developed analytical and synthetic methods that allowed
the introduction of the thiol groups and an accurate determination of their number
in proteins. All but 13 of their 125 published papers dealt with hemoglobin, with
special emphasis on its oxygen-carrying capacity. Nearly all the oxygen needed
by cells is transported by hemoglobin, and although the normal pressure of oxygen
in the lungs ensures complete saturation, or loading, of the hemoglobin, unloading
depends not only on oxygen pressure and hemoglobin saturation but also on the
oxygen affinity of the hemoglobin. If carbon dioxide accumulates, the affinity
decreases and more oxygen is released.
In 1967, the Benesches established that D-2,3-diphosphoglycerate is the third
substance necessary for the proper functioning of the oxygen-hemoglobin system.
They determined both the site at which diphosphoglycerate and related com-
pounds bind to the protein and the nature of those bonds, and their discoveries
resulted in a dramatic change in the way such systems are viewed and studied.
Benmark, Leslie Ann (Freeman) | 229
They subsequently researched the cause of sickle-shaped cells in the deadly blood
disease sickle-cell anemia. Although other scientists had used x-ray diffraction to
study the disease with limited success, the Benesches used electron micron micro-
scopic studies, resulting in significant insights into the formation of sickle cells.
Reinhold Benesch died in 1986, and Ruth Benesch remained an active researcher
on sickle-cell anemia until her retirement in 1995.
Ruth Benesch was a member of the American Chemical Society, the American
Society of Biological Chemists, the Biophysical Society, and the American Society
of Hematology.
Benmark, Leslie Ann (Freeman)
b. 1944
Industrial Engineer
Education: B.S., University of Tennessee, 1967, M.S., 1970; Ph.D., information
systems, Vanderbilt University, 1976; J.D., University of Delaware, 1984
Professional Experience: systems analyst, Monsanto Company, St. Louis, 1967-
1968; systems analyst, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, 1968-1970,
systems analysis supervisor, 1970-1975, design supervisor, 1975-1976, planning
and industrial engineering supervisor, 1976-1979, business analysis manager,
1979-1987, business strategy manager, 1987-1990, management systems consul-
tant, 1990-1993, global planning manager for integrated processes and systems,
1993-
Concurrent Positions: instructor, computer science, University of Tennessee,
1973-1975; assistant to dean of engineering and director of women engineers pro-
gram, Vanderbilt University, 1975-1979
Leslie Benmark is known nationally and internationally for her work on the
accrediting boards for engineering curricula. Since 1993, she has been the global
planning manager for integrated processes and systems for the international Du
Pont Company, work that involves long-range strategic planning for global
systems. Not all scientists and engineers who work for industrial concerns are
engaged in research, as the corporations need people with scientific and technical
expertise to work in the entire range of corporate operations. Benmark has always
been involved in industrial systems, and she acquired a law degree when she was a
business manager for Du Pont.
She has been a member of the accrediting boards for engineering curricula for
a number of years, and she works with similar boards in several countries.
230 | Bennett, Joan Wennstrom
For example, she is a fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers of Ireland. She is
also a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the organization
that prescribes the curricula for granting professional engineering licenses in the
United States. Graduating from an accredited engineering school does not auto-
matically make a person a professional engineer. The person must pass additional
coursework and have a specified number of years of experience. In addition to
working on the national and international levels, Benmark serves on advisory
boards for engineering programs such as those at the Georgia Institute of Technol-
ogy, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and West Virginia University. She is par-
ticularly interested in working with curricula for women engineers. She is also the
former chair of the Total Quality Engineering Committee of the Union of Pan-
American Associations of Engineering.
Benmark was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in
1993. Among her numerous committee appointments, Benmark has been a member
of the Board of Directors of Manufacturing Studies of the National Research Council
since 1993, and is a fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and a member of
the American Society for Engineering Education. She has been a member of the
Industrial Engineering Advisory Board of Oakridge National Laboratory and served
as the first female president of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Tech-
nology (ABET) (1990-1991). In 1994, she was the recipient of the Linton E. Grinter
Distinguished Service Award from ABET.
Bennett, Joan Wennstrom
b. 1942
Plant Geneticist
Education: B.S., biology and history, Upsala College, New Jersey, 1963; M.S.,
botany, University of Chicago, 1964, Ph.D., botany, 1967
Professional Experience: National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow,
Department of Biology, University of Chicago, 1967-1968; National Research
Council Postdoctoral Fellow, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Southern Regional
Research Laboratory, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1968-1970; National Science
Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, and assistant professor, biology, Tulane Univer-
sity, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1971-1976, associate professor, biology, 1976-
1981, professor, 1981-1990, professor, cell and molecular biology, 1990-2006;
professor, plant biology and pathology, and Associate Vice President for Promotion
of Women in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics, Rutgers University, 2006-
Berenbaum, May Roberta | 23 I
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, pathology, Tulane University School of
Medicine, 1982-; visiting scientist, plant molecular biology, Leiden University,
Netherlands, 1991-1992; adjunct professor, ecology and evolutionary biology,
Tulane University, 1993-; visiting professor, pharmacology, Robert Wood Johnson
Medical School, New Jersey, 1998-1999
Joan Bennett is a plant biologist who specializes in fungal genetics, biodegradation
and biotechnology, and mycology and mycotoxins, the health and environmental
hazards of various molds. She has written or edited numerous books and hundreds
of research papers and reviews on the biology and genetics of fungi and molds
(mycology), and has taught courses in bioethics and in plant and human genetics
and reproduction. Bennett taught biology at Tulane University in New Orleans for
35 years before moving to Rutgers University in New Jersey as professor of plant
pathology and an administrative post as Associate Vice President for Promotion of
Women in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics in all levels at the university.
Bennett was elected a member of the National Academy of Science in 2005.
She holds honorary doctorates from Bethany College and from her alma mater,
Upsala College. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science and an honorary member of the Czech Society for Microbiology. She is
a member of the American Society for Microbiology (president, 1990), British
Mycological Society (vice president, 1988), Louisiana Academy of Sciences,
Mycological Society of America, Society for General Microbiology, Society for
Industrial Microbiology (president, 2001), and Torrey Botanical Club.
Further Resources
Rutgers University. Faculty website, http://www.cook.rutgers.edu/~plantbiopath/faculty/
bennett/bennett.html.
Office for the Promotion of Women in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics. Rutgers
University, http://sciencewomen.rutgers.edu/.
Berenbaum, May Roberta
b. 1953
Entomologist
Education: B.S., Yale University, 1975; Ph.D., ecology and evolutionary biology,
Cornell University, 1980
Professional Experience: assistant to associate professor, entomology, University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1980-1990; professor, entomology and plant biology,
1990-
232 | Berenbaum, May Roberta
Entomologist May Berenbaum researches unexplained reductions in the honey bee
population. (Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis)
Concurrent Positions: affiliate, Center for Economic Entomology, Illinois Natural
History Survey, 1990-
May Berenbaum is an entomologist who specializes in chemical aspects of insect-
plant interaction, phototoxicity of plant products, and host-plant resistance, and in
2006 began leading a project in sequencing the "honey bee genome." Berenbaum
has been researching and informing the public on unexplained reductions in the
honey bee population, pointing out the critical importance of bees not only for
supplies of honey and wax, but for pollination of other plants, flowers, and human
food crops. She points out that humans take the contributions of bees for granted
Berenbaum, May Roberta | 233
and that the loss of significant numbers of bees could have a devastating economic
effect. Theories explaining the disappearance of bees have ranged from parasites
to disease to pesticide exposure, but no dead bees have been found to explain the
cause. Berenbaum's research could reveal whether bees have a genetic disorder
or dysfunction causing them to misnavigate or lose their way to hives.
Berenbaum had a childhood fear of insects that she finally overcame after tak-
ing an introductory course in entomology while a freshman at Yale University.
She then decided to make them part of her life's work and specialized in insect
ecology and evolutionary biology. As part of her efforts to improve the image of
insects among the public, Berenbaum hosts an annual Insect Fear Film Festival.
While she pointed out in her book Bugs in the System: Insects and Their Impact
on Human Affairs (1995) that creatures such as lice, mosquitoes, and fleas have
caused more deaths than bombs or bullets in human wars, she also shows how
humans are dependent on insects for at least a third of the food grown in the world,
and for other products such as varnishes and dyes. Other books that Berenbaum
has written for the general public are Ninety-Nine Gnats, Nits, and Nibblers
(1989) and Ninety-Nine More Maggots, Mites, and Munchers (1993).
Berenbaum is also concerned with education about career possibilities in the
field of entomology, pointing out the multidisciplinary nature of the work of soil
scientists, plant pathologists, agricultural economists, microbiologists, animal sci-
entists, and epidemiologists, to name a few. She has received numerous scholarly
awards and honors, among them the National Science Foundation's Presidential
Young Investigator Award (1984), the Founder's Memorial Award of the Entomo-
logical Society of America (1994), the E. O. Wilson Naturalist Award from the
American Society of Naturalists (1999), the Silverstein-Simeone Award of the
International Society for Chemical Ecology (2000), the Weizmann Institute
Women and Science Award (2004), and the MacArthur Award of the Ecological
Society of America (2005). She was elected to membership in the National Acad-
emy of Sciences in 1994 and named as Associate of the National Academies and
National Research Council in 2001. She is a fellow of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
American Philosophical Society, and Entomological Society of America, and a
member of the American Genetics Association, Ecological Society of America,
and International Society of Chemical Ecology.
Further Resources
University of Illinois. Faculty website, http://www.life.uiuc.edu/entomology/faculty/
berenbaum.html.
Berenbaum, May R. "Losing Their Buzz." New York Times. Opinion section.
(2 March 2007). http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/opinion/02berenbaum.html.
234 | Berezin, Evelyn
Berezin, Evelyn
b. 1925
Computer Scientist, Physicist
Education: B.S., physics, New York University (NYU), 1951
Professional Experience: design engineer, Electronic Computer Corporation and
Underwood Corporation, 1951-1957; logic designer, Teleregister Corporation,
1957-1960; manager, logic design, Digitronics Corporation, 1960-1969; founder
and president, Redactron Corporation, 1969-1978; president, office products, Bur-
roughs Corporation, 1978-1980; founder and president, Greenhouse Management
Corporation, 1980-1987; consultant, 1988-
Evelyn Berezin was a pioneer in computer hardware design with her development
of the first office computer in the 1950s and with the first word processor to replace
the typewriter in the 1960s. She was also an innovator in the uses of interactive
computer programs and also helped develop the first computer data systems for
banks and then for the first airline reservation system, which was used by United
Airlines. She envisioned using the word processor as a tool for creating and editing
text documents, and in 1969, she and two colleagues founded their own firm,
Redactron, to design and manufacture a product called Data Secretary. They were
second only to IBM in producing word processors, but were forced to sell the com-
pany to Burroughs Corporation in 1978, who failed to market her machine for
office use. Several other companies, notably IBM, would corner the office word-
processing market that took off in the 1980s.
Berezin was a business major in college until an unexpected job offer prompted
her to switch to physics. She planned to go on for a doctorate, and held a fellowship
from the Atomic Energy Commission while a student at NYU, but instead obtained a
job with Electronic Computer Corporation. She designed computer systems and
received patents on several individual components. After selling Redactron to Bur-
roughs Corporation in 1978, Berezin became the president of that company's office
products group. However, she left in 1979 to form her own firm again, this time a
consultant firm for the automation industry. Later, she formed Greenhouse Manage-
ment Corporation, a venture capital group that invested in high-technology compa-
nies. Since 1988, she has been an independent management consultant and has
served on the board of directors for numerous technology research organizations
and corporations, including Sion Power Corporation and IntelliCheck, Inc.
Berezin has received honorary doctorates from Adelphi University and Eastern
Michigan University. She was acknowledged as an inventor with her 2006 induc-
tion into the Long Island Technology Hall of Fame.
Berger, Marsha J. | 235
Further Resources
Rostky, George. 2000. "The Word Processor: Cumbersome, but Great." EE Times, http://
www.v2.eetimes.com/special/special issues/millennium/milestones/berezin.html.
Berger, Marsha J.
b. 1953
Computer Scientist
Education: B.S., mathematics, State University of New York, Binghamton-
Harpur College, 1974; M.S., computer science, Stanford University, 1978, Ph.D.,
computer science, 1982
Professional Experience: programmer, Energy and Environmental Systems
Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 1974-1976; consultant and program
librarian, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) and Stanford Center for
Information Processing (SCIP), and teaching and research assistant, computer
science, 1976-1982; postdoctoral fellow, Courant Institute of Mathematical
Sciences, New York University, 1982-1984, associate to assistant professor, com-
puter science, 1985-1993, deputy director, Courant Institute, 1997-2003 and fall
2005, professor, 1993-
Concurrent Positions: research assistant, Mathematics Division, IBM T. J. Watson
Research Center, 1978; research assistant, Computation Group, Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory, 1979; scientist in residence and consultant, Institute for Com-
puter Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE), NASA Langley Research
Center, summers, 1983, 1984, 1985; visiting scientist, NASA Ames Research Center,
1991-1992, 2003-2005, summers, 1993-
Marsha J. Berger is a computer scientist whose research interests include compu-
tational fluid dynamics, numerical analysis, and high-performance parallel com-
puting, specifically developing software and engineering applications for the
aircraft and spacecraft industries. After receiving her bachelor's degree in math-
ematics, she worked as a scientific programmer for Argonne National Laboratory,
where she developed models for the Energy and Environmental Systems Division.
She pursued graduate study at Stanford University and was affiliated with the
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. After receiving her Ph.D. in computer science
from Stanford in 1982, she joined the faculty of the Courant Institute of Math-
ematical Sciences at New York University, where she has taught for more than
20 years. She has also served as deputy director of the Courant Institute.
236 | Berkowitz, Joan B.
Berger was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2000 and the
National Academy of Engineering in 2005. She has also received the Presidential
Young Investigator Award of the National Science Foundation (NSF) (1988), a
Faculty Award for Women from the NSF (1991), the NASA Software of the Year
Award for Cart3D (2002), and the Sidney Fernbach Award of the IEEE (2004).
She is a member of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, American
Mathematical Society, Association for Women in Mathematics, and American
Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Further Resources
New York University. Faculty website. http://as.nyu.edu/object/MarshaBerger.html.
Berkowitz, Joan B.
b. 1931
Physical Chemist
Education: B.A., Swarthmore College, 1952; Ph.D., physical chemistry, Univer-
sity of Illinois, 1955; certificate, Senior Executive Program, Sloan School, 1977
Professional Experience: National Science Foundation fellow, Yale University,
1955-1957; physical chemist, Arthur D. Little, Inc., 1957-1980, vice president
and section head of Environmental Business World Wide, 1980-1986; chief exec-
utive officer (CEO), Risk Science International, 1986-1989; founder and manag-
ing director, Farkas, Berkowitz & Company, Inc., 1989—
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, physical chemistry, Boston University,
1965-1970; adjunct professor, University of Maryland
Joan Berkowitz is internationally known as an authority on environmental hazards.
After receiving her undergraduate degree from Swarthmore, she wanted to study
physical chemistry at Princeton University; however, the Princeton Chemistry
Department would not accept women graduate students, so she completed her
graduate studies at the University of Illinois in three years and then held a National
Science Foundation fellowship at Yale University. She accepted a position as a
physical chemist at Arthur D. Little, Inc., an international management and tech-
nology consulting firm, while her husband, Arthur Mattuck, joined the mathemat-
ics faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
At Little, Berkowitz was very successful with high-temperature oxidation stud-
ies, which led to opportunities for projects in hazardous waste disposal. After she
Bertell, Rosalie | 237
had worked for about 20 years, the company funded her participation in the Senior
Executive Program of the Sloan School. In 1980, she became a vice president of
Little and was further promoted to head the section Environmental Business World
Wide. In 1986, she became the CEO of Risk Science International, a consulting
firm in Washington, D.C. In 1989, she teamed with Allen Farkas to form Farkas,
Berkowitz and Company to consult on waste treatment and disposal, remediation
technologies, and market potential assessment. She headed a team that produced
a multivolume catalog of all possible manufactured products with any potential to
cause pollution problems. She also investigated the problem of "scrubbing," a tech-
nique in which sulfur dioxide is removed from the air to improve air quality.
Her research programs in electrochemistry, high-temperature chemistry, solar
energy, and environmental science are all areas of interest to the space program.
She developed a major research program in high-temperature oxidation of transi-
tion metals that showed that molybdenum disilicide had the greatest oxidation
resistance at all temperatures and was also the most corrosion-resistant. The plat-
ing techniques using molybdenum disilicide that the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) developed were used in industry also. Other related
projects involved mechanisms of oxidation reactions in gas streams, studies of
radiation shields, and the use of electrical fields to retard high-temperature oxida-
tion of metals and alloys.
Berkowitz was the first woman president of the Electrochemical Society
(1979-1980), and she is also a member of the American Chemical Society and
the American Physical Society. She received the Achievement Award of the Society
of Women Engineers (1983) for her pioneering contributions in the field of hazard-
ous waste management.
Further Resources
"Farkas Berkowitz & Company: Catalyst for Change." http://www.farkasberkowitz.com/.
Bertell, Rosalie
b. 1929
Biomathematics
Education: B.A., mathematics, D'Youville College, 1951; M.A., mathematics,
Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C, 1959, Ph.D., biometrics, 1966
Professional Experience: assistant, mathematics, Catholic University, 1957-1958;
associate professor, mathematics, Sacred Heart Junior College, Pennsylvania,
1958-1968; coordinator of high school math teachers, D'Youville Academy,
238 | Bertell, Rosalie
Atlanta, Georgia, 1968-1969, coordinator and associate professor, mathematics,
D'Youville College, 1969-1972; visiting professor, State University of New York,
Buffalo, 1972-73, assistant research professor, 1974-1978; director and research
consultant, Ministry of Concern for Public Health, New York, 1978-1980; Energy
and Public Health specialist, Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada, 1980-1984; faculty, Ovum Pacis: The Women's Peace University,
USA and Canada, 1994-; founder and president, International Institute of Concern
for Public Health, 1987-2001
Concurrent Positions: senior research scientist, Roswell Park Memorial Institute,
1970-1978; cancer research scientist and consultant, 1975-1980
Rosalie Bertell has studied and been an activist raising awareness about the hazards
of low-level radiation of nuclear energy. Her research involves mathematical statis-
tics, analysis, measure theory, the aging effect in humans associated with exposure
to ionizing radiation, updating relative risk methodology for biomedical applications,
and lifestyle and chronic diseases. She has created controversy by arguing that stan-
dard research methods on nuclear energy are aimed to convince people that low-level
radiation is harmless. She argues, however, that there are no peaceful uses of atomic
energy because it leads to either a quick death from atomic weapons or a slow death
from the pollution emanated by atomic production. Radiation increases not only the
risk of cancer, but also susceptibility to infectious diseases and risk of earlier onset of
heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, coronary-renal disease, and other chronic health
problems. At the time the first nuclear tests were conducted, scientists did not have
sufficient data to anticipate what some of the results would be. However, there still
is not a consensus on how the data should be interpreted.
Bertell has published widely on this issue, with numerous articles, pamphlets, and
books such as No Immediate Danger: Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth (1985),
which was the first to discuss the dangers of low-level radiation, and Planet Earth:
The Latest Weapon of War, A Critical Study into the Military and the Environment
(2001). She was also editor of the journal International Perspectives in Public
Health. She has also written on the dangers of depleted uranium, the effect of
x-rays, the toxic waste created by military operations, and Gulf War syndrome. On
these issues and others, she has consulted for numerous educational, government,
and human-rights groups, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy
Task Force of the National Council of Churches, the Citizens' Advisory Committee
to the President's Commission on Three Mile Island, and International Medical
Commissions to deal with nuclear accidents, such as in Chernobyl in the late 1990s.
Bertell has been acknowledged for her scientific activism against nuclear weap-
ons and for human rights. In 1986, she received the Right Livelihood Award "[f]or
raising public awareness about the destruction of the biosphere and human gene
Blackburn, Elizabeth | 239
pool, especially by low-level radiation." In 1993, she received official recognition
from the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and was named to
UNEP's Global 500 Roll of Honour. Among her other awards and honors are the
World Federalist Peace Award, a Health Innovator Award of the Ontario Premier's
Council on Health, the Sean MacBride International Peace Prize, and selection (in
2005) as one of 1,000 PeaceWomen nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She has
received several honorary doctorates and is a member of the Health Physics Society,
American Academy of Political and Social Science, American Public Health Asso-
ciation, and International Biometric Society. She conducts her work through the
International Institute of Concern for Public Health (IICPH), a Toronto, Canada-
based organization she founded in 1984. She is also a founding member of the
International Commission of Health Professionals, the International Association of
Humanitarian Medicine, and the Commission of Health Professionals.
Further Resources
International Institute of Concern for Public Health, http://www.iicph.org.
Blackburn, Elizabeth
b. 1948
Cell Biologist
Education: B.Sc, biochemistry, University of Melbourne, Australia, 1970, M.Sc,
biochemistry, 1972; Ph.D., molecular biology, University of Cambridge, England,
1975
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, molecular and cell biology, Yale
University, 1975-1977; postdoctoral fellow, University of California, San Francisco,
1978; assistant professor, molecular biology, University of California, Berkeley,
1978-1983, associate professor, 1983-1986, professor, 1986-1990; professor,
biochemistry and biophysics, and microbiology and immunology, University of
California, San Francisco, 1990-
Elizabeth Blackburn is a cell biologist whose work has contributed to cancer
research and who shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with
her former student Carol Greider and colleague Jack Szostak. Blackburn's
research focuses on telomerase enzyme research and the molecular nature of
telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that cover and protect genetic information.
The role of telomerase is important for advances in cancer research since it helps
explain how cells form, age, replicate, and mutate. Blackburn's lab studies cells
240 | Blackburn, Elizabeth
from a variety of organisms, including
humans. In 2001, Blackburn was
elected a member of the President's
Council on Bioethics, but her support
for stem-cell research led to her con-
troversial removal from the council in
2004. Her removal, and the Bush
administration's moratorium on stem-
cell research, prompted outrage from
the scientific community. She serves
on the Science Advisory Board of the
Genetics Policy Institute.
Born in Australia, Blackburn
received degrees in biochemistry
from the University of Melbourne
and went on to earn her doctorate in
molecular biology from the Univer-
sity of Cambridge in England. She
came to the United States in 1975 as
a postdoctoral fellow at Yale and
moved to California in 1978 to join
the faculty at Berkeley. She moved
to the University of California, San
Francisco in 1990, where she is currently the Morris Herztein Professor of Biology
and Physiology and holds joint appointments in the departments of Biochemistry
and Biophysics and of Microbiology and Immunology, serving as department
chair between 1993 and 1999.
Blackburn has received honorary doctorates from several prestigious American
universities, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and others. A select listing of her
numerous other awards and honors includes the Eli Lilly Research Award for
Microbiology and Immunology (1988), National Academy of Sciences Award in
Molecular Biology (1990), Gairdner Foundation International Award (1998),
Clowes Memorial Award of the American Association for Cancer Research
(2000), Medal of Honor of the American Cancer Society (2000), AACR-
Pezcoller Foundation International Award for Cancer Research (2001), Alfred P.
Sloan Award of the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation (2001),
E. B. Wilson Award of the American Society for Cell Biology (2001), Albert
Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (2006) (shared with future Nobel
Laureate colleagues, Greider and Szostak), and L'Oreal-UNESCO Award for
Women in Science (2008).
Cell biologist Elizabeth Blackburn, co-recipient
of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine. (© The Nobel Foundation. Photo:
Ulla Montan)
Bliss, Eleanor Albert | 241
Blackburn formalized her American citizenship in 2003. She was elected a
Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences (1993) and a member of
the Institute of Medicine (2000), and is a fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Microbiology, Royal Society
of London, Australian Academy of Science, and American Academy of Arts and
Sciences. She is also a member of the Genetics Society of America and American
Society for Cell Biology (president, 1998).
Further Resources
University of California, San Francisco. Faculty /lab website, http://biochemistry.ucsf.edu/
labs/blackburn/index.php?option=com content&view=article&id= 1 &Itemid=3
"Elizabeth H. Blackburn: Interview." http://nobelprize.org/nobel prizes/medicine/
laureates/2009/blackburn-interview.html.
Bliss, Eleanor Albert
1899 1987
Bacteriologist
Education: A.B., Bryn Mawr College, 1921; Sc.D., Johns Hopkins University,
1925
Professional Experience: fellow, medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 1925-1935,
faculty, 1936-1952; advisor, U.S. Army Chemical Corps, 1945-1952; professor,
biology and dean of graduate school, Bryn Mawr, 1952-1966
Concurrent Positions: board member, University of Pennsylvania, 1954-1959
Eleanor Bliss was an authority on the use of sulfa drugs, and her discovery of
group F streptococcus led to the first medicine to cure strep infection. Bliss and
her colleague, Dr. Perrin H. Long, conducted animal and then human trials for
sulfa drugs before the first human case was cured in 1936. They presented their
work on drug chemical therapy of bacterial infections at conferences and in jour-
nal articles before publishing their findings in a 1939 book, Clinical and Experi-
mental Use of Sulfanilamide, Sulfapyridine and Allied Compounds. Although
much attention was paid to the use of sulfa drugs in treating streptococcus (espe-
cially after the president's son, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr., was successfully
cured in late 1936), in the book they outlined a wide range of illnesses and diseases
that could be treated with the drugs, such as gonorrhea, pneumonia, kidney infec-
tions, and streptococcal meningitis, which previously was nearly always fatal.
242 | Blodgett, Katharine Burr
Even though many of these drugs have since been replaced with other medica-
tions, Bliss's findings for therapeutic uses for sulfa drugs preceded the discovery
of penicillin by more than a decade.
The work of Bliss and Long was supported in part by the Chemical Foundation,
an American organization that was racing to develop new medicines and cures
before German or other European countries. Sulfa drugs were used extensively
for the first time during World War II to treat the wounds of soldiers. The historical
and scientific importance of Bliss's work as a bacteriologist, which prompted a
decades-long revolution in pharmaceutical research, is detailed in a recent book
by John E. Lesch, The First Miracle Drugs: How the Sulfa Drugs Transformed
Medicine (2007).
Bliss served on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University for 16 years, taking a
leave of absence to work with the Chemical Corps during the war years. After the
war, she accepted an appointment as professor of biology and dean of the graduate
school at Bryn Mawr College. She was elected a fellow of the American Academy
of Microbiology and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
She was a member of several professional societies, including the American Society
of Bacteriologists and the American Association of Immunologists.
Further Resources
Lesch, John E. 2007. The First Miracle Drugs: How the Sulfa Drugs Transformed Medicine.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Blodgett, Katharine Burr
1897 1979
Physicist
Education: A.B., Bryn Mawr College, 1917; S.M., University of Chicago, 1918;
Ph.D., physics, Cambridge University, 1926
Professional Experience: research physicist and chemist, General Electric Com-
pany, 1918-1924, 1926-1962
Katharine Blodgett was a physicist most notable for her invention of nonreflecting
glass. She developed methods for constructing and measuring the thickness of
films, and her discovery that stacking thousands of layers of film together would
neutralize light coming through glass was announced in 1938. Her early research
on the ability of activated charcoal to absorb gases was important to the design
of gas masks during World War I. Blodgett's work had applications for another
Blodgett, Katharine Burr | 243
Physicist Katharine B. Blodgett. (Time & Life
Pictures/Getty Images)
later war effort when, during World
War II, she researched ways to de-
ice airplane wings and developed a
method for military weather balloons
to measure air humidity.
After receiving her master's
degree, Blodgett was the first woman
research scientist hired by General
Electric (GE) in Schenectady, New
York, where she worked with chemist
Irving Langmuir. Until she received
her Ph.D., she did not always receive
credit on papers she co-authored with
Langmuir, who received the Nobel
Prize for Chemistry in 1932. Lang-
muir did, however, thank her in his
writings for "carrying out most of
the experimental work." Through
Langmuir's influence, she was encour-
aged to pursue a doctorate and was
able to obtain a position at Cavendish Laboratory, which resulted in her being
the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in physics from Cambridge.
After she completed her doctorate, she returned to GE to work with Langmuir
on problems with tungsten filaments in lamps and efforts to improve one of GE's
main products, light bulbs. Langmuir and Blodgett collaborated in developing a
process of building up film layers for use in nonreflective glass and optical coat-
ings not only for eyeglasses, but also for camera lenses, televisions, and computer
monitors. Their discovery, which became known as Langmuir-Blodgett films,
attracted attention outside of scientific circles because of the possible consumer
applications and was reported in popular magazines such as Time, Look, and Life.
Although Blodgett received early attention for her role as a woman scientist at
GE, by 1953, an article celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary and achievements
of the GE laboratory did not even mention her name.
Blodgett received recognition in the form of an Annual Achievement Award of
the American Association of University Women (1945), a Garvan Medal of the
American Chemical Society (1951), and the Progress Medal of the Photographic
Society of America (1972). She also received honorary degrees from Elmira
College (1939), Brown University (1942), Western College (1942), and Russell
Sage College (1944). She was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society
and was a member of the Optical Society of America.
244 | Bonta, Marcia (Myers)
Further Resources
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Bonta, Marcia (Myers)
b. 1940
Naturalist
Education: B.A., Bucknell University, 1962
Professional Experience: independent naturalist and author
Marcia Bonta is renowned as a writer on nature subjects, primarily in the state of
Pennsylvania. She has contributed greatly to the history of nature writing with her
books Women in the Field: America's Pioneering Women Naturalists (1991) and
American Women Afield: Writings by Pioneering Women Naturalists (1995), studies
of early women naturalists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when
women scientists had fewer professional opportunities. Bonta spent much of her
time walking and observing in the woods, and began looking for women in past
generations who were observers of the natural world. Based on archival research
from around the United States, she gathered together previously unavailable stories
of these women's lives. Her first book chronicled her own family's experience of
wilderness living, Escape to the Mountain (1980; reprinted, 2008). She has also
written several books about her native Pennsylvania, including Outbound Journeys
in Pennsylvania (1988; Book of the Year award from Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers
Association), Appalachian Spring (1991), Appalachian Autumn (1994), More
Outbound Journeys in Pennsylvania (1995), Appalachian Summer (1999), and
Appalachian Winter (2005). She was editor of a "Series on Nature and Natural
History" by the University of Pittsburgh Press (1990-1998). She has also published
more than 300 articles in state and national magazines, including a long-standing
monthly column, "Naturalist's Eye," for the Pennsylvania Game News, which she
has written since 1993.
Bonta considers herself a naturalist first and a writer second. She calls herself "a
missionary for the natural world," and calls attention to the spiritual and ecological
effects of development, inspiring people to think about nature and the outdoors as
having more than a recreational purpose. She has been a member of the Pennsylvania
Outdoor Writers Association and the Juniata Valley Audubon Society (vice president,
1983-1984; president, 1984-1988).
Boring, Alice Middleton | 245
Further Resources
"Marcia Bonta: Naturalist Writer." http://marciabonta.wordpress.com/.
Boring, Alice Middleton
1883 1955
Zoologist
Education: B.A., Bryn Mawr College, 1904, M.A., 1905, Ph.D., 1910
Professional Experience: instructor, biology, Vassar College, 1907-1908;
instructor, zoology, 1911, University of Maine, assistant professor, 1911-1913,
associate professor, 1913-1918; assistant professor, biology, Peking Union
Medical College, 1918-1920; professor, zoology, Wellesley College, 1920-1923;
professor, zoology, Yenching University, 1923-1943, 1946-1950; instructor, his-
tology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 1943-1944;
visiting professor, zoology, Mount Holyoke, 1945-1946; part-time professor,
zoology, Smith College, 1951-1953
Alice Boring was a zoologist who made significant contributions to the literature
on the taxonomy of Chinese amphibians and reptiles, many of which at that time
were unknown to researchers in the United States and Europe. She contributed to
the spread of scientific knowledge by teaching Chinese students and by collecting
data and specimens of Chinese animals. She also published several scientific
papers in journals such as the Hong Kong Naturalist and Peking Natural History
Bulletin. Born and educated in Pennsylvania, Boring spent a major portion of her
career outside the United States. During her doctoral studies on insect genetics at
Bryn Mawr, she studied at the University of Wurzburg and the Naples Zoological
Station. She then spent about 10 years on the faculties of Vassar and the University
of Maine, attaining the position of associate professor at the latter institution. Her
early research involved cytology and genetics, and she seemed to be headed for a
traditional career in academia. Between 1918 and 1950, however, Boring
remained primarily in China, teaching biology and conducting zoological research
at Peking Union Medical College and, later, at Peking (Yenching) University.
During this time, she witnessed civil war, revolution, the Japanese occupation,
World War II (involving her internment and repatriation), and the creation of a
new socialist society in China.
After her first two-year term in China, Boring made it her mission in life to stay
in that country to teach. She immediately involved herself in Chinese educational
246 | Boyd, Louise Arner
and political causes. She was repatriated from China in 1943 after spending two
years with British and American citizens in a concentration camp after their uni-
versity was shut down. She held teaching posts at Columbia University's medical
college and at Mount Holyoke, but she eagerly returned to the country she loved
in 1946 for four additional years. She returned to the United States in 1951 when
a family member became ill and taught briefly at Smith College.
Further Resources
Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey. 1991. "The 'New Look' Women and the Expansion of American
Zoology: Nettie Maria Stevens (1861 1912) and Alice Middleton Boring (1883
1955)." In The Expansion of American Biology, edited by Keith R. Benson et al.,
52 79. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey and Clifford J. Choquette. 1999. A Dame Full of Vim and Vigor:
A Biography of Alice Middleton Boring, Biologist in China. Amsterdam: Harwood
Academic Publishers.
Boyd, Louise Arner
1887 1972
Geographer, Explorer
Education: private schools
Professional Experience: scientific explorations of polar regions
Louise Boyd contributed to science by sponsoring and leading expeditions of scien-
tifically trained personnel who made significant contributions to our knowledge of
the Arctic. During World War II, she was a consultant to the U.S. War Department
due to her experience in exploring the polar regions. Since the Danes and the Nor-
wegians had conducted the primary polar research, her files of notes, maps, photo-
graphs, botanical specimens, and so on were the only American sources available.
She was a wealthy woman who first saw polar ice on a vacation with friends in 1926.
She sponsored six additional trips to Arctic regions, primarily to east Greenland,
where an area, Louise Boyd Land, was named after her. Although she was not a
scientist, she provided the best equipment available to the scientists who accompa-
nied her, and she consulted with the staff of the American Geographical Society in
selecting both the scientists and the equipment. She trained herself to be an expert
photographer and developed skill in collecting botanical specimens. In 1955, she
was the first woman to fly over the North Pole, and in 1960, she became the first
woman councilor of the American Geographical Society.
Braun, Annette Frances | 247
Boyd's published works included The Fiord Region of East Greenland (1935),
which detailed the scientific results of her 1931 and 1933 trips, and The Coast of
Northeast Greenland (1948), both published by the American Geographical Society.
She also published Polish Countrysides (1937), which recorded her trip to Warsaw
for the International Geographical Congress. She was a delegate to the Congress,
representing the U.S. government and the American Geographical Society. She had
exceptional leadership skills, which made her the only woman to achieve an
outstanding position in Arctic exploration. She received honorary degrees in 1939
from both the University of California and Mills College.
Further Resources
Olds, Elizabeth F. 1985. Women of the Four Winds: The Adventures of Four of America' s
First Women Explorers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Braun, Annette Frances
1884 1978
Entomologist
Education: A.B., University of Cincinnati, 1906, A.M., 1908, Ph.D., zoology,
1911
Professional Experience: assistant, zoology, University of Cincinnati, 1911-1916;
private research, 1916-1978
Annette Braun was an eminent entomologist and a leading authority on Lepidoptera,
particularly Microlepidoptera, the order that includes butterflies and moths. She
was the first woman granted a Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati. After receiving
her doctorate, she remained affiliated with the university for about five years before
she left to engage in private research. She was considered a prominent entomol-
ogist of her time and was elected vice president of the Entomological Society of
America in 1926. She and her sister, Lucy Braun, who taught botany at the Univer-
sity of Cincinnati, maintained a research garden famous for its unusual plants, and
Annette traveled with her sister on botanical expeditions in Ohio and Kentucky.
The Braun sisters were committed to the preservation of natural resources and local
environments, and Annette Braun was a lifetime trustee of the Cincinnati Museum
of Natural History, which now includes a Braun library and archives of Lucy
Braun's manuscripts. Annette Braun's notes and an extensive collection of more
than 5,000 slides were donated to the Smithsonian Institution, and her mounted
collection of nearly 30,000 specimens of moths was given to the Philadelphia
Academy of Science.
248 | Braun, (Emma) Lucy
Braun published numerous papers on moths for the American Entomological
Society and other scientific journals, published four monographs and books, and
provided detailed illustrations for her studies based on her own observations and
use of a microscope to study insects. She continued to research and publish signifi-
cant work well into her eighties, and died at the age of 94.
Further Resources
Bonta, Marcia M. 1991. Women in the Field: America's Pioneering Women Naturalists.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Ohio State University. Obituary. https://kb.osu.edU/dspace/bitstream/1811/22633/l/
V079N4 189.pdf.
Braun, (Emma) Lucy
1889 1971
Botanist
Education: A.B., University of Cincinnati, 1910, A.M., geology, 1912, Ph.D.,
botany, 1914
Professional Experience: assistant, geology, University of Cincinnati, 1910-1913,
assistant, botany, 1914-1917, instructor, botany, 1917-1923, assistant to associate
professor, botany, 1923-1946, professor, plant ecology, 1946-1948
Lucy Braun was a botanist instrumental in developing the scientific discipline of
ecology in the United States. She took early retirement from the University of
Cincinnati only two years after achieving full professorship to devote her time
to fieldwork, particularly in Ohio. She was often accompanied on her botanical
field expeditions by her sister, entomologist Annette Frances Braun, work the
sisters continued well into their eighties. In the 1920s and 1930s, Lucy Braun
cataloged the flora of the Cincinnati area and compared it with the flora of the
same region 100 years earlier. One of the first studies of its type in the United
States, this provided a model for comparing changes in flora over a span of time.
Braun's research and exhaustive cataloging of native plant life led to the preserva-
tion of tens of thousands of acres in her native Ohio and established ecology as an
academic discipline. Thirty years after her death, her ecological legacy is still
honored through a summer workshop in Kentucky entitled "In the Footsteps of
Lucy Braun," which leads participants through local forests to show the decima-
tion caused by mining.
Bricker, Victoria (Reifler) | 249
Braun published hundreds of papers as well as books such as An Annotated
Catalog of the Spermatophytes of Kentucky (1943), The Woody Plants of Ohio
(1961; commissioned by the Ohio Academy of Science), and various studies on
plants new to science in Ohio and Kentucky. She is best known, however, for her
1950 book Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America, still considered an
authoritative reference work on the subject. In it she coined the term "mixed meso-
phytic" to describe the thick forests of the American Southeast that are made up of
a variety of tree species, many of them ancient. In 1917, she founded the Wild-
flower Preservation Society and served as editor of its journal, Wildftower,
between 1928-1933. She was the first female president of both the Ohio Academy
of Science (1933-1934) and the Ecological Society of America (1950), and was
the first woman inducted into the Ohio Conservation Hall of Fame (1971). Among
her awards and honors were the Mary Soper Pope Medal in botany (1952) and the
Certificate of Merit of the Botanical Society of America (1956).
Further Resources
Bonta, Marcia M. 1991. Women in the Field: America's Pioneering Women Naturalists.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Western Kentucky University. Biography, http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/chronob/
BRAU1889.htm.
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. "Forests, Firsthand: Workshops Show Richness
Eastern Kentucky Retains, What It's Lost." http://www.ohvec.org/links/news/archive/
2007/fair use/06 11. html.
Bricker, Victoria (Reifler)
b. 1940
Anthropologist, Ethnologist
Education: B.A., philosophy and humanities, Stanford University, 1962; M.A.,
anthropology, Harvard University, 1963, Ph.D., anthropology, 1968
Professional Experience: visiting lecturer, anthropology, Tulane University,
1969-1970, assistant professor to professor, anthropology, 1970-
Concurrent Positions: book review editor, American Anthropologist, 1971-1973;
editor, American Ethnologist, 1973-1976
Victoria Bricker is an ethnologist and anthropologist who specializes in comparing
the oral tradition with the written history of Mexico. Bricker was born in Hong
250 | Brill, Yvonne (Claeys)
Kong and moved to the United States as a young child, eventually attending both
Stanford and Harvard Universities. Her research and publications relate to the
Dresden Codex and the Madrid Codex, original manuscripts that describe the
history and culture of the Mayans. The Maya developed a type of pictogram called
glyphs in which they recorded events on buildings, monuments, and tree bark.
When the Spaniards conquered the Maya, they melted the gold and silver orna-
ments, and the Spanish priests destroyed many written records, although much
writing remained on buildings and monuments, and some of the manuscripts
written on tree bark were saved and eventually ended up in archives in Europe.
The Dresden Codex contains astronomical calculations, and the Madrid Codex
contains information on astrology and divination practices. One area in which
Bricker specializes is the astronomical records maintained by the Maya on their
calendars.
She has published numerous papers and journal articles, as well as books,
including The Indian Christ, the Indian King: The Historical Substrate of Maya
Myth and Ritual (1981) and A Grammar of Mayan Hieroglyphs (1986). Since
1977, she has served as the general editor of Supplement to Handbook of Middle
American Indians. Bricker was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in
1991. She is a fellow of the American Philosophical Society and a member of
the American Anthropological Association, American Society for Ethnohistory,
Linguistic Society of America, and Societe des Americanistes.
Brill, Yvonne (Claeys)
b. 1924
Aerospace Engineer, Chemist
Education: B.Sc, University of Manitoba, 1945; M.S., University of Southern
California, 1951
Professional Experience: mathematician, aircraft design, Douglas Aircraft Com-
pany, 1945-1946; research analyst, propulsion and propellants, Rand Corporation,
1946-1949; group leader, igniters and fuels, Marquardt Corporation, 1949-1952;
staff engineer, combustion, United Technology Corporation, 1952-1955; project
engineer, preliminary design, Wright Aeronautical Division of Curtiss-Wright
Corporation, 1955-1958; consultant, propulsion and propellants, FMC Corpora-
tion, 1958-1966; manager, propulsion, RCA Astro-Electronics, 1966-1981, staff
Brill, Yvonne (Claeys) | 251
engineer, preliminary design, 1983-1986; manager, solid rocket motor, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters, 1981-1983; staff
member and space engineer, International Maritime Satellite Organization,
1986-1991; consultant, 1991-
Yvonne Brill has been involved in the aerospace industry both in the United States
and England during her entire professional career, specializing in both liquid and
solid rocket propulsion. She developed new rocket-propulsion systems for communi-
cation satellites; the single-propellant rocket system, the hydrazine/hydrazine
resistojet, which she developed in 1974 and for which she holds the patent, is still
in use today. Brill was born in Canada, but after receiving her undergraduate degree
in mathematics, she was unable to find work in Canada and began graduate studies in
California after accepting a position at Douglas Aircraft as a mathematician assisting
with studies of aircraft propeller noise. She received her master's degree in 195 1 and
held positions with several U.S. companies over the course of her career, including
researching rocket and missile designs and propellant formulas at Rand, working as
a staff engineer with United Technology Research Laboratory to study rocket and
ramjet engines, and developing high-energy fuels for advanced aircraft at Curtiss-
Wright. After the birth of her children, she worked as a part-time consultant on rocket
propellants for FMC Corporation.
Returning to full-time work in 1966, Brill was employed at RCA Astro-
Electronics (now GE Astro), as a senior engineer and then manager of NOVA
propulsion. It was at RCA that she developed a hydrazine/hydrazine resistojet
thruster, which was a monumental advance for single-propellant rockets, enabling
satellites to change orbits in space. In 1981, she joined NASA as a director of the
solid rocket motor program in the Office of Space Flight (shuttle program) and
later joined INMARSAT in London as a space segment engineer until retiring in
1991. She performed preliminary work on the Mars Observer spacecraft that was
launched in 1992 and tracked launch vehicle performance on the Scout, Delta,
Atlas, and Titan spacecraft. After retirement, she served as a consultant monitoring
propulsion system activities for orbiting communication satellites.
Brill's many awards and honors include the RCA award for Astro-Electronics
Engineering Excellence (1970), the Resnik Challenger Medal of the Society of
Women Engineers (1993), and the SWE Achievement Award (1986). She is a fel-
low of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of the Society
of Women Engineers, is a member of the British Interplanetary Society and the
International Astronautical Union, and was elected to the National Academy of
Engineering in 1987 and inducted into the Women in Technology International
(WITI) Hall of Fame in 1999.
252 | Briscoe, Anne M.
Briscoe, Anne M.
b. 1918
Biochemist
Education: B.A., Adelphi College, 1942; A.M., Vassar College, 1945; Ph.D.,
biochemistry, Yale University, 1949
Professional Experience: assistant chemist, University of Maine, 1942-1943;
Vassar College, 1943-1945; physiological chemist, Yale, 1946-1947; fellow,
University of Pennsylvania, 1949-1950; associate biochemist, medical college,
Cornell University, 1950-1954, assistant professor, 1954-1955; research associ-
ate, school of medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 1956; associate biochemist,
Columbia University, 1956-1972; assistant professor of medicine, College of
Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia, 1972-1988
Anne Briscoe is a distinguished medical researcher and faculty member in bio-
chemistry, with a primary emphasis on the metabolism of calcium and magnesium
in humans. She has held positions with numerous prestigious employers, including
the medical college of Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania School
of Medicine, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University.
She has been active as a consultant for the Veterans Administration Hospital,
Castle Point, New York. While her primary focus was on research, she has lectured
in the School of General Studies of Columbia University, the School of Nursing at
Harlem Hospital Center, and Antioch College's Physician's Assistant Program at
Harlem Hospital Center.
Besides her research, Briscoe has been exceptionally active as an advocate for
women in the sciences. She was one of the founding members of the Association
for Women in Science (AWIS) in 1971 and subsequently served as president
(1974-1976), chair of the AWIS Affirmative Action Committee, and co-chair of
the Committee on Equity. She has published on women, feminism, and science,
including co-editing (with Sheila Pfafflin) a book, Expanding the Role of Women
in the Sciences (a publication of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1979). Her
article, "Diary of a Mad Feminist Chemist," published in the International Journal
of Women's Studies (1981), is an account of her years as a woman scientist at Cor-
nell and Columbia. Commenting on her role as both as scientist and a part of the
feminist movement, she has said, "Opportunities are greater for women than when
I received a Ph.D. in 1949, and I only regret that I was born too soon."
Briscoe was elected a fellow of the American Institute of Chemists and a fellow
of the New York Academy of Sciences, and served on the New York City Commis-
sion on the Status of Women. In 1997, she received the prestigious Wilbur L.
Britton, Elizabeth Knight | 253
Cross Medal of the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She also has been
a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Society for
Clinical Nutrition.
Britton, Elizabeth Knight
1858 1934
Botanist, Bryologist
Education: Hunter College, 1875
Professional Experience: critic teacher, Hunter College, 1875-1882, tutor, natural
science, 1882-1885; curator of mosses, Torrey Botanical Club, 1884-1885, editor,
Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 1886-1888; unofficial curator of mosses,
Columbia College Herbarium, New York Botanical Garden, 1899-1912, honorary
curator, 1912-1934
Elizabeth Knight Britton was an early botanist and one of the founders of the New
York Botanical Garden. She became a well-regarded amateur botanist with a special
interest in bryology, or the study of mosses. She built a collection of mosses and ferns
from expeditions in North America and the Caribbean. She was raised and educated
in New York and on a family-owned sugar plantation in Cuba. Always interested in
science, she graduated from Hunter College in 1875 and taught there for 10 years
until her marriage in 1885 to geologist Nathaniel Britton. In collaboration with her
husband, who also taught botany, and working through his affiliation as professor
at Columbia College, she built a significant moss collection at Columbia. The
Brittons did not have children and often traveled together on botanical collecting
expeditions. After visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens in England, the couple led
the campaign to increase public botanical awareness and knowledge through the
creation of the New York Botanical Garden, a 250-acre garden established in the
Bronx in 1891 with Nathaniel Britton as its first director.
Elizabeth Britton's moss collection was eventually moved from Columbia to
the Botanical Garden, where she was a full-time volunteer and became the honor-
ary curator of mosses in 1912. Even though she did not hold an advanced degree,
and did not draw a salary from either the Botanical Garden or from Columbia, she
was regarded as an eminent botanical scientist of her day and even mentored
graduate students in botany at Columbia.
Britton belonged to or helped create every significant botanical club in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She was an early member of the Torrey
254 | Brody, Jane Ellen
Botanical Club who edited the club's Bulletin in the 1880s, and one of the founding
(and only female) members of the Botanical Society of America in 1893. She
co-founded the Sullivant Moss Society in 1898 (later the American Bryological
Society), serving as president from 1916 to 1919 and also editing that group's
journal, Bryologist. She also co-founded the Wild Flower Preservation Society of
America in 1902, serving as secretary and treasurer for many years. She helped
identify and preserve many species of wildflowers in the United States and auth-
ored or co-authored more than 300 scientific papers and articles on mosses, ferns,
and wildflowers. There are numerous plant species and one moss genus, Bryobrit-
tonia, named in her honor.
Further Resources
New York Botanical Garden. "Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton Records." http://
sciweb.nybg.org/science2/libr/finding guide/egbweb.asp.
Brody, Jane Ellen
b. 1941
Science Writer, Nutritionist
Education: B.S., biochemistry, New York State College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences at Cornell University, 1962; M.S., journalism, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, 1963
Professional Experience: reporter, Minneapolis Tribune, 1963-1965; science
writer, New York Times, 1965-1976, health columnist, 1976-; independent author
and lecturer, health and nutrition, 1979-
Jane Brody is the author of numerous articles and books on health and nutrition
written for the general public. She combined an undergraduate degree in biochem-
istry with training as a journalist and science writer. She developed a special inter-
est in nutrition and disease at an early age, for she lost both her mother and her
grandmother to cancer while she was in her teens. She enrolled in the biochemistry
curriculum at the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University and
planned to become a research scientist. When she spent a summer in a research
laboratory under a National Science Foundation fellowship at the New York State
Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, New York, however, she decided lab-
oratory research did not appeal to her as a career. In her senior year, after joining
the staff of the Cornell Countryman, a school magazine dealing with scientific
Brody, Jane Ellen | 255
and agricultural research, she enrolled in a few journalism courses as electives.
She received a science writing fellowship for a one-year graduate program in jour-
nalism at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she received a master's
degree in 1963.
Brody obtained a position as a general reporter for the Minneapolis Tribune and
worked there for two years before securing a job as a full-time science writer, special-
izing in medicine and biology, at the New York Times. She brings a wealth of informa-
tion to her columns, spending hours researching her subject and consulting experts in
the field in order to present all sides of controversial subjects. In 1976, she began
writing her "Personal Health" column for the Times. She urges her readers to adopt
a healthy diet that features a high intake of complex carbohydrates, a moderate intake
of proteins, and a reduction in the consumption of fat, sugar, and salt. She also
advises some exercise daily rather than being a "weekend athlete." She warns against
making a radical change in lifestyle. Her philosophy is one of moderation, a concept
foreign to many Americans. She warns people that a healthy lifestyle does not mean
one may eat a low-calorie salad and then "reward" oneself with a dessert rich in
calories and fats. She speaks from her own experience. Although she is only five feet
tall, in graduate school she weighed 140 pounds. She lost 40 pounds over a period of
two years.
Her first book to gain national attention was Jane Brody's Nutrition Book (1981),
in which she expanded the information she had been giving in her columns. The
companion volume, Jane Brody 's Good Food Book ( 1 985), was a bestselling collec-
tion of her health-conscious recipes. She has also published collections of recipes for
children and seafood recipes, and has published books on topics such as allergies and
cancer, all of which promote healing primarily through a healthful diet. Her book
Jane Brody's Guide to the Great Beyond (2009) deals with preparing medically and
emotionally for end-of-life issues. She has been a television personality, including
10 episodes of her own show, Good Health from Jane Brody's Kitchen, which ran
on PBS in the mid-1980s.
Brody has received honorary doctorates from Princeton University (1987) and
Hamline University (1993). She is also the recipient of honors and awards from
the American Heart Association (1971), a science writers' award from the American
Dental Association (1978), and a lifetime award from the American Health Founda-
tion (1978).
Further Resources
Jane Brody. http://www.janebrody.net/.
"Jane E. Brody: Recent and Archived News Articles by Jane E. Brody." http://
topics. nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/b/jane e brody /index. html.
256 | Brooks, Carolyn (Branch)
Brooks, Carolyn (Branch)
b. 1946
Microbiologist
Education: B.S., Tuskegee University, 1968, M.S., 1971; Ph.D., Ohio State
University, 1977
Professional Experience: science teacher, Union Springs, Alabama, 1968-1969;
science teacher, Tuskegee, Alabama, 1971-1972; technician, Veteran's Hospital,
Tuskegee, Alabama, 1972-1973; teaching assistant, Ohio State University,
1975-1977; researcher and program director, community health studies, Kentucky
State University, 1977-1981; professor, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore,
1981-
Concurrent Positions: dean and director, School of Agricultural and Natural
Sciences, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore
Carolyn Brooks is a microbiologist who researches legumes in efforts to increase
the nutritional value of such crops in developing countries. Legumes such as soy-
beans, peas, and beans enrich the soil and require little or no fertilizer, and Brooks
has visited several West African countries to study a legume called the groundnut
in order to help researchers in those countries increase the food value of that plant.
Another area of her research is the creation of crop plant species that have built-in
resistance to insects and other predators.
Brooks was born in Richmond, Virginia, and attended public school before full
integration took place. Fortunately, she had teachers who realized that the changing
social climate would bring more opportunities for educated African Americans,
and they encouraged her to do well and to attend special summer sessions for
science students. Brooks ultimately received offers of scholarships from six differ-
ent colleges. She chose Tuskegee Institute, which had a strong science program, for
both her undergraduate and master's degrees before enrolling at Ohio State for her
doctorate. She gave birth to three children while pursuing her education. Her first
position after graduation was at Kentucky State University in a community health
studies program that combined the resources of the university and statewide social
services to improve the lives of rural residents. In her work on nutritional needs of
the elderly, she found that the subjects' hair indicated the amount of mineral intake
in their diets, which meant that certain medical problems caused by improper diet
could be diagnosed.
In 1981, she moved to the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, where she
is committed to both research and teaching and mentoring students and has served
as Dean of the School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences. In 1988, she was
Brooks, Matilda Moldenhauer | 257
recognized for her teaching at the first annual White House Initiative on Historically
Black Colleges and Universities, and in 1990, she received an Outstanding Educator
Award from the Maryland Association of Higher Education.
Brooks, Matilda Moldenhauer
b. 1890
Physiologist
Education: A.B., University of Pittsburgh, 1912, M.S., 1913; Ph.D., biology, Rad-
cliffe College, Harvard, 1920
Professional Experience: bacteriologist, research institute, National Dental
Association, 1917-1920; assistant biologist, U.S. Public Health Service, 1920-
1924, associate biologist, 1924-1927; research associate in physiology, University
of California, Berkeley, 1927-, lecturer, zoology, 1934, 1936
Matilda Brooks was recognized for developing an antidote or treatment for cyanide
and carbon dioxide poisoning. She accomplished this in 1932 while working
as an unpaid research assistant at the University of California, Berkeley. After
spending about six years with the U.S. Public Health Service, she and her husband,
zoologist Sumner Cushing Brooks, moved to Berkeley, where she held a position
as a research associate in physiology. Her husband held a faculty appointment at
Berkeley (which, due to anti-nepotism rules, meant she could not be employed
there) and, although she periodically substituted for her husband as a zoology lec-
turer, she was one of the few early women scientists without a regular teaching
appointment who was therefore able to devote her entire career to research. Her
work was supported by numerous distinguished grants, such as the Bache grant
of the National Academy of Science, the Naples research grant of the National
Research Council, the Permanent Science Foundation grant, and the American
Philosophical Society grant. She took early courses at, and was a member of, the
Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, an honor that few
women had enjoyed at that time. She and her husband regularly spent summers
at Woods Hole conducting research. The Brooks not only researched together as
a team, but jointly published articles and a book on The Permeability of Living
Cells (1941). The couple also frequently lectured together, including an
international lecture tour that took them to several South American countries
in 1944.
258 | Broome, Claire Veronica
Brooks was a member of several professional societies, including the American
Physiological Society, Society of General Physiologists, and Cooper Ornithological
Society. Although her long-term research had involved cell respiration and oxida-
tion, her later research interests included the effects of solar light and ultraviolet
light on sugar production and the four basic acids.
Further Resources
"Sumner Cushing Brooks: Zoology: Berkeley (1888 1948)." http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/
view?docld=hb9p300969&doc.view=content&chunk.id=div00002&toc. depth
= 1 &brand=calisphere&anchor.id=0.
Broome, Claire Veronica
b. 1949
Epidemiologist, Physician
Education: B.A., Harvard University, 1970; M.D., Harvard Medical School,
1975; diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine, 1981
Professional Experience: deputy chief in pathogens, Bacterial Disease Division,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1979-1980, chief, Bacterial Special
Pathogens, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCID), 198 1—
1990, acting director, 1991-1993, deputy director, 1994-1999, senior advisor,
Integrated Health Information Systems, 2000-2006
Concurrent Positions: clinical assistant, School of Medicine, Emory University;
adjunct professor, Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health,
Emory University
Claire Broome has performed significant research on bacterial disease epidemiol-
ogy, including the public health aspects of pneumonia, meningitis, toxic shock
syndrome, and Legionnaires' disease. Born in England, she immigrated to the
United States with her family in 1951. After completing her education, she joined
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1979 and has remained there
ever since. One of her significant achievements is her novel approach to estimating
the effectiveness of a pneumococcal vaccine by comparing the distribution of ster-
eotypes (organisms distinguished by different surface antigens) in vaccinated and
unvaccinated persons who have had the disease. Her method has proved essential
in defining the appropriate use of the vaccine in the United States.
Another area of study has been the incidence of cerebrospinal meningitis
epidemics. Meningitis is comparatively rare in the United States and other
Brothers, Joyce Diane (Bauer) | 259
industrialized countries (the last epidemic in the United States was in the 1940s),
but the disease still reaches epidemic levels in underdeveloped countries. In an
article published in Scientific American in November 1994, Broome reported that
people living in central Africa are uniquely susceptible to repeated outbreaks of
meningitis. The cycles of epidemics may correspond to environmental changes
with heat and humidity, unusual patterns of immunity, or association with still
other infectious diseases. The bacterium causing meningococcal meningitis is
called Neisseria meningitidis, or "meningococcus." It is a very common organism
that many people carry without being infected.
Broome has served as an advisor for numerous national and international organ-
izations, including the World Health Organization, Global Alliance for Vaccines
and Immunization, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, U.S. Food and
Drug Administration, and National Institutes of Health. She was elected to the
Institute of Medicine (1996) and is a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of
America and a member of the American Epidemiology Society, American College
of Physicians, American Society for Microbiology, and American College of
Epidemiology.
Brothers, Joyce Diane (Bauer)
b. 1929
Psychologist
Education: B.S., psychology, Cornell University, 1947; M.A., Columbia University,
1950, Ph.D., psychology, 1953
Professional Experience: teaching fellow, Hunter College, 1948-1950, instruc-
tor, 1950-1952, research fellow, 1952-1953; independent psychologist and writer,
1952-; television and radio personality, 1958-; columnist, Good Housekeeping,
1963-
Joyce Diane Brothers is a psychologist who has been a popular writer, as well as
television and radio personality, and who pioneered the idea of phone-in advice
on emotional and relationship issues. She first conducted her own local New York
radio show in 1958, and was subsequently offered an afternoon talk show on NBC
television. She became an instant celebrity through The Dr. Joyce Brothers Show
and other syndicated programs that aired over the next two decades. She took live
phone calls and responded to letters from viewers, pioneering the idea of short-
term counseling and advice on oftentimes controversial issues related to sex, mar-
riage, and parenting. She went on to write a syndicated advice column that ran in
260 | Brothers, Joyce Diane (Bauer)
more than 300 newspapers and has
written a monthly column family life
in Good Housekeeping magazine for
more than 40 years. She has also writ-
ten numerous books and made guest
appearances playing herself, a well-
recognizable and honest psychologi-
cal expert, in television comedies,
dramas, talk shows, and feature films.
Brothers's television career began
on a somewhat unusual path — as a
game show contestant. After receiving
her doctorate from Columbia Univer-
sity in 1953, Brothers put her teaching
and counseling career on hold to stay
home with her young daughter. Her
husband was still in medical school at
the time and, hoping to win some extra
money, Brothers studied for an appear-
ance on a television quiz show, The
$64,000 Question, in 1955. She won
the top prize and went on to the next
level in The $64,000 Challenge in 1957, winning again. In addition to the much-
needed money, Brothers gained the attention of broadcast executives as a personable,
energetic, and intelligent contestant, and was offered other television appearances,
including an early stint as a co-host of a sports show. Her radio show soon followed,
and then a national television show. Critics within the psychiatric profession
charged that she could not provide real therapy or treat mental illness in the radio
and television formats, but Brothers countered that she provided practical
solutions to common problems and, when necessary, advised callers to seek addi-
tional help from mental-health professionals.
Many of Brothers's books have been bestsellers, and her works have been trans-
lated into more than 20 languages. Her books include: The Brothers System for
Liberated Love and Marriage (1975), How to Get Whatever You Want Out of Life
(1978), What Women Should Know about Men (1982), What Every Woman Ought
to Know about Love and Marriage (1988), The Successful Woman: How You Can
Have a Career, a Husband, and a Family — And Not Feel Guilty about It (1989),
Widowed (1992, published after the death of her husband of almost 40 years), Pos-
itive Plus: The Practical Plan to Liking Yourself Better (1994), Dr. Brothers'
Guide to Your Emotions (1996), and Middle Childhood: Practical Tips to Develop
Psychologist Joyce Brothers hosted popular
radio and television advice programs. (AP/
Wide World Photos)
Brown, Barbara B. | 261
Greater Peace and Cooperation for Parents of Children Ages 7-12 (1997). She has
received honorary degrees, and her awards and honors include the Mennen Baby
Foundation Award (1959), Newhouse Newspaper Award (1959), Woman of
Achievement Award from the Federation of Jewish Women's Organizations
(1964), Merit Award from Bar-Ilan University (1968), Parkinson Disease Founda-
tion Award (1971), and numerous other acknowledgements.
Brown, Barbara B.
1917 1999
Neurophysiologist, Pharmacologist
Education: B.A., Ohio State University, 1938; Ph.D., pharmacology, University
of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 1950
Professional Experience: head, Division of Pharmacology, William S. Merrell
Company, 1953-1957; research neuropharmacologist, Riker Labs, Inc., 1957-1962;
consulting neurophysiologist, Veterans Administration Hospital, Sepulveda,
California, 1963-1965; associate professor, pharmacology, University of California,
Irvine, 1965-1973; chief, experimental physiology, Veterans Administration
Hospital, Sepulveda, California, 1967-
Concurrent Positions: pharmacologist, Center for Health Science, University of
California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1957-1962; lecturer, psychiatry, UCLA Medical
School, 1973
Barbara Brown helped create the science of biofeedback, a method of learning to
control one's bodily functions by monitoring one's own brain waves, blood pres-
sure, degree of muscle tension, and so forth. In the 1970s, she found that the brain
emits at least four distinct kinds of waves, depending on its activity at the time.
These are delta, the sleep pattern; theta, linked to creativity; beta, connected with
mental concentration; and alpha, reflecting a relaxed state. The brain's constant
electrical activity produces wave patterns, and these patterns can be measured
and recorded using an electroencephalograph (EEG) attached to the scalp. Brown
hypothesized that if people could connect physical sensations with each emission,
they could perhaps learn to achieve the various states at will.
Not only did she discover biofeedback, Brown made innovative applications of
its findings to human health. She also invented two tools to make alpha waves
more vivid and memorable to patients and research subjects — the Alpha train
and the Alpha wave racetrack. The Alpha train records the signals that reveal brain
or body activity by starting when the alpha waves appear in a subject and stopping
262 | Brown, Rachel Fuller
when they disappear. The Alpha wave racetrack consisted of a racecar set operated
by brain waves. Two people can be wired up at once and race their cars against
each other, competing for alpha wave control.
After receiving her doctorate, Brown was employed as a pharmacologist with two
corporations, William S. Merrell Company and Riker Labs, Inc. She then was
appointed an associate professor of pharmacology at the University of California,
Irvine for several years before securing an overlapping position as the chief physi-
ologist at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Sepulveda, California. In addition
to numerous papers, she published three books on biofeedback: New Mind, New
Body: Bio-Feedback, New Directions for the Mind (1974), Stress and the Art of Bio-
feedback (1977), and Supermind, the Ultimate Energy (1980). She was a founding
member and first president (1969-1970) of the Biofeedback Research Society.
Brown, Rachel Fuller
1898 1980
Biochemist
Education: A.B., Mount Holyoke College, 1920; M.S., University of Chicago,
1921, Ph.D., chemistry, 1933
Professional Experience: teacher, private school, 1921-1924; assistant chemist,
New York State Department of Health, 1926-1929, assistant biochemist, 1929-1936,
senior biochemist, 1936-1951, associate biochemist, 1951-1964, research scientist,
1964-
Rachel Brown was responsible (along with her colleague Elizabeth Hazen) for
one of the most important medical discoveries of the century: the development
of the antibiotic fungicide, nystatin. Brown spent her entire career at the division
of laboratories and research of the New York State Department of Health, where
she worked with Hazen, a microbiologist, isolating antibiotics from soil organisms
and testing their antifungal properties on mice. The two women produced two dif-
ferent fungicides, but announced the most successful, nystatin (named for their lab
in New York State), in the fall of 1950. In the 1920s and 1930s, doctors began
regularly prescribing powerful new antibiotics, but many patients developed
severe side effects, including yeast and fungus growth. Nystatin, however, killed
the harmful fungus without attacking common or helpful bacteria. Nystatin (under
the brand name Mycostatin) has been used to treat yeast and fungal infections in
humans, as well as to combat mold in animal feed and even in water-damaged
paper products and artwork. The patent on the drug earned millions in royalties,
Brugge, Joan S. | 263
which Brown and Hazen used to form a foundation for scholarships and research
in the natural sciences. A portion was designated to provide advanced training
for the staff at the state laboratory where they worked. Later, the two women dis-
covered two other new antibiotics, phalamycin and capacidin.
Brown originally intended to study history, but became interested in chemistry
while attending Mount Holyoke College, where she was inspired by chemistry
professor Emma Perry Carr. Brown went on to the University of Chicago for
graduate work. She received her master's in 1921 but, for some reason, approval
of her doctoral thesis and scheduling of her oral exams was initially delayed.
Needing employment, she moved to Albany, New York, for a position with the
State Department of Health without completing the degree. After proving herself
and achieving some recognition as a scientist in that position, her professor at
Chicago finally approved the thesis and she received her Ph.D. in 1933. Before
her work leading to the development of nystatin, Brown researched bacteria
responsible for pneumonia and helped develop a pneumonia vaccine.
Brown and Hazen were jointly awarded the Squibb Award in Chemotherapy
(1955), the Distinguished Service Award of the New York State Department of
Health (1968), and the Benham Award of the Medical Mycological Society of
the Americas (1972). They were the first women awarded the Chemical Pioneer
Award from the American Institute of Chemists (1975). In an interview toward
the end of her life, Brown was quoted as saying that she hoped for "equal opportu-
nities and accomplishments for all scientists regardless of sex." In 1981, a year
after Brown's death, a joint biography of Brown and Hazen was published, The
Fungus Fighters: Two Women Scientists and Their Discovery. In 1994, Brown
was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, one of only a handful
of women.
Further Resources
Baldwin, Richard S. 1981. The Fungus Fighters: Two Women Scientists and Their Discovery.
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Brugge, Joan S.
Cell Biologist, Cancer Researcher
Education: B.A., biology, 1971 Northwestern University, 1971; Ph.D., virology,
Baylor College of Medicine, Texas, 1975
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, University of Colorado Medical
Center, 1975-1979; assistant professor, microbiology, State University of New York
264 | Brugge, Joan S.
Cell biologist and cancer researcher, Joan Brugge. (Courtesy of Harvard University)
at Stony Brook, 1979-1984, associate professor, 1984-1987, professor, 1988; inves-
tigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and professor, microbiology, University
of Pennsylvania, 1989-1992; scientific director, and senior vice president, Research
and Biology, ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 1992-1996, senior vice president,
Exploratory Research, 1996-1997; professor, cell biology, Harvard Medical School,
1997-, acting chair, Department of Cell Biology, 2003, chair, 2004-
Joan Brugge is a cell biologist whose research focuses on the growth of cells, tis-
sues, and tumors related to understanding breast cancer. After receiving her doc-
torate in virology from Baylor College of Medicine in 1975, Brugge held
postdoctoral fellowships from the National Institutes of Health and the American
Cancer Society to study at the University of Colorado Medical Center, where she
isolated proteins in viral and cellular oncogenes and investigated normal cellular
growth as well as tumor formations. She went on to teach microbiology and cell
biology at State University of New York and at the University of Pennsylvania,
but she left academia in 1992 to found ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, a drug develop-
ment company researching new treatments for cancer and other diseases caused
by cellular malformation, such as cystic fibrosis, asthma, and some allergies. She
returned to teaching as professor of cell biology at Harvard Medical School in
1997 and became chair of that department in 2004.
Buck, Linda B. | 265
Brugge has been an invited lecturer at numerous universities, conferences, and
organizations, and has served as an advisor, consultant, or board member for pharma-
ceutical companies and research institutes, including the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology Cancer Center, National Cancer Institute, Fox Chase Cancer Center,
Van Andel Cancer Institute, and advisory committees and review panels for the
National Institutes of Health and National Academies of Science. In 2009, she
received a grant through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation for her continued
work on cellular formation, migration, and abnormalities resulting in tumors.
Brugge was elected to both the National Academy of Science and the Institute
of Medicine in 2001, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sci-
ences. She has received numerous awards and honors, including a National Cancer
Institute Merit Award, American Cancer Society Research Professorship (2001),
Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Foundation Award (2001), Senior Career Recognition
Award from the American Society of Cell Biology (2001), Distinguished Alumnus
Award from the Baylor College of Medicine (2003), National Cancer Institute
Rosalind Franklin Award (2005), and Charlotte Friend Award of the American
Association for Cancer Research (2005).
Further Resources
Harvard Medical School. Faculty website, http://brugge.med.harvard.edu/.
Buck, Linda B.
b. 1947
Biologist
Education: B.S., psychology and microbiology, University of Washington,
Seattle, 1975; Ph.D. immunology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical
Center, 1980
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, neurobiology and molecular biology,
Columbia University, New York, 1980-1984; associate, Howard Hughes Medical
Institute, 1984-1991; assistant professor, neurobiology, Harvard Medical School,
1991-1996; associate professor, 1996-2001, professor, 2001-2002; full member,
Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and affiliate
professor, physiology and biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, 2003-
Concurrent Positions: assistant investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
1994-1997, associate investigator, 1997-2000, full investigator, 2001-
266 | Buck, Linda B.
Linda Buck was co-recipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her
research on the sense of smell. (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Roland Morgan)
Linda Buck is a biologist who studies the mammalian olfactory system, or sense of
smell. She was the co-recipient (with colleague Richard Axel) of the Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine in 2004, one of only eight American women to win in
that category to date. Buck has investigated how the nose detects an incredible
variety of odors and pheromones and how the brain interprets and acts upon these
messages. In the early 1990s, Buck and Axel identified and cloned 1,000 different
genes for odorant receptors in the nose, and their research eventually revealed
differences between different groups of these receptors for different types of tastes
(pheromones, bitter, sweet). She has also researched how odors impact the release
of hormones related to reproduction and sexual behaviors. Buck received her doc-
torate in immunology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
in 1980 and began working with Richard Axel as a postdoctoral researcher at
Columbia University. She went on to teach neurobiology at Harvard Medical
School for 10 years and then returned to the University of Washington (where
she had received her undergraduate degree) as affiliate professor of physiology
Buikstra, Jane Ellen | 267
and biophysics. She has also held research investigator positions at the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes.
Buck was elected to the National Academy of Science in 2003 and the Institutes
of Medicine in 2006. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has been
Director's Lecturer at the National Institutes of Health (1999) and Ulf von Euler
Lecturer at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden (1999). Her numerous other awards
and honors preceding her 2004 Nobel Prize included the Takasago Award for
Research in Olfaction (1992), Unilever Science Award (1996), R. H. Wright
Award in Olfactory Research (1996), Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished
Work in Basic Medical Research (1997), Perl/UNC Neuroscience Prize (2003),
and Gairdner Foundation International Award (2003).
Further Resources
Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "Linda B. Buck, Ph.D." http://www.hhmi.org/research/
investigators/buck bio. html.
University of Washington. Faculty website, http://depts.washington.edu/pbiopage/
people fac page.php?fac ID=5.
Buikstra, Jane Ellen
b. 1945
Anthropologist, Archaeologist
Education: B.A., DePauw University, 1967; M.A., University of Chicago, 1969,
Ph.D., anthropology, 1972
Professional Experience: instructor, Northwestern University, 1970-1972, assis-
tant to associate professor, 1972-1984, professor, 1982-1986; professor, Univer-
sity of Chicago, 1986-1995; professor, University of New Mexico, 1995-2005;
professor, Bioarchaeology and Director, Center for Bioarchaeological Research,
Arizona State University, 2005-
Concurrent Positions: associate editor, American Journal of Physical Anthropol-
ogy, 1978-1981; research associate, Field Museum of Natural History, 1981—;
research associate, Museum of the American Indian, 1983-1986; resident scholar,
School of American Research, 1984-1985; adjunct professor of anthropology,
Washington University, 1986-; research associate, University of Florida, 1991—
1997; research associate, University of Chicago, 1995-present; research associate
268 | Buikstra, Jane Ellen
in anthropology, Field Museum of
Natural History, 2003-2008; research
associate, National Museum of Natu-
ral History, 2005-2009
Jane Buikstra is renowned for her
research on prehistoric skeletal popu-
lations of the Americas, which empha-
sizes microevolutionary change and
biological response to environmental
stress. She is considered one of the
founders of bioarchaeology, or the
application of biological anthropologi-
cal methods such as studying vital
rates, population distribution, genetics,
disease, and population density to
the archaeological records of extinct
human groups. This is a composite field
involving forensic anthropology, physi-
Anthropologist and archaeologist, Jane cal anthropology, archaeology, and
Buikstra. (Courtesy of the University of demography. Buikstra has conducted
Arizona) research at mounds and other historical
sites throughout North America, South
America, and various Mediterranean countries, and has contributed archaeological
evidence to studies of the spread of populations and of human diseases.
Under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
(NAGPRA), artifacts or remains that are encountered in construction projects or
archaeological digs must be examined by trained archaeologists before a decision
can be made regarding their disposal or other claims, and efforts must be made to
return such items to descendants. Buikstra's work focuses on the scientific and ethi-
cal issues involved in such work. Among her numerous articles and publications,
she is co-editor or co-author of the following books: Human Identification: Case
Studies in Forensic Anthropology (1984), Standards for Data Collection from
Human Skeletal Remains (1994), The Bioarchaeology of Tuberculosis: A Global
View on a Reemerging Disease (2003), Interacting with the Dead: Perspectives on
Mortuary Archaeology for the New Millennium (2005), and Bioarchaeology: The
Contextual Study of Human Remains (2006).
Her research has been supported by grants from the National Science Founda-
tion, National Geographic Society, and Wenner-Gren Foundation. Buikstra was
elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1987. She has been
Bunce, Elizabeth Thompson | 269
a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science, and the Smithsonian Institution, and a
member of the American Anthropological Association, American Association
for Physical Anthropologists (president, 1985-1987), American Board of Forensic
Anthropology, and Society of Professional Archaeologists.
Further Resources
Arizona State University. Faculty website, http://www.asu.edu/clas/shesc/faculty/
buikstraj .htm?Name.
Bunce, Elizabeth Thompson
1915 2003
Geophysicist
Education: A.B., Smith College, 1937, M.A., physics, 1949
Professional Experience: instructor, physics, Smith College, 1949-1951;
research assistant, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1951-1964, associate
scientist, physics and geophysics, 1964-1975, senior scientist, 1975-1980, emeritus
scientist
Elizabeth Bunce was the first American woman to become chief scientist of a
major oceanographic expedition at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She
was a geophysicist whose research interests included marine seismology and
underwater acoustics through study of the seafloor. As chief scientist, she led
numerous expeditions out to sea, including cruises to the Indian Ocean in 1964
and 1971 surveying sites for scientific deep-sea drilling. In 1965, she was the first
woman to dive in "Alvin," a deep-sea submersible vehicle. When she began her
career, few women were engaged in oceanographic exploration at all, but Bunce
broke those barriers by progressing from research assistant to senior scientist at
Woods Hole and achieving many "firsts" as a woman. In addition to her research,
she was the first woman to serve as a department chair at Woods Hole, in the
department of Geology and Geophysics. In the early 1960s, she appeared on the
television game show, To Tell the Truth, where contestants failed to identify her
as the oceanographer on the panel. In 1995, she was honored at a special "Woman
Pioneers in Oceanography" conference held at Woods Hole.
Bunce loved sports and studied physical education in college. She worked as a
physical education teacher in New Jersey for four years before a summer visit to
270 | Bunting (Smith), Mary Ingraham
Woods Hole in 1944 led to a job with the underwater explosives research group.
Bunce's interest in science was piqued and she returned to Smith College to pursue
graduate work in and then teach physics while working summers at Woods Hole,
where she joined the staff full-time in 1952 and spent the remainder of her long
career. She authored or co-authored numerous papers on marine geophysics and
was honored in 2003, the year of her death, with the naming of the "Bunce Fault"
located in the deepest trench of the Atlantic Ocean.
Bunce received an honorary doctorate from Smith College in 1971. She was a
fellow of the Geological Society of America, and a member of the Society of
Exploration Geophysics, the American Geophysical Union, and the American
Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Further Resources
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution "In Memoriam: Elizabeth T. Bunce." http://www
.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=10934&tid=282&cid=730&ct=163.
Bunting (Smith), Mary Ingraham
1910 1998
Microbiologist
Education: A.B., Vassar College, 1931; A.M., University of Wisconsin, 1932,
Ph.D., agricultural bacteriology, 1934
Professional Experience: assistant agricultural bacteriologist and agricultural chem-
ist, University of Wisconsin, 1933-1935; faculty, biology, Bennington College,
1935-1937; instructor, physiology and hygiene, Goucher College, 1937-1938;
research fellow, Yale University, 1938-1941; fellow, Wellesley College, 1946-
1947; research assistant, Yale University, 1948-1952, lecturer, microbiology, 1952-
1955; dean, Douglass College of Rutgers University, 1955-1960; president, Radcliffe
College, 1960-1972; assistant to president, Princeton University, 1972-1975
Concurrent Positions: commissioner, Atomic Energy Commission, 1964-1965;
member, national science board of the National Science Foundation, 1965-1970
Mary Bunting (Smith) was a renowned scientist as well as an influential president of
Radcliffe College who helped integrate women into Harvard University in the 1960s.
She had received her graduate degrees in agricultural bacteriology at the University
of Wisconsin, Madison, and went on to teach microbiology, genetics, and physiology
at several schools, including Bennington College, Goucher College, Yale University,
and Wellesley. Even as she raised four children and ran the family farm after her
Bunting (Smith), Mary Ingraham | 271
husband's early death, she continued
her bacteriology research part-time at
Yale before accepting a position in
1955 as dean of Douglass College in
New Jersey, the women's school at
Rutgers University. Her interest and
experience working with female
students led to the position in 1960
as president of Radcliffe College in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bunting
continued her scientific studies with
a one-year leave from Radcliffe to
consult for the U.S. Atomic Energy
Commission. She was at Radcliffe
for more than a decade, then held an
administrative position at Princeton
University for three years before retir-
ing in 1975.
Bunting was featured on the cover
of Time magazine in November 1961
because of her effort to integrate
women into Harvard and raise the
expectations of women for their own
educations. Radcliffe College had
been founded in 1879 as the women's annex at Harvard University. In 1963, under
Bunting's tenure, Radcliffe students were the first women to receive joint degrees
from Harvard and women were admitted for the first time to Harvard graduate
and business schools. She helped reorganize Radcliffe as a top-notch research
center for women scholars (including inviting part-time and married researchers)
with the founding of the Radcliffe Institute for Independent Study, later renamed
the Bunting Institute.
Bunting was awarded the National Institute of Social Scientists Gold Medal in
1962, was elected to the National Science Board of the National Science Founda-
tion, and received numerous honorary degrees. She was a member of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Society for Microbiology. She
was known to many as "Polly" and is identified in some sources by her later name,
Bunting-Smith.
Microbiologist Mary Ingraham Bunting served
as president of Radcliffe College in the 1960s
and helped fully integrate women into Harvard
University. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Further Resources
Yaffe, Elaine. 2005. Mary Ingraham Bunting: Her Two Lives. Savannah, GA: Frederic C. Beil.
272 | Burbidge, (Eleanor) Margaret
Harvard. Obituary. http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/1998/01.29/MaryBunting
-Smi.html.
"Education: One Woman, Two Lives." Time. (3 November 1961). http://205.188.238.109/
time/magazine/article/0,9 1 7 1 ,897907- 1 ,00.html.
Burbidge, (Eleanor) Margaret
b. 1919
Astrophysicist, Astronomer
Education: B.Sc, University of London, 1939, Ph.D., astrophysics, 1943
Professional Experience: acting director, University of London Observatory,
1943-1951; research associate, astronomy, Yerkes Observatory, 1951-1953;
research fellow, astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, 1955-1957;
Shirley Farr fellow in astronomy, Yerkes Observatory, 1957-1959; associate pro-
fessor, University of Chicago, 1959-1962; associate research professor, University
of California, San Diego, 1962-1964, professor, 1964-1990, director, Center for
Astrophysics and Space Science, 1979-1988, emeritus professor, 1990-
Concurrent Positions: director, Royal Greenwich Observatory, 1972-1973
Margaret Burbidge is considered one of the premier woman astrophysicists of the
twentieth century. Burbidge and her husband, Geoffrey Burbidge, are both astron-
omers and divided their time between the United States and England for a number
of years before becoming U.S. citizens in 1977. Margaret Burbidge was interested
in science at an early age due to the influence of her father, a chemistry professor,
and her mother, who had also studied chemistry. Early on, Burbidge became inter-
ested in the origin of chemical elements and the chemical composition of stars.
Although some astronomers thought all elements had been created when the uni-
verse was born, the Burbidges were among those who believed that elements are
constantly being made inside stars. In England, the couple worked with astrono-
mer Fred Hoyle and nuclear physicist William Fowler to refine Hoyle's theory that
elements are created by fusion reactions. They called the theory "the B2HF
theory," based on the initials of the four participants. When the couple returned
to the United States in 1955, Margaret had hoped to obtain a fellowship to work
at Mt. Wilson Observatory, but only male applicants were accepted. Geoffrey
received the fellowship, and Margaret shared his access to the observatory. In
1959, the couple received the Warner Prize of the American Astronomical Society
for a paper on the B2HF theory; Margaret remains, to date, the only woman to
have received this prize for young astronomers.
Butler, Margaret K. | 273
Geoffrey Burbidge was offered an associate professorship at the University of
Chicago, which operates the Yerkes Observatory, but because of anti-nepotism
rules, Margaret was first given only a research fellowship; later, she became an
associate professor. When she was invited to be director of the Royal Greenwich
Observatory, her husband was offered a position there as an astronomer. The two
were offered positions at the University of California, San Diego in 1962, where
Margaret was appointed professor of astronomy. In the 1970s, Margaret served
on the Space Science Board, which advises the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) on programs in space. As director of the Center for Astro-
physics and Space Science at San Diego, Burbidge was assigned to oversee the
faint object spectrograph for the Hubble telescope, which was launched in 1990.
Burbidge was the first woman to serve as director of the Royal Greenwich
Observatory in England (1972-1973) and the first woman president of the Ameri-
can Astronomical Society (1976-1978). She was elected to membership in the
National Academy of Sciences in 1978. In addition to numerous papers and
articles, the couple published one book, Quasi-stellar Objects (1967). She has
received several honorary degrees and awards, including the Warner Prize
(1959), the Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1982), the
National Medal of Science (1985), and the Albert Einstein World Award of Sci-
ence Medal (1988). She was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(president, 1982). She is also a member of the American Astronomical Society,
International Astronomical Union, American Philosophical Society, and New
York Academy of Sciences. In 2001, Margaret Burbidge received the UCSD
Founders Distinguished Senior Scholar Award, and in 2005, the Royal Astronomical
Society of England jointly awarded the couple its highest honor, the Gold Medal,
for their lifetime achievements as scientists. Some sources use her first name or
initial, as in Eleanor Margaret Burbidge or E. Margaret Burbidge; some sources
have been found to list her name in error as Burbridge.
Further Resources
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Butler, Margaret K.
b. 1924
Mathematician, Computer Scientist
Education: B.A., Indiana University, 1944
274 | Butler, Margaret K.
Professional Experience: statistician, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1945-
1946 and U.S. Air Force in Europe, 1946-1948; mathematician, Argonne National
Laboratory, 1948-1949; statistician, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1949-1951;
mathematician, National Energy Software Center, Argonne National Laboratory,
1951-1980, director, 1960-1993, senior computer scientist, 1980-1993
Margaret Butler helped to develop one of the first digital computers for science as
a staff mathematician at Argonne National Laboratory in the early 1950s. Butler
had one of the earliest and one of the longest careers for a woman in computer sci-
ences, and was involved at every stage of technological change for nearly 50 years.
She participated in the evaluation and selection of the first commercial digital
computer for scientific computation, and prepared and implemented programs
for both the UNIVAC and the AVIDAC computers. In addition, she worked on
the logical design of Argonne's GEORGE computer and designed computer pro-
grams to solve engineering problems and to aid in the design of nuclear reactors.
She did important early work in software as a junior mathematician in the Naval
Reactor Division at Argonne, where she performed some of the computation work
underlying the Nautilus submarine prototype. As head of the applications pro-
gramming section of the Applied Mathematics Division (AMD) at Argonne, she
directed the development of the AMD Program Library and Argonne's first com-
puter operating system. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, she researched
computers for image processing and reactor physics computation. As a senior
computer scientist in the 1980s, she conducted benchmark studies for evalu-
ating laboratory computers. She researched computing technology forecasting,
applying computers to scientific and engineering problems, and was involved in
preparing standards for computers and information processing. She felt one of
her most significant contributions was in creating and directing the National
Energy Software Center (also called the Argonne Code Center), a clearinghouse
for the worldwide exchange of computer programs for peaceful uses of nuclear
energy and development of world standards for computer technology.
Butler was elected a fellow of the American Nuclear Society in 1972. She was a
member of the Association for Computing Machinery, American Association for
the Advancement of Science, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
Association of Women in Science, and Association for Women in Computing. In
recent years, she has been active in compiling the history of women's contribu-
tions at Argonne.
c
Cady, Bertha Louise Chapman
1873 1956
Entomologist
Education: A.B., 1895, Stanford University, A.M., 1902, Ph.D., entomology, 1923
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1900-1907; assistant in nature
study, University of Chicago, 1907-1909; instructor, biology, California State
Teachers College, Chico, 1918; lecturer, Stanford University, 1921-1923; natural-
ist, National Girl Scouts, 1924-1936
Concurrent Positions: lecturer and field secretary, Social Hygiene Association,
1914-1924; secretary, Coordinating Council on Nature, 1928-1930
Bertha Cady was trained as an entomologist, but her research and teaching inter-
ests included natural history and child and adolescent psychology. She made
contributions to science education through her long-term association with the
nature study movement. While teaching biology at the high school level, she was
the director of nature study for the high schools in Oakland, California. She
became an assistant in nature study in the school of education at the University
of Chicago and later taught in the biology department at California State Teachers
College. She received degrees from Stanford University and also took courses at
the University of Chicago, University of California, and Columbia University.
She earned her doctorate from Stanford in 1923, at the late age of 50.
Cady then obtained employment as a naturalist for the Girl Scouts, and during
that time, she served as secretary of the Coordinating Council on Nature. Prior to
this, she worked as lecturer and field secretary of the Social Hygiene Association.
She published in journals of nursing and public health, and co-authored a book,
The Way Life Begins: An Introduction to Sex Education, written with her husband,
psychologist Vernon Mosher Cady, and published by the American Social
Hygiene Association in 1917. This was a book for children that explained repro-
duction in the plant, animal, and human worlds. Also during this period, as a
member of the National Tuberculosis Association, she served as the director of
the department of nature study for several years and was president of the American
Nature Study Society from 1926 to 1929. She published numerous pamphlets,
275
276 | Caldicott, Helen Mary (Broinowski)
teacher's guides, and books on nature study, including Animal Pets: A Study in
Character and Nature Education (1930) and Nature Guides for Schools, Volunteer
Organizations, Camps, and Clubs (1930).
Caldicott, Helen Mary (Broinowski)
b. 1938
Pediatrician, Antinuclear activist, Environmentalist
Education: M.B. (Bachelor of Medicine) and B.S. (Bachelor of Surgery),
Adelaide Medical School, South Australia, 1961
Professional Experience: intern, Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia, 1961;
general medical practice, South Australia, 1963-1965; research fellow, nutrition,
Children's Hospital Medical Center, Boston, 1967-1968; intern, Adelaide Children's
Hospital, 1972, resident, 1973-1974, founder and head of cystic fibrosis clinic,
1975-1976; fellow in cystic fibrosis, Children's Hospital Medical Center,
1975-1976, assistant in medicine, 1977-1980; independent activist and writer, 1980-
Concurrent Positions: fellow, nutrition, Harvard University Medical School,
1966-1968, instructor, pediatrics, 1977-1980; president, Physicians for Social
Responsibility, 1977-1986; founder and president, Physicians for Social Respon-
sibility, 1978-1983, president emeritus; instructor, New School for Social
Research, New York, 1995-1996; Laurie Chair in Women's Studies, Douglass
College, Rutgers University, 2001
Helen Caldicott quit her position as a physician at the Children's Hospital Medical
Center in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1980 to devote all of her time to her campaign
against the use of nuclear energy, including an attempt to ban the mining of
uranium in the western part of the United States. She was a six-year-old child
living in Australia when the atomic bomb was dropped on several cities in Japan,
and she first became concerned about nuclear energy when, as a teenager, she read
Nevil Shute's book On the Beach, a chilling story set in Australia about a nuclear
holocaust. She was a practicing physician in Australia when she received a fellow-
ship for further study at Children's Hospital in Boston and her husband, also a
physician, received a fellowship from Harvard. On her return to Australia for fur-
ther training in pediatrics, she worked with children who had cystic fibrosis and
became head of the cystic fibrosis unit in 1975.
She had a devastating experience in 1969 when she caught hepatitis from a
patient by accidentally pricking her finger. She felt that her life had been saved
Caldicott, Helen Mary (Broinowski) | 277
because she was meant to make a
commitment to human survival. She
became incensed that the French
government, ignoring an international
ban, was conducting atmospheric
nuclear tests on islands in the Pacific,
and that the fallout was drifting
toward South Australia. She started
gathering reports on the amount of
radioactive matter in drinking water
and cow's milk and sent the reports
to medical groups, newspapers, news
organizations, and other sources,
and was interviewed on radio and
television programs. She gained so
much public support that, in 1973,
the Australian and New Zealand gov-
ernments took the French government
before the International Court of
Justice in The Hague in an effort to
get the French to discontinue the tests.
The French government complied
with the court's ruling and stopped
the tests.
When Caldicott and her family returned to Boston in 1975, she tried to rally the
American public to ban all military and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. She had
little success with her campaign, until the failure at the nuclear power plant at
Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania created more public concern about nuclear
energy. In 1978, she revived the flailing organization Physicians for Social
Responsibility (originally founded in 1962), and served as president until 1983.
She also founded Medical Campaign Against Nuclear War, Women's Action for
Nuclear Disarmament, Standing for Truth About Radiation, Women's Party for
Survival, and the Nuclear Policy Research Institute. She produced several docu-
mentary films, including If You Love This Planet, which won an Academy Award
for Best Documentary in 1982, and has published numerous books, including
Nuclear Madness: What You Can Do (1970), Missile Envy (1986), If You Love
This Planet: A Plan to Heal the Earth (1991; rev. ed., 2009), The New Nuclear
Danger (2001), and Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer (2006). Her autobiography
is A Desperate Passion (1996). She has received numerous honorary degrees and
honors, and was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Helen Caldicott, an advocate of nuclear
disarmament, is one of the most well-known
activists of the late 20th century. (Greg Barrett)
278 | Calloway, Doris (Howes)
Further Resources
"Helen Caldicott, MD." http://www.helencaldicott.com/about.htm.
Calloway, Doris (Howes)
1923 2001
Nutritionist
Education: B.S., Ohio State University, 1943; Ph.D., nutrition, University of
Chicago, 1947; diplomate, American Board of Nutrition, 1951
Professional Experience: intern in dietetics, Johns Hopkins University Hospital,
1944; research dietitian, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois, 1945;
consulting nutritionist, Medical Associates of Chicago, 1948-1951; nutritionist,
QM [Quartermaster] Food and Container Institute, 1951-1958; head of metabo-
lism laboratory, 1958-1959, chief of nutrition branch, 1959-1961; chair, Depart-
ment of Food Science and Nutrition, Stanford Research Institute, 1961-1963;
professor of nutrition, University of California, Berkeley, 1963-1991, provost
and professor, 1981-1987, professor emeritus, 1991-2001
Concurrent Positions: associate editor, Nutrition Reviews, 1962-1968; editor and
consultant, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations, 1971 and 1981
Doris Calloway was a renowned nutritionist with a wide range of experience
working on areas related to food safety, food preservation, food energy, and human
metabolism and digestion. Calloway was initially interested in studying medicine,
but a lack of family funds and a scholarship led her to Ohio State University and a
B.S. in nutrition and dietetics, and then to the University of Chicago for her
doctorate in nutrition. She was employed for about 10 years by the QM Food
and Container Institute, which was funded by the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps.
In the 1950s, the Army was concerned about the effect of nuclear radiation on
soldiers' rations, and Calloway's research focused on trying to determine various
foods' resistance to radiation. The Army acknowledged her with a "Man of the
Year" award in 1959, something Calloway found quite amusing. After the Korean
War, government research turned to space travel and, now employed by the
Stanford Research Institute, Calloway's research on food packaging led to the cre-
ation of freeze-dried orange juice and, ultimately, the product Tang as an astronaut
staple. In 1963, she received an appointment as professor at the University of
California, Berkeley, a school with an international reputation in nutrition, where
she studied food protein requirements, specifically the role of nitrogen in the diets
Cannon, Annie Jump | 279
of people of different ages, health, and levels of physical activity. She served as the
head of a multimillion-dollar study on malnutrition in Kenya, Mexico, and Egypt,
and also served as a consultant for the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization. Her methods and findings influenced the way government and
humanitarian agencies approach the problem of malnutrition and the special
dietary needs of pregnant and lactating women in developing areas of the world.
Calloway served on numerous committees and panels ranging from United
Nations groups to the National Institutes of Health and its National Institute of
Aging and National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolic and Digestive Diseases. She
was involved in work with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement
Center, a renowned research facility located in Mexico City, and the National
Research Council. She wrote Nutrition and Health (1981) and Human Ecology
in Space Flight (1967), as well as editing 11 editions of the textbook Nutrition
and Physical Fitness (1966-1984). She served on the editorial board of numerous
professional journals.
Calloway was elected a fellow of the American Institute of Nutrition (president,
1982-1983), the International Union of Nutritional Science, the Institute of Medi-
cine, and was a member of the Human Biology Council. She received an honorary
doctorate from Tufts University in 1992. Her husband, Dr. Robert Nesheim, was also
a food researcher and was employed at Quaker Oats.
Further Resources
King, Janet C. 2003. "Doris Howes Calloway (1923 2001)." American Society for Nutri-
tional Sciences. Journal of Nutrition. 133:2113 2116. (July 2003). http://jn. nutrition
.org/cgi/content/full/133/7/2113.
Cannon, Annie Jump
1863 1941
Astronomer
Education: B.S., Wellesley College, 1884, M.A., 1907; special student, Radcliffe
College, 1895-1897
Professional Experience: astronomer, Harvard College Observatory, 1896-1940,
curator of astronomical photographs, 191 1-1938, William Cranch Bond Astronomer,
Harvard University, 1938-1940
Annie Cannon was a distinguished astronomer and probably the best-known
woman astronomer in the first half of the twentieth century. Her specialty was
280 | Cannon, Annie Jump
the study of stellar spectra and,
although she did not create the concept
or invent the methodology for studying
stellar spectra, she simplified and per-
fected the system. She was one of the
pioneers in the photographic study of
stellar variability, and she discovered
277 variable stars and 5 new stars.
She produced such a huge volume of
data that she was popularly called the
"Census Taker of the Stars." She
published over 90 catalogs and papers,
and her major publications were The
Henry Draper Catalogue (1918-1924)
and The Henry Draper Extension
(1925-1949). No other astronomer or
group of astronomers has yet matched
the sheer bulk of her output in the field
of spectral classification.
Cannon became interested in
astronomy at Wellesley while studying
under Sarah Whiting, but she spent sev-
eral intervening years at home with her
parents before returning to Wellesley as a postgraduate student. She became an assis-
tant at the Harvard College Observatory in 1896 at a time when several other women
were employed as astronomers, such as Williamina Fleming, Antonia Maury, and
Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Interestingly, both Cannon and Leavitt were at least
partially deaf. Cannon went on to succeed Fleming as curator of the observatory's
astronomical photographs and in 1938 was appointed William Cranch Bond Astrono-
mer at Harvard University, one of the first appointments of a woman at Harvard.
Cannon was awarded six honorary degrees as well as the Nova Medal of the
American Association of Variable Star Observers (1922), the Draper Medal of
the National Academy of Sciences (1931), and the Ellen Richards Prize of
the Society to Aid Scientific Research by Women (1932). She was elected to
membership in such honorary societies as the American Philosophical Society of
Philadelphia and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences of Boston. In
1933, she established the Annie J. Cannon Prize of the American Astronomical
Society to be awarded triennially to a woman who demonstrates distinguished
service to astronomy. Cannon also supported women's suffrage and was a member
of the National Woman's Party.
Annie Jump Cannon catalogued the stars
and was the most famous female astronomer
of the first half of the 20th century. (Library of
Congress)
Carey, Susan E. | 281
Carey, Susan E.
Psychologist
Education: B.A., Radcliffe College, 1964; Ph.D., Harvard University, 1971
Professional Experience: lecturer, psychology, Harvard University, 1971-1972;
adjunct assistant professor, Rockefeller University, 1974-1975; assistant to associ-
ate professor, psychology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1972-
1984, professor, brain and cognitive sciences, 1984-1996; professor, psychology,
New York University (NYU), 1996-2001; professor, psychology, Harvard Univer-
sity, 2001-, Henry A. Morss, Jr., and Elizabeth W. Morss Professor of Psychology,
2004-
Concurrent Positions: fellow, Radcliffe Institute, 1976-1978; Sloane Fellow,
University of California, Berkeley, 1980-1981; fellow, Institute for Advanced
Studies in the Behavioral Sciences, 1984-1985
Susan Carey is a psychologist and researcher of cognitive development who stud-
ies language and language development. Her research is unique in that it combines
the concerns and questions of philosophy, linguistics, history of science, and the
acquisition of culture with neuroscience and brain development. She has been a
pioneer in the field of word meaning, language and numbers acquisition, and the
recognition of human and nonhuman objects by infants under one year old. She
has collaborated and co-authored papers with her colleague at Harvard's Labora-
tory for Developmental Studies, Elizabeth Spelke. In addition to her numerous
papers, articles, and book chapters, Carey is co-editor of several books, and author
of Conceptual Change in Childhood (1985) and The Origin of Concepts (2009),
which examines how children acquire complicated and abstract concepts and
terminology created by adults. Her work questions our understandings of innate
versus acquired knowledge, explores the relationship between thought and
language, and has implications for adult interactions with infants as well as early
childhood education, especially in math and science.
Carey was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2002. She is a fellow
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, British Academy, American
Philosophical Society, and National Academy of Education, and was named a
William James Fellow of the American Psychology Society (2002). She is also a
member of the Society for Experimental Psychology, Society of Cognitive Neuro-
science, International Society for Infant Studies, Society for Research in Child
Development, Society for Philosophy and Psychology (president, 1983-1984),
and Piaget Society. She was the recipient of a Cattell Fellowship (1995-1996),
the Jean Nicod Prize, Paris (1998), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1999-2000),
282 | Carothers, (Estrella) Eleanor
and her work has also been supported by grants from the National Institutes of
Health and the National Science Foundation. She has served on the editorial
boards of journals such as Psychological Review, Psychological Science, Journal
of Language Acquisition, Developmental Psychology, and others.
Further Resources
Harvard University. Faculty website, http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~lds/index.html7carey
.html.
Carothers, (Estrella) Eleanor
1882 1957
Zoologist
Education: Nickerson Normal College, Kansas; B.A., University of Kansas,
1911, M.A., 1912; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1916
Professional Experience: assistant professor, zoology, University of Pennsylvania,
1913-1926, lecturer, 1926-1933; research associate, University of Iowa, 1935-1941
Concurrent Positions: member, Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory,
1920-1956
Eleanor Carothers specialized in insect genetics and made contributions to the
study of the cytological, or cellular, basis of heredity. She primarily studied the
insect order of "orthoptera," which includes grasshoppers, crickets, locusts, and
cockroaches. Having attended Normal College, she was probably a school teacher
before receiving her undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of
Kansas. She went on to receive a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania,
where she was an assistant professor of zoology and one of the few female mem-
bers of scientific expeditions to the Southern and Southwestern states in 1915
and 1919. Her most important work, The Segregation and Recombination of
Homologous Chromosomes as Found in Two Genera of Acrididae (Orthoptera),
was published in 1917, and her research is still referred to in graduate courses to-
day. She received major funding to research grasshopper cells through a grant
from the Rockefeller Foundation Fund. For most of her career, she was an inde-
pendent researcher affiliated with institutions such as the Marine Biological Labo-
ratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and in 1933, she began an affiliation at the
University of Iowa as a research associate in zoology.
Carr, Emma Perry | 283
Carothers was one of only seven women cited as primary investigators by
Thomas H. Morgan in The Mechanism of Mendelian Heredity (1915), and her
findings on the effect of x-rays on cells were published in leading scientific jour-
nals, such as the Journal of Morphology, Biological Bulletin, and Proceedings of
the Entomological Society. She was awarded the Ellen Richards Research Prize of
the Naples Table Association in 1921. She was an elected member of the Academy
of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
Carr, Emma Perry
1880 1972
Chemist
Education: Ohio State University, 1898-1899; Mount Holyoke College, 1901-
1904; B.S., University of Chicago, 1905, Ph.D., physical chemistry, 1910; Queen's
University, Belfast, 1919; University of Zurich, 1925, 1929-1930
Professional Experience: instructor, chemistry, Mount Holyoke College, 1905-
1908, associate professor, 1910-1913, professor and chair, 1913-1946
Emma Carr developed an ambitious research program in chemistry at Mount
Holyoke, making that institution one of the first American research centers to
make use of ultraviolet spectrophotometry to determine the structure of complex
organic molecules. She was affiliated with Mount Holyoke for 65 years, building
a strong science program for women in the tradition of the school's founder,
Mary Lyon, who was also a chemistry teacher. She and her students made fun-
damental contributions to the understanding of the causes of selective absorption
of radiant energy. She received grants in the 1930s and 1940s from the National
Science Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation to investigate simple
unsaturated hydrocarbons using ultraviolet spectrophotometry. She was a coop-
erating expert in charge of absorption spectra data for the International Critical
Tables.
Carr received numerous grants and prizes during her career, and was chosen in
1937 as the first recipient of the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society.
She was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society and also was a member
of the American Chemical Society and the Optical Society of America. She
received honorary degrees from Allegheny College in 1939, Russell Sage College
in 1941, and Mount Holyoke College in 1952.
284 | Carson, Rachel Louise
Carson, Rachel Louise
1907 1964
Biologist, Conservationist
Education: B.A., Pennsylvania College for Women, 1929; M.S., zoology, Johns
Hopkins University, 1932
Professional Experience: zoology staff, University of Maryland, 1931-1936;
biologist, Bureau of Fisheries, 1936-1949, editor-in-chief, 1949-1952; indepen-
dent author
Rachel Carson was a prominent figure in the mid-twentieth-century conservation
movement, and her name is often synonymous with the idea of ecology. Her 1962
book, Silent Spring, was one of the first efforts to point out the dangers of using
insecticides, notably DDT, and is often credited with starting the modern environ-
mental movement. The book stirred a national controversy, arousing public opinion
and leading to legislative change. Carson's interest in natural history prompted her
to major in science in college. She received a degree in zoology and taught science
courses before beginning graduate studies at the Marine Biological Laboratory in
Rachel Carson, shown here giving testimony before Congress in 1 963, was a noted biologist and
ecology writer who helped launch the modern environmental movement. (Library of Congress)
Caserio, Marjorie Constance (Beckett) | 285
Woods Hole, Massachusetts. In 1936, she accepted a position as an aquatic biologist
with the Bureau of Fisheries, one of the first two women professionals to be hired by
the bureau. She supplemented her income by writing magazine articles on natural
history subjects in addition to writing numerous publications on conservation for
the bureau. In 1940, when the Bureau of Fisheries merged with the Biological Survey
to form the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, one of the stated purposes of the new
department was conservation, and Carson became editor-in-chief of the bureau's pub-
lications. She produced 12 government pamphlets on "Conservation in Action," argu-
ing for a national policy for conserving natural resources.
Carson had published three other books before Silent Spring made her famous:
Under the Sea Wind (1941), The Sea Around Us (1951), and The Edge of the Sea
(1956). The Sea Around Us was also a bestseller, translated into 30 languages, and
won her a National Book Award. After the success of that book, she took a leave
from the Bureau of Fisheries, supported by a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship,
and soon after resigned to build a cottage in Maine and become a full-time writer.
After the publication of Silent Spring in 1962, she dedicated herself to the campaign
to influence legislation curtailing the use of insecticide, but Carson died of cancer in
1964 before any substantive results of her efforts were achieved.
Carson received numerous awards and honors, including the John Burroughs
Medal (1952), the Gold Medal of the New York Zoological Society (1954), and
the Conservationist of the Year Award of the National Wildlife Federation (1963).
Carson has been the subject of several biographies and picture books for children.
Further Resources
Holmes, Madelyn. 2004. American Women Conservationists: Twelve Profiles. Jefferson,
NC: McFarland.
Lear, Linda, ed. 1998. Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson. Boston,
MA: Beacon Press.
Lear, Linda. 2009. Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature. 2nd ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Caserio, Marjorie Constance (Beckett)
b. 1929
Organic Chemist
Education: B.Sc, Chelsea College, University of London, 1950; M.A., Bryn
Mawr College, 1951, Ph.D., chemistry, 1956
Professional Experience: associate chemist, Fulmer Research Institute, England,
1952-1953; assistant to instructor, chemistry, Bryn Mawr College, 1953-1956; fellow,
286 | Charles, Vera Katherine
California Institute of Technology, 1956-1964; assistant professor, chemistry, Univer-
sity of California, Irvine, 1965-1967, associate professor, 1967-1971, professor,
1971-1990; professor, chemistry, University of California, San Diego, 1990-1996, vice
chancellor of academic affairs, 1990-1995, interim chancellor, 1995-1996, emerita
Marjorie Caserio is recognized as a leading physical organic chemist who
has achieved excellence in research and teaching as well as governance and
administration. Her research centered on reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry.
She received her doctorate from Bryn Mawr College in 1956 and taught in England
and in the United States before joining the new campus of the University of
California, Irvine in 1965 and moving to the University of California, San Diego in
1990. She served as department head at Irvine, chair of the academic senates of both
Irvine and the University of California system, and vice chancellor and interim
chancellor at San Diego before retiring in 1996. She has also made important contri-
butions to chemistry education by her innovative teaching methods. In the early
1960s, she co-authored the book Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry. This text
had a large impact on the teaching of organic chemistry with its emphasis on spectro-
scopic methods. Her expertise was recognized by her appointment as a member and
then chair of the Committee on Professional Training and Consultant on Graduate
Education, both of the American Chemical Society.
Caserio was born in England, and entered Chelsea College, University of
London, at age 1 5 to study podiatry, but she soon switched to chemistry rather than
pursue medicine. She obtained a fellowship from the English Speaking Union to
do graduate work at Bryn Mawr College. She returned to England and obtained a
position at the Fulmer Research Institute, but then applied for a postdoctoral
appointment at the California Institute of Technology, where she stayed for nine
years. While there, she met another postdoctoral appointee, Fred Caserio; they
married in 1957, the same year she became a citizen of the United States. The
new campus at the University of California, Irvine started hiring in the mid-
1960s, and she was the second faculty member to be hired in the chemistry depart-
ment. Caserio's significant contributions to research have been recognized with
the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society (1975), given annually to
an American woman chemist.
Charles, Vera Katherine
1877 1954
Mycologist
Education: Mount Holyoke College; A.B., Cornell University, 1903
Chase, (Mary) Agnes Meara | 287
Professional Experience: mycologist, Bureau of Plant Industry, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, 1903-1942
Vera Charles was among the first women hired by the U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture in professional positions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
An expert on mushrooms, she co-authored several articles and USDA bulletins
on topics such as "Mushrooms and Other Common Fungi," "Some Common
Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms," and "Some Fungous Diseases of Economic
Importance." She studied mycology and plant pathology at Cornell University's
Agriculture School and began her long career with the USDA soon after gradu-
ation. During the 1910s and 1920s, she worked with a group of women who
included the USDAs first female mycologist, Flora Patterson. She and Patterson
were often co-authors, and their published findings were widely known and highly
regarded by their contemporaries. Charles wrote a profile of her colleague in the
industry journal Mycologia after Patterson's death in 1928.
Prior to the enactment of the Plant Quarantine Act in 1912, Charles inspected a
large portion of the imported plants received in the department for disease and
pathogen analysis; her lab was the first to identify potato wart disease on imported
potatoes. In 1917, the Plant Disease Survey was organized, and Charles and Patterson
were primarily responsible for all research and maintenance of the Pathological
Collections. Charles had expert knowledge of Fungi imperfecti, and she spent
several winters in Florida collecting mycological samples. She was interested in,
and also published on, fungal pathogens in North American insects.
Charles worked as a collaborator for the division of mycology and disease survey
for several years after she retired until failing eyesight forced her to give up her micro-
scopic studies. She published a book, Introduction to Mushroom Hunting (1931),
which went through several reprinted editions, and contributed a chapter, "The
Mycologist," to a book on Careers for Women (1935; edited by Catherine Filene).
Further Resources
Baker, Gladys L. 1976. "Women in the U.S. Department of Agriculture." Agricultural
History 50(1): 190 201.
"U.S. National Fungus Collections History." Systematic Mycology and Microbiology,
USDA. http://www.ars. usda.gov/Services/docs. htm?docid=9399.
Chase, (Mary) Agnes Meara
1869 1963
Botanist
Education: public schools
288 | Chasman, Renate (Wiener)
Professional Experience: assistant, botany, Field Museum of Natural History,
1901-1903; meat inspector, Chicago stockyards, U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), 1901-1903; botanical artist, Bureau of Plant Industry, USDA, 1903-
1907, assistant systematic agrostologist, 1907-1923, assistant to associate
botanist, 1923-1936, senior botanist, 1936-1939; custodian of grasses, National
Herbarium, 1939-1963
Agnes Chase was a botanist who greatly expanded scientific data and knowledge on
grasses (a scientific field known as agrostology), particularly those of the Northern
Hemisphere. She updated and augmented the collections of grasses of the U.S.
National Herbarium, which were moved to the Smithsonian Institution in 1912.
She eventually donated her own personal agrostological library to the Smithsonian.
Chase began her career illustrating several publications for the Field Museum of
Chicago. After transferring to Washington, D.C., with the USDA in 1903, she began
her collaboration with A. S. Hitchcock, a specialist in agrostology. In 1936, she
succeeded Hitchcock as the principal scientist in charge of systematic agrostology,
and she became a senior botanist. She was the author of more than 70 research pub-
lications. She wrote First Book on Grasses (1922) and Index to Grass Species
(1962), a bibliographic register of types. She was also responsible for the 1950
revised edition of the Manual of Grasses of the United States.
Chase officially retired in 1939 but continued to be active at the National
Herbarium for the rest of her life. Although she had little formal education, she
became an acknowledged expert in her field. The Botanical Society of America
awarded her a certificate of merit in 1956. She received an honorary degree from
the University of Illinois in 1958, and the Smithsonian Institution named her its
eighth honorary fellow. She was active in various reform movements, including
women's rights, prohibition, and socialism. At one time, she was jailed for partici-
pating in a women's rights march.
Further Resources
Baker, Gladys L. 1976. "Women in the U.S. Department of Agriculture." Agricultural History
50(1): 190 201.
Bonta, Marcia M. 1995. American Women Afield: Writings by Pioneering Women Naturalists.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Chasman, Renate (Wiener)
1932 1977
Nuclear Physicist
Education: M.Sc, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1955, Ph.D., physics, 1959
Chasman, Renate (Wiener) | 289
Professional Experience: research associate, Columbia University, 1959-1962;
research associate, physics, Yale University, 1962; assistant to associate physicist,
Brookhaven National Laboratory, 1963-1969, physicist, 1969-1977
Renate Chasman was known for her work in the development of particle accel-
erators. She spent most of her career at the Brookhaven National Laboratory,
where she compiled and systematized neutron cross-sections before becoming
one of the key participants in the development of particle accelerators. She
was the only woman physicist in her department, but she was the chief theorist
for the group. The Alternating-Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) at Brookhaven was
the world's highest-energy particle accelerator at that time, and Chasman was
responsible for the theoretical aspects of the design for this device. She created
and used computer programs for exploring the behavior of the beam during the
acceleration process, and when the device was put into operation, it was found
to behave in excellent agreement with her theoretical predictions. She then
joined the group that explored the concept and design of superconducting
storage rings for protons in the range of several hundred GeV (a GeV is defined
as a giga-electron volt; giga means a billion; thus, several hundred billion
electron volts).
Chasman and her twin sister, Edith, were born in Berlin, and the family was
forced to flee to northern Europe in 1938. After the sisters graduated from high
school in Sweden, they went to Israel, where Chasman received her doctorate in
experimental physics. She then moved to New York to work as a research associate
for the prominent female physicist Chien-Shiung Wu at Columbia University.
She planned to follow her husband to Yale, but was told that her work visa required
she leave the country for two years and then reapply for entrance. Administrators at
Yale were able to intervene in her deportation, explaining to U.S. officials that the
Chasmans were engaged in critical research in nuclear spectroscopy. As Renate
Chasman's reputation grew, she was invited to serve on review committees at
the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois and at the European
Laboratory for Particle Physics in Switzerland. In the 1970s, she investigated the
radiation from several electron synchrotrons and storage rings as a source of ultra-
violet light, or x-rays, and designed storage rings especially for the production of
synchrotron radiation.
In 1972, Chasman was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, but she continued
to work while receiving treatment. The construction of the last project on which
she worked, the National Synchrotron Light Source, was approved in the fall of
1977, but she never saw its completion. In 1985, the Brookhaven National Labora-
tory established a Renate W. Chasman Scholarship awarded annually to a woman
who plans to resume her scientific studies after an interruption.
290 | Chesler, Phyllis
Chesler, Phyllis
b. 1940
Psychologist
Education: B.A., comparative literature and language, Bard College, 1963; M.A.,
psychology, New School for Social Research, 1967, Ph.D., psychology, 1969
Professional Experience: instructor, psychology, Institute for Developmental
Studies, New York Medical College, 1965-1966; teaching fellow and research
associate, neurophysiology, Brain Research Laboratory, New York Medical
College, 1966-1969; private practice, psychotherapy and forensic psychology,
1970-1991; assistant professor, psychology, College of Staten Island, City Univer-
sity of New York (CUNY), 1969-1998, emerita professor, psychology and
women's studies, 1998-
Concurrent Positions: research associate, Graduate Department of Psychology,
Yeshiva University, 1965; intern, psychotherapy, Washington Square Institute for
Psychotherapy and Mental Health, 1968-1969; clinical research associate and
intern, psychology and psychiatry, New York Medical College, Metropolitan,
1968-1969;instructor, United Nations Institute for Training and Research,
1979-1980; visiting instructor, Graduate Forensic Psychology Program, John Jay
College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, 1997; research scholar and visiting professor,
International Research Institute on Jewish Women, Brandeis University,
1997-1998
Phyllis Chesler is a psychologist, educator, writer, and feminist cultural critic who
has focused on women's mental-health issues. She has been a scholar and activist
around a range of issues related to women's social, legal, and political inequality,
including abortion, rape, equal pay, healthcare, incest, battery, pornography, moth-
erhood, spirituality, and mental health. She has taught for 30 years at the College
of Staten Island in New York, and has been an invited lecturer and affiliated fac-
ulty at several other colleges and universities, as well as a psychotherapist in pri-
vate practice. Her groundbreaking book, Women and Madness, published in 1972
at the height of the new women's movement, traces the psychological enslavement
of women by society and by the psychiatric profession that labeled women as
"mad" when they did not conform to traditional feminine ideals. Women and
Madness (reissued in 1997 and again in 2005) has sold millions of copies and is
credited with initiating major reforms within the mental-health community.
Chesler is a prolific author who has published 13 books and hundreds of articles
in major newspapers and magazines in both the United States and Europe. Her
books include With Child: A Diary of Motherhood (1979), which describes her
Chesler, Phyllis | 291
own experience of combining femi-
nism and motherhood. Her concern
about the legal rights of mothers led
to two other books: Mothers on Trial:
The Battle for Children and Custody
(1986) and Sacred Bond: The Legacy
of Baby M (1988), which deals with
the new issues of surrogacy and repro-
ductive technologies in the 1980s.
Patriarchy: Notes of an Expert Witness
(1994) and Letters to a Young Feminist
(1997) are collections of writings on a
variety of feminist issues, the latter
presented as wisdom for the next
generation of activists. Her concern
about women's historical participation
in the oppression of other women is
explored in Woman 's Inhumanity to
Woman (2002; reissued 2009). Her
criticism of some aspects of western
feminism itself is the subject of The
Death of Feminism: What's Next in
the Struggle for Women's Freedom
(2005), which describes what she sees
Psychologist Phyllis Chesler has been a
scholar and activist around a range of issues
related to women's social, legal, and political
inequality. (Bettmann/Corbis)
as the "moral failure" of a women's movement that has failed to address global
women's rights issues, such as women's oppression under fundamentalist Islamic
religion.
Chesler has appeared as an expert and controversial guest on numerous televi-
sion shows, including the Today Show, Oprah, Nightline, CSPAN, the History
Channel, CNN, and Court TV, and other television and radio news programs.
Among her awards and honors are the Dorothy Gelgor Prize in Psychology from
the New School for Social Research (1967), Positive Image of Women Award
from the National Organization for Women (1978), Feminist Book Fortnight
Award for Sacred Bond (1990), Medal of Honor Award from Veteran Feminists
of America (1993), and Nike Prize at the International Book Fair (1998). She
was a co-founder of the Association for Women in Psychology (1969) and the
National Women's Health Network (1974), and a charter member of the Women's
Forum and the Veteran Feminists of America. She has been a member of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Psychological
Association, American Association for the Abolition of Involuntary Mental
292 | Chilton, Mary-Dell (Matchett)
Hospitalization, Eastern Psychological Association, New York State Psychological
Association, and National Organization for Women.
Further Resources
"The Phyllis Chesler Organization." http://www.phyllis-chesler.com/.
Chilton, Mary-Dell (Matchett)
b. 1939
Molecular Biologist, Biochemist
Education: B.S., chemistry, University of Illinois, 1960, Ph.D., chemistry, 1967
Professional Experience: fellow, microbiology, University of Washington,
Seattle, 1967-1969, fellow, biochemistry, 1969-1970, assistant biologist, 1971-
1979, assistant to associate research professor, biology, 1973-1979; associate pro-
fessor, biology, Washington University, St. Louis, 1979-1983; executive director,
agricultural biotechnology, Ciba-Geigy Biotechnology Facility (now Syngenta),
1983-1991, vice president, biotechnology, 1991—
Mary-Dell Chilton is renowned for her research in plant biotechnology and the
genetic engineering of agricultural crops to make them resistant to pests and environ-
mental distress. In the 1970s, she was a member of a team of university and industry
scientists who developed the first method to introduce foreign genes into plant cells
and reliably produce normal fertile plants. They utilized the natural form of genetic
engineering (a bacterium invades a plant and sometimes destroys it) to inject a
bacterium into a crop plant to modify it genetically. Chilton and her colleagues used
bacterium to transplant genes from one plant into another, altering the bacterial DNA
to prevent crown gall disease and tumors from developing in the new plant. Crown
gall disease can afflict a wide range of broad-leaved plants, and it causes consider-
able loss in certain crops, notably grapes, stone fruits, and ornamental plants. She
published a paper in the June 1983 issue of Scientific American outlining the process
the team developed. She went on to apply their research to genetically modifying
other crop plants, such as maize.
Genetic engineering of plants is on the front line of research in both academic
and industrial institutions, and millions of dollars are invested each year to
improve crop plants. Although there has been much controversy about genetic
engineering in animal research, especially the cloning of animals, there is also
criticism of plant research. The fear is that agriculture will become too dependent
on specific strains of plants to the extent that if those strains were wiped out by
Chory, Joanne | 293
disease, the world food supply could be in trouble. Chilton was a founder of
Ciba-Geigy Corporation (now Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc., or "SBI"), located
at Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, where she is vice president of bio-
technology and where, in 2002, a new building was named after her. The
international company, which employs 19,000 people worldwide, is "committed
to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology."
Chilton was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1985,
just two years after the successful genetic engineering of plants was announced.
She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of
the American Society of Microbiology. She has received the Bronze Medal from
the American Institute of Chemists (1960), the Hendricks Medal of the American
Chemical Society (1987), and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences
(2002).
Further Resources
Syngenta Global. "Mary-Dell Chilton, Ph.D.: Biography." http://www.syngenta.com/en/
downloads/Chilton Biography.doc.
Chory, Joanne
b. 1955
Plant Biologist
Education: A.B., biology, Oberlin College, Ohio; Ph.D., microbiology, University
of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1984
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, Harvard Medical School, 1984-
1988; professor and Director, Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory,
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, California, 1988-; Investigator,
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1997-
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, biology, University of California,
San Diego
Joanne Chory is a plant biologist whose research focuses on the genetic and bio-
chemical explanations for how plants physically respond to light and other envi-
ronmental changes. She has determined that plants have special light-sensitive
receptors that respond to changes in sunlight, for example, and alter their shape,
growth, and even flowering. This work has implications for identifying certain
plant hormones and altering plant genetics in order to benefit commercial
294 | Clark, Eugenie
agriculture through resisting disease and increasing plant yields even in shady,
crowded, or off-season conditions. She is director of the Plant Molecular and
Cellular Biology Laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San
Diego and, since 1997, has been an affiliated Investigator with the Howard Hughes
Medical Institute.
Chory was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1999 and is a fellow
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the
Advancement of Science, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO),
German National Academy of Sciences, and French Academie des Sciences. She
has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the National
Academy of Sciences Award for Initiatives in Research (1994), the Charles Albert
Schull Award of the American Society of Plant Physiologists (1995), and the
L'Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science (2000), and was named Scientific
American's Research Leader in Agriculture in 2003.
Further Resources
Salk Institute. Faculty website, http://www.salk.edu/faculty/faculty details.php?id=12.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "Joanne Chory, Ph.D." http://www.hhmi.org/research/
investigators/chory bio. html.
Clark, Eugenie
b. 1922
Zoologist, Ichthyologist
Education: B.A., zoology, Hunter College, 1942; M.A., zoology, New York
University, 1946; Ph.D., zoology, New York University, 1950
Professional Experience: chemist, Celanese Corporation of America, New
Jersey, 1942-46; chemist, Department of Endocrinology, Cornell Medical School,
New York, 1946; oceanographic chemist, Philippine Expedition, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 1947; research assistant, ichthyology, Scripps Institution of Ocean-
ography, University of California, 1946-1947; research assistant to associate, animal
behavior and ichthyology, American Museum of Natural History, 1947-1981;
instructor, biology, Hunter College, New York, 1953-1954; pharmacologist, Nepera
Corporation, New York, 1954-1955; executive director, Cape Haze Marine Labora-
tory, Florida, 1955-1967; associate professor, zoology, City University of New York,
1966-1967; associate professor to professor, zoology, University of Maryland,
1968-1992; consultant and director emerita, Mote (formerly Cape Haze) Marine
Clark, Eugenie | 295
Laboratory, Florida, 1986-; senior
research scientist and professor emer-
ita, Department of Biology (formerly
Zoology), University of Maryland,
1992-
Concurrent Positions: swimming
instructor, Shelton Athletic Club,
New York, 1943-1944; director,
National Science Foundation (NSF)
summer science training programs,
Cape Haze Marine Laboratory,
Florida, 1955-1965; research associ-
ate, New England Institute for Medi-
cal Research, 1956-1966, visiting
professor, 1966-1968; consultant/
participant on television and film
documentaries, 1967-; founding
member, Marine Biological Labora-
tory, Hebrew University, Israel,
1969-1979; visiting professor, zool-
ogy, Hebrew University, Jerusalem,
1972
Zoologist and ichthyologist, Eugenie Clark.
(Courtesy of University Publications,
University of Maryland)
Eugenie Clark is one of the foremost marine biologists in the world, specializing
in sharks, the reproductive behavior of fishes, morphology and taxonomy of plec-
tognath fishes, and Red Sea fishes. Known worldwide as "the Shark Lady," she has
successfully combined scientific research with imparting scientific information to
the general public. Clark became interested in fish when, as a child, she spent
Saturdays at the New York Aquarium. She began to keep an aquarium at home,
collecting a variety of fish, and went on to study biology in high school and then
zoology at Hunter College. After receiving her master's degree, she was hired by
the Fish and Wildlife Service for an expedition to the Philippines, but at a stop
in Hawaii she was notified that she would not be continuing on as one of her supe-
riors did not want to hire a woman. She returned to New York to pursue the Ph.D.,
studying the mating habits of platies and swordfishes, and producing the first test-
tube fishes. At the time she received her doctorate, Clark was one of only three
female ichthyologists in the United States.
As part of her graduate education, Clark attended summer programs
at the University of Michigan Biological Station and the Marine Biological Labo-
ratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. She participated in a post- World War II
296 | Clarke, Edith
government project studying and counting fish in the South Pacific and, after
receiving her doctorate, traveled to Egypt to study fish in the Red Sea, where she
identified three new species. She published an early bestselling autobiography
detailing her work and adventures, entitled Lady with a Spear (1953). Philanthrop-
ist Anne Vanderbilt read the book and invited Clark to Florida to direct a new
marine laboratory to be funded by the Vanderbilt family. Clark served as director
and later consultant to the Cape Haze Marine Laboratory, where she began to
specialize in the study of sharks, collecting and studying hundreds of specimens,
both dead and alive. She became well-known as "the Shark Lady" in both
academic and popular scientific circles and publications (such as through National
Geographic). In 1968, Clark took a teaching position in zoology at the University
of Maryland and, soon after, published another autobiography, The Lady and the
Sharks (1969).
Clark lectures internationally at conventions, schools, and universities, and has
consulted on or made appearances in hundreds of radio, television, and documen-
tary programs on sharks and marine environments, such as the National Geo-
graphic Society special on "The Sharks" (1981-1982), BBC-Discovery
Channel's "Reef Watch— Live from the Red Sea" (1988), National Geographic
Explorers on marine life (1987-1990), and the IMAX film Search for the Great
Sharks (1993). She is a member of dozens of underwater, zoological, and scientific
organizations, and has received numerous awards and honors, including the Cous-
teau Award (1973), Gold Medal of the Society of Women Geographers (1975),
John Stoneman Marine Environmental Award (1982), Lowell Thomas Award of
the Explorers Club (1986), Franklin L. Burr Award of the National Geographic
Society (1993), and the Medal of Excellence of the American Society of Oceanog-
raphers (1994). At least four species of fish have been named for Clark and, in
addition to being profiled in numerous books and articles, she is the subject of sev-
eral biographies for children.
Further Resources
"The Shark Lady." http://www.sharklady.com.
Clarke, Edith
1883 1959
Electrical Engineer
Education: A.B., Vassar College, 1908; University of Wisconsin, 1911-1912;
M.S., electrical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1919
Cleave, Mary L. | 297
Professional Experience: high school teacher, mathematics and physics, 1909;
Marshall College, 1910-1911; computer, American Telephone and Telegraph
(AT&T), 1912-1918; supervisor, Turbine Engineering Department, General Elec-
tric Company (GE), 1920-1921; instructor, physics, Constantinople Woman's
College, Turkey, 1921-1922; engineer, GE, 1922-1945; professor, electrical engi-
neering, University of Texas, Austin, 1947-1956
Edith Clarke was a mathematician and theorist recognized as an expert in the
design of large electrical power stations. She developed calculating devices that
allowed the prediction of system reactions to extraordinary events without solving
the same sets of equations repeatedly. She patented such a calculating device in
1925. She authored numerous articles that were recognized for their high merit;
two of them received prizes from the American Institute of Electrical Engineers
(AIEE). Her book, Circuit Analysis of A-C Power Systems (1943, 1950), became
a standard graduate text. She spent most of her career as an engineer at General
Electric before joining the faculty at the University of Texas, Austin as the first
woman to teach electrical engineering in a university in the United States.
After receiving her undergraduate degree, Clarke taught mathematics at a high
school and a college for several years before deciding to pursue a career in engineer-
ing. She studied civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin for one year, and was
the first woman to receive a master's degree in electrical engineering from MIT She
found it difficult to find employment as an engineer, however, and worked for a few
years as a "computer" at AT&T, supervising a group of women performing computa-
tions for research engineers in an era before the development of the electronic calcu-
lator and computer. After teaching abroad for one year, she was hired by GE as an
engineer. She invented and patented a device called the "Clarke calculator" for solv-
ing line equations. She was the first woman elected a fellow of the AIEE in 1948,
and she received the Society of Women Engineers' Achievement Award in 1954.
Further Resources
Agnes Scott College. "Edith Clarke." Biographies of Women Mathematicians, http://
www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/clarke.htm.
Cleave, Mary L.
b. 1947
Environmental Engineer, Astronaut
Education: B.S., biological sciences, Colorado State University, 1969; M.S.,
microbial ecology, Utah State University, 1975, Ph.D., civil and environmental
engineering, 1979
298 | Cleave, Mary L.
Astronaut Mary Cleave. (NASA)
Professional Experience: research
staff, Ecology Center and Utah Water
Research Laboratory, Utah State
University, 1971-1980; astronaut,
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), 1980-1990,
deputy project manager, SeaWiFS,
Laboratory for Hydrospheric Pro-
cesses, NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center, 199 1— , deputy associate
administrator (advanced planning),
Office of Earth Science, and associate
administrator, Science Mission
Directorate, NASA Headquarters,
2004-2007
Mary Cleave was one of the first eight
women astronauts selected between
1978 and 1980, and she flew on two
Atlantis missions (1985 and 1989).
In the mid-1970s, NASA modified
its requirements to allow applicants without jet pilot experience, but with
advanced scientific training. Many women scientists and engineers applied.
Cleave earned her engineering doctorate in 1979 and was selected for the astronaut
program in 1980. Cleave's earlier work focused on environmental engineering
questions concerning algae growth, sand and salt flow, and the effects on fish and
plant life in the Great Basin Desert of Utah. On the Atlantis 1989 mission, she
was involved in the deployment of the Magellan planetary probe that would map
over 95% of the surface of Venus. She has studied planetary atmospheric and mag-
netic fields among other geological observations. She left the astronaut program in
1990, but continued to work for NASA in the Laboratory for Hydrospheric
Processes in Maryland, specializing in environmental problems through a project
called SeaWiFS (Sea-viewing, Wide-Field-of-view Sensor), a satellite that monitors
ocean color for signs of vegetation growth for insight into global climate and
other changes.
Cleave has been honored with the American Astronautical Society Flight
Achievement Award (1989) and the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal
(1994), named NASA Engineer of the Year (1998), and nominated by the National
Women's History Project as one of their "Women Taking the Lead to Save Our
Planet" (2009). She has been a member of the Water Pollution Control Federation,
Cobb, Geraldyne M. | 299
the Society for Professional Engineers, the Association of Space Explorers, and
Women in Aerospace. Since 2007, she has served on the board of directors of
Sigma Space Corps, which provides services and products to the aerospace indus-
try, including NASA.
Further Resources
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Mary L. Cleave (Ph.D., PE.)." http://
www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/cleave-ml.html.
Cobb, Geraldyne M.
b. 1931
Aviator, Astronaut Consultant
Education: student, Oklahoma College for Women, 1948
Professional Experience: teacher, aviation school, 1949; self-employed charter
pilot, 1950; charter pilot, commercial and military planes, Fleetway, Inc., chief
pilot, South American operations, 1951-1955; chief pilot, Executive Aircraft,
Inc; executive pilot and advertising and sales promotion manager, Aero Design
& Engineering Company, 1958-1964; consultant, astronaut qualifying tests,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 1960-1961, consultant,
1961-1962; private and commercial pilot
Geraldyne "Jerrie " Cobb was a commercial pilot who helped developed astronaut
training tests for women, but never made a space flight. More than 20 years before
astronaut Sally Ride made her historic launch in 1983, Cobb worked with NASA
to develop physical and mental tests for female pilots who wished to enter the
astronaut training program. Between 1957 and 1960, Cobb set international
records for speed, altitude, and distance in the twin-engine class of airplanes, pilot-
ing Aero Commander planes, and was considered one of the premier women pilots
of that era. Although numerous women had ferried military planes overseas during
World War II, the military services had no data on the physical capabilities of
women pilots, and none of the branches of the military trained women pilots.
Cobb originally worked with a privately funded organization to modify NASA's
astronaut tests for women. She and 12 other women passed the tests, often surpass-
ing the performance of men, but NASA would not allow the women into the astro-
naut program. Although Cobb participated in congressional hearings urging the
300 | Cobb, Geraldyne M.
program to select women astronauts, the project was canceled. By this time, the
Russians had several women in their astronaut program, and Valentina Tershkova
became the first woman in space when she orbited the Earth for three days in
1963. Cobb went on to work briefly with NASA directly as a general consultant
and consulted for the Federal Aviation Administration as well.
Cobb became interested in flying early, and when she was 12 years old, her
father installed pedal blocks and seat cushions so she could fly his biplane. She
earned her private pilot's rating when she was only 16 years old and, leaving col-
lege after one year, received her commercial pilot's and flight instructor's licenses
and obtained a job teaching in an aviation school. One of the most dangerous jobs
she had was ferrying World War II fighter planes that the Navy had sold to the
Peruvian air force. Flying in the Andes is considered one of the most challenging
experiences for any pilot, and she made solo trips there for several years when
she worked for Fleetway, Inc. She also tested reconditioned commercial and mili-
tary planes and flew them throughout the world for the same company. She
became engaged to her boss, Jack Ford, but after they broke their engagement,
she left the company in 1955. She achieved her numerous flight records while
employed as a pilot for Aero Design & Engineering Company. She went on to
fly humanitarian missions and conduct surveys of new routes in South America
and other remote regions. In 1999, the National Organization for Women launched
a failed campaign to give Cobb one more chance to go into space.
Several books have been written about women in the early years of the space
race, and Cobb published two autobiographies: Woman into Space: The Jerrie
Cobb Story (1963) and Jerrie Cobb, Solo Pilot (1997). Cobb is the recipient of
the Amelia Earhart Gold Medal of Achievement (1949), Amelia Earhart Memorial
Award (1957), Pilot of the Year by the National Pilots Association (1959), Harmon
International Trophy (1973), and Bishop Wright Air Industry Award (1979), and
has been honored by the governments of France, Columbia, Brazil, Peru, and
Ecuador for her aviation and humanitarian achievements. In 1981, she was nomi-
nated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 2007, she received an honorary doctorate
from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.
Further Resources
Ackmann, Martha. 2004. The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen American Women
and the Dream of Space Flight. New York: Random House.
Nolen, Stephanie. 2002. Promised the Moon: The Untold Story of the First Women in the
Space Race. New York: Avalon.
Weitekamp, Margaret A. 2005. Right Stuff, Wrong Sex: America's First Women in Space
Program. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
"The Jerrie Cobb Foundation, Inc." http://www.jerrie-cobb-foundation.org/.
Cobb, Jewel Plummer | 301
Cobb, Jewel Plummer
b. 1924
Cell Biologist
Education: student, University of Michigan, 1941-1942; B.A., Talladega College,
1944; M.S., New York University, 1947, Ph.D., cell biology, 1950
Professional Experience: instructor, anatomy, and director, Tissue Culture Labo-
ratory, University of Illinois, 1952-1954; research instructor, surgery, New York
University, 1955-1956, assistant professor, 1956-1960; professor, Biology
Department, Sarah Lawrence College, 1960-1969; dean and professor, zoology,
Connecticut College, 1969-1976; dean and professor, biological science, Doug-
lass College (Rutgers University), 1976-1981; president and professor, biological
sciences, California State University, Fullerton, 1981-1990, president emerita,
1990-; trustee professor, California State University, Los Angeles, 1990-
Concurrent Positions: member, Marine Biological Institute, Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution, 1972-; member, U.S. Department of State Advisory
Committee on Oceans and International Environment and Science Affairs, 1980-
1990; principal investigator, Southern California Science and Engineering
ACCESS Center and Network, 1991—; chair, Committee on Women in Science
and Engineering, National Research Council, 1993-; ASCEND Project, Science
Technology Engineering Program (STEP) Up for Youth, California State Univer-
sity, Los Angeles, 2001-
Jewel Plummer Cobb is a researcher in cell biology, an educator who develops pro-
grams to encourage ethnic minorities and women in the sciences, and an administra-
tor who has headed several colleges and universities. Her research in cell biology has
focused on melanin, a brown or black skin pigment; she also studies the causes and
growth of normal and cancerous pigment cells. In addition, she has studied the
effects of newly discovered cancer chemotherapy drugs on human cancer cells.
One of her first accomplishments was establishing and directing the Tissue Culture
Laboratory at the University of Illinois, and she managed to continue her research
during appointments at various other colleges even though her positions often
required heavy administrative responsibilities. When she was selected as president
of California State University, Fullerton, however, she had to reduce her involvement
in research. As president, she established the first privately funded gerontology
center in Orange County, lobbied the state legislature to approve the construction
of new science buildings, and worked to ensure a more diverse student body. She
is also the director of a program committed to bringing science education to inner-
city middle school students, the Science Technology Engineering Program (STEP)
302 | Cohn, Mildred
Up for Youth ASCEND project. Under her leadership, the program received a sig-
nificant three-year grant from the National Science Foundation in 2001.
Cobb became interested in science at an early age owing to the example of her
physician father. She selected a career in biology in her sophomore year in high
school when she first looked through a microscope and went on to the University
of Michigan in the early 1940s. She left Michigan after three semesters, however,
due to their policy of segregated dormitories. She transferred to Talladega College
in Alabama, earning her bachelor's degree, and went on to graduate studies with a
fellowship to New York University. Initially intending to become a doctor, she
decided to pursue biological research instead.
Cobb has received 1 8 honorary degrees and numerous awards for her service to
organizations dedicated to increasing the presence of women and minorities in the
sciences. She was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National
Academy of Sciences and is a fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences and the
American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is a member of the
Association of Women in Science and the Tissue Culture Association.
Further Resources
Ehrhart-Morrison, Dorothy. 1997. No Mountain High Enough: Secrets of Successful African
American Women. Berkeley, CA: Conari Press.
Cohn, Mildred
1913 2009
Biochemist
Education: A.B., Hunter College, 1931; A.M., Columbia University, 1932, Ph.D.,
chemistry, 1938
Professional Experience: junior science aide, National Advisory Committee on
Aeronautics, 1932-1935; biophysical assistant, George Washington University
medical school, 1937-1938; biophysicist, Cornell University medical school,
1938-1941, research associate, 1941-1946; biochemist, School of Medicine,
Washington University, St. Louis, 1946-1957, associate professor, 1958-1960;
associate professor, medical school, University of Pennsylvania, 1960, professor,
biophysics and physical biochemistry, 1960-1982; senior scientist, Fox Chase
Cancer Center, 1982-1985; emeritus professor
Concurrent Positions: career investigator, American Heart Association,
1964-1978
Cohn, Mildred | 303
Mildred Cohn was a biochemist
whose research focused on metabolic
studies with stable isotopes, mecha-
nisms of enzymatic reactions, and
electron spin. Cohn's most important
contribution to science was her work,
in the 1950s, on using nuclear mag-
netic resonance (NMR) to study the
function of enzymes. She pursued
this work at Washington University
in St. Louis, where she worked in the
biochemistry department with Gerty
T. Cori and Carl Ferdinand Cori,
winners of the 1947 Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine.
The daughter of Russian immi-
grants, Cohn showed an early interest
in science and entered college to
study chemistry and physics at the
age of only 14. At the time, even the
chair of the Hunter College chemistry
department believed that he was
training female students to be science
teachers, not scientists. By age 17, she had received her bachelor's degree and had
gone on to graduate work at Columbia. She was unable to support herself through
teaching assistantships since those positions were reserved for male students. She
lived at home and worked odd jobs to complete her master's degree, but was
forced to leave school to find paid employment. In 1932, she went to work for
the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at Langley Field, Virginia,
where she worked as a research assistant, and the only woman, in the engine divi-
sion. She returned to Columbia and expected to find another industry research
position after completing her Ph.D. in chemistry in 1937, but most of the large
research companies would not even interview a Jewish woman at that time. She
instead found research laboratory positions in college medical schools before tak-
ing her first academic appointment in 1958 at Washington University, where her
husband, theoretical physicist Henry Primakoff, had also been offered a position.
She later commented that there were advantages to working as an independent
researcher in the early years of her career, as she had more flexibility for raising
her children and could pursue long-term projects without the publishing pressures
Biochemist Mildred Cohn was the first female
career investigator for the American Heart
Association. (Bettmann/Corbis)
304 | Cole, Johnnetta (Betsch)
of an academic position. Cohn retired from teaching in 1982 and subsequently had
a three-year affiliation at the Fox Chase Cancer Center as a senior scientist.
Cohn was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1971
and was awarded the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society (1963), the
National Medal of Science (1982), and the Distinguished Award of the College of
Physicians (1987). She was a senior member of the Institute for Cancer Research
(1982-1985) and served as president of the American Society of Biological
Chemists (1978-1979). She was a member of the American Philosophical Society,
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Chemical Society, and
the Biophysical Society, and was president of the American Society of Biological
Chemistry (1978-1979). She was the mother of three children, all of whom also
earned Ph.D.s in scientific disciplines.
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Cole, Johnnetta (Betsch)
b. 1936
Anthropologist
Education: student, Fisk University, 1953; B.A., sociology, Oberlin College,
1957; M.A., Northwestern University, 1959, Ph.D., anthropology, 1967; LLD,
Bates College, 1989
Professional Experience: instructor, University of California, Los Angeles, 1964;
assistant professor, anthropology and director, black studies, Washington State
University, Pullman, 1967-1970; professor, anthropology and Afro-American
studies, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1970-1983, provost of under-
graduate education, 1981-1983; visiting professor, Hunter College, City Univer-
sity of New York (CUNY), 1983-1984, professor, anthropology, 1983-1987,
director, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 1984-1987; president, Spelman
College, 1987-1997; professor, anthropology and African American studies,
Emory University, 1999-2002; president, Bennett College, 2002-2007; director,
National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, 2009-
Concurrent Positions: chair, United Way of America, 2004-2006
Johnnetta Cole is a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on African and
African American women and families. Cole also had a distinguished career as an
Cole, Johnnetta (Betsch) | 305
Johnnetta Cole, a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on African and African-
American women and families, served as president of both Spelman College and Bennett
College. (AP/Wide World Photos)
administrator, serving as president of the only two remaining historically black
female colleges in the United States: Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and
Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. She was born into a prominent
middle-class family in segregated Jacksonville, Florida. Her great-grandfather
had helped to found an African American insurance company in 1901 — a local
library and a YMCA were named for him — but even though her family was a
prominent one, she attended segregated public schools. At the age of 15, she was
accepted at the predominantly black Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee,
under its early admissions program. She went on to Oberlin, her first experience
in a predominantly white institution, and then to graduate school at Northwestern.
After receiving her master's degree in 1959, she married fellow student Robert
Cole and the couple departed for Liberia to gather data for their doctoral projects,
his in economics and hers in anthropology. When they returned to the United
States, her husband completed his doctorate and secured a position at Washington
State University, Pullman. Johnnetta taught part-time at the same institution and
received her doctorate from Northwestern in 1967. She also conducted fieldwork
in Cuba, Haiti, and Grenada, and was involved in a Peace Corps training project
at San Francisco State University in 1965. She eventually relocated to the University
306 | Collins, Eileen
of Massachusetts, where she developed a black studies program and her husband
taught at Amherst College in Massachusetts. She was selected president of Spelman
College in 1987. Even though Spelman College is a private, all-girls school, Cole
was the first black woman to serve as president. She taught women's studies
and African American studies at Emory University before becoming President of
Bennett College in 2002.
Her fieldwork has included studies of a Chicago black church, labor in Liberia,
racial and gender inequality in Cuba, Caribbean women, female-headed households,
the way women age, and the Cape Verdean culture in the United States. In her book
Conversations: Straight Talk with America's Sister President (1993), she discussed
some of the problems faced by African American women, such as racism and sexism,
as well as ways to deal with those problems. With Beverly Guy-Sheftall, she
co-authored Gender Talk: The Struggle for Women 's Equality in African American
Communities (2003). In addition, she has edited three textbooks on anthropology:
Anthropology for the Eighties (1982), All American Women: Lines That Divide, Ties
That Bind (1986), and Anthropology for the Nineties: Introductory Readings (1988).
Cole is a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and a member of
the Association of Black Anthropologists and the National Council of Negro
Women, and has served on the board of directors for the Global Fund for Women.
She has received numerous honorary degrees and awards for her educational and
community service, including the McGovern Behavioral Science Award from the
Smithsonian Institute (1999). In 2004, the Johnnetta B. Cole Global Diversity &
Inclusion Institute was founded at Bennett College, and Professor Cole continues
to serve on the Board of Directors.
Further Resources
"Johnnetta B. Cole Global Diversity & Inclusion Institute." http://www.jbcinstitute.org/.
Collins, Eileen
b. 1956
Astronaut
Education: B.A., mathematics and economics, Syracuse University, 1978; M.S.,
operations research, Stanford University, 1986; M.A., space systems management,
Webster University, 1989
Professional Experience: instructor pilot, Vance Air Force base, Oklahoma, 1947-
1982; aircraft commander and instructor pilot, Travis Air Force base, California,
1983-1984; assistant professor, mathematics, and instructor pilot, U.S. Air Force
Collins, Eileen | 307
President Bill Clinton greets astronaut Eileen Collins at a White House ceremony in 1998.
Collins was the first female space shuttle pilot and the first female commander of a shuttle
mission. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Academy, Colorado, 1986-1989; astronaut, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), 1991-2006
Eileen Collins is an engineer and astronaut who logged over 870 hours in space as
part of four space flights: Discovery (1995), Atlantis (1997), Columbia (1999), and
Discovery (2005). For the first Discovery flight in 1995, which docked with the
Russian space station Mir, Collins was the first woman to pilot the space shuttle.
For the Columbia flight in 1999, Collins was the first female shuttle commander.
Collins received her pilot training through the Air Force, graduating from the Air
Force Undergraduate Pilot Training program in 1979 and the Air Force Test Pilot
School in 1990. Between those years, she worked as an instructor pilot and Air
Force Academy mathematics professor. She became an astronaut in 1991. Collins
retired from the Air Force in 2005 and from NASA in 2006.
308 | Colmenares, Margarita H.
Collins dreamed of flying and of becoming an astronaut as a child, but her fam-
ily did not have money for college. She attended community college and, at the
age of 20, worked odd jobs to pay for flying lessons. She received an Air Force
ROTC scholarship to attend Syracuse University in New York, where she studied
math and economics, and went on to the pilot training program at Vance Air Force
Base in Oklahoma. She was one of only four women in her class of more than 300
and became the Air Force's first female flight instructor, teaching in Oklahoma and
then at Travis Air Force Base in California. In California, she attended the Air
Force Institute of Technology and went on to earn a master's degree in operations
research from Stanford University. She relocated to the U.S. Air Force Academy
in Colorado as an instructor pilot and then earned a master's degree in space sys-
tems management from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. While attend-
ing the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California, she
applied for and was accepted into the NASA astronaut program. She has said that
she considers the female military pilots during World War II, as well as the first
generation of women astronauts, role models who paved the way for her to
become an astronaut and to become the first female shuttle pilot and commander.
Collins has received numerous awards and honors, including a President's Medal
from the New York Institute of Technology, Defense Superior Service Medal, Distin-
guished Flying Cross, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Meritorious
Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal with one
oak leaf cluster, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for service in Grenada (Opera-
tion Urgent Fury, October 1983), French Legion of Honor, NASA Outstanding Lead-
ership Medal, NASA Space Flight Medals, Free Spirit Award, and National Space
Trophy. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1998.
Further Resources
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Eileen Marie Collins (Colonel, USAF,
RET.)." http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/collins.html.
Colmenares, Margarita H.
b. 1957
Environmental Engineer
Education: student, business, California State University, Sacramento; student,
Sacramento City College; B.Sc, civil engineering, Stanford University, 1981
Colmenares, Margarita H. | 309
Professional Experience: field construction engineer, Chevron Corporation,
1981, recruiting coordinator (San Francisco) field construction engineer (Salt
Lake City), foreign training representative, 1983-1986, compliance representative
and lead engineer in environmental cleanup (El Segundo refinery), 1986, air quality
specialist (El Segundo), 1989-1996; director of corporate liaison, U.S. Department
of Education, 1996-
Concurrent Positions: White House fellow 1991-1992
Margarita Colmenares is the first Hispanic engineer to be selected as a White
House fellow since the program was established in 1964, and during her 1991—
1992 fellowship years, she served as special assistant to the deputy secretary of
education in Washington, D.C. She was also the first woman president of the Soci-
ety of Hispanic Professional Engineers. She received her first assignment specifi-
cally involved in environmental protection as an engineer charged with ensuring
compliance with federal, state, and local environmental, safety, fire, and health
regulations at Chevron Corporation's facilities. She directed an environmental
cleanup project at the Chevron refinery in El Segundo and was then promoted to
air quality specialist in 1989. At this time, she also was national president of the
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and persuaded Chevron to
give her a one-year paid leave while she was president. During her term of office,
she promoted education, especially engineering education, for Hispanics. In 1989,
she also participated in the National Hispana Leadership Initiative, a program
for women that included training sessions in public policy at Harvard's John F.
Kennedy School of Government.
Colmenares was born in Sacramento of parents who had emigrated from
Mexico. Her parents sent her and her siblings to parochial schools in order to pro-
vide the best education for them, and she was selected in high school for a program
for inner-city youth to work at Xerox Corporation. She entered California State
University, Sacramento to study business courses, but discovered an interest in
engineering. She filled in gaps in her education with courses in chemistry, physics,
and calculus at Sacramento City College before entering the Engineering School
at Stanford University. While attending school, she also worked part-time with
the California Department of Water Resources inspecting the structural conditions
of dams and water-purifying plants. She won five scholarships to attend Stanford
and simultaneously worked for the Chevron Corporation in Texas and California
in that company's cooperative education program.
When Colmenares received the White House fellowship in 1991-1992, she also
requested an assignment with the Department of Education. In 1996, she accepted
a position as director of corporate liaison for the U.S. Department of Education,
where she works with business leaders and organizations around the country to
310 | Colson, Elizabeth Florence
engage their support for education. She has received recognition for her commit-
ment to the Hispanic community. She founded the San Francisco chapter of SHPE
in 1982 and served as president of that organization. In 1990 and 1992, Hispanic
Business recognized her as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the country.
Further Resources
Ambrose, Susan A. et al. 1997. Journeys of Women in Science and Engineering: No
Universal Constants. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Colson, Elizabeth Florence
b. 1917
Anthropologist
Education: B.A., anthropology, University of Minnesota, 1938, M.A., 1940; M.A.,
Radcliffe College, 1941, Ph.D., social anthropology, 1945
Professional Experience: assistant social science analyst, War Relocation Author-
ity, Arizona, 1942-1943; research assistant, Peabody Museum, Harvard University,
1944-1945; senior research officer, Rhodes-Livingstone Institute of Social
Research, Northern Rhodesia, 1946-1947, director, 1948-1951; senior lecturer,
social anthropology, Manchester University, England, 1951-1953; associate profes-
sor, anthropology, Goucher College, Maryland, 1954-1955; associate professor and
research associate, African studies, Boston University, 1955-1959, part-time
research associate, 1959-1962; professor, anthropology, Brandeis University,
1959-1963; visiting professor, Northwestern University, 1963-1964; professor,
anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 1964-1984, emeritus
Concurrent Positions: fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral
Sciences, Stanford University, 1967-1968; lecturer, University of Rochester,
1973; fellow, California Institute of Technology, 1975-1976; lecturer, University
of New Mexico, 1978; visiting professor, University of Zambia, 1987; visiting
senior research fellow, Refugee Studies Programme, Queen Elizabeth House,
Oxford, England, 1988—1989
Elizabeth Colson has investigated social change in central Africa and in the north-
west United States; in particular, her work was a forerunner to anthropological
research on African Americans. Her main research interest has been a longitudinal
study of the Gwembe Tonga of Zambia through a period of forced resettlement
and political reorganization. Whether in Africa or in the United States (such as
among the Pomo, Makah, or Hopi-Navajo Indians, or Japanese Americans during
Colwell, Rita (Rossi) | 311
World War II), her research has looked into the effects of assimilation, relocation,
and economic and political change on women, families, and religious life. In
common with many anthropologists, whose work often takes them around the globe,
she has held a variety of jobs in academia, institutes, fellowships, and special
projects. She has had unique appointments as director of an institute in Northern
Rhodesia and as a senior lecturer at Manchester University in England. She pub-
lished dozens of articles and reports, and authored or edited more than 15 books,
including Life among the Cattle-Owning Tonga: The Material Culture of a Zambian
Tribe (1949), The Makah Indians: A Study of an Indian Tribe in Modern American
Society (1953), Marriage and Family among the Plateau Tonga of Northern
Rhodesia (1958), The Social Consequences of Resettlement: The Impact of the
Kariba Resettlement upon the Gwembe Tonga (1971), Autobiographies of Three
Porno Women (1974), and For Prayer and Profit: The Ritual, Economic, and Social
Importance of Beer in Gwembe District, 1950-1982 (co-author, 1988).
Colson was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1977. She received
the Morgan Lectureship at the University of Rochester (1973), the Outstanding
Achievement Award of the Society of Woman Geographers (1982), the Rivers
Memorial Medal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (1982), and the Distin-
guished Africanist Award of the American Association for African Studies (1988).
She was elected an honorary fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, a fellow
of the American Anthropological Association, and a fellow of the American Associ-
ation for the Advancement of Science. She has been a member of the American
Ethnological Society, Society for Political and Legal Anthropology, American Soci-
ety for Applied Anthropology, American Association of African Studies, American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, Society of Women Geographers, and Association
of Social Anthropologists. She received honorary degrees from Brown University
(1979), the University of Rochester (1985), and the University of Zambia (1992).
Further Resources
University of California, Berkeley. "Seventh Emeritus Lecture Honoring Elizabeth F. Colson."
Anthropology Emeritus Lecture Series. (20 October 1997). http://www.lib. berkeley
.edu/ANTH/emeritus/colson/index.html.
Colwell, Rita (Rossi)
b. 1934
Marine Microbiologist
Education: B.S., bacteriology, Purdue University, 1956, M.S., genetics, 1958;
Ph.D., marine microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, 1961
3 1 2 I Colwell, Rita (Rossi)
Marine microbiologist Rita Colwell is awarded the National Medal of Science by President
George W. Bush in 2007. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Professional Experience: research assistant professor, University of Washington,
1961-1964; visiting assistant professor, Georgetown University, 1963-1964, as-
sistant to associate professor, biology, 1964-1972; professor, microbiology and
biotechnology, University of Maryland, 1972-, director, University of Maryland
Biotechnology Institute (UMBI), 1987-1991, president, 1991-1998; director,
National Science Foundation, 1998-2004; chair and chief scientist, Canon U.S.
Life Sciences, Inc., 2004-
Concurrent Positions: consultant, Environmental Protection Agency, 1975-;
director, Maryland Sea Grant Program, 1978-1983; vice president of academic
affairs, University of Maryland, 1983-1987; member, National Science Board,
1984-1990; chairman, National Science Board, 1996-1998; councilor, National
Academy of Sciences, 2008-201 1
Colwell, Rita (Rossi) | 313
Rita Colwell is a leader in marine biotechnology, a field that involves the applica-
tion of molecular techniques to marine biology for harvesting medical, industrial,
and aquaculture products from the sea. Her goal is to improve the environment and
human health by understanding, preserving, and using the ocean's resources, and
she believes the future of marine biotechnology lies in new drugs made from
marine sources, new methods of cost-effective fish culture, seaweed genetics,
and improved biotechnological waste recycling. Her work led to the creation of
the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, established in 1987 with
Colwell as director and then president of this cutting-edge research center. In
1998, she was appointed by President Clinton to be director of the National Science
Foundation (NSF), the first woman to hold this position. At the NSF, she showed a
commitment to K-12 science and mathematics education, and to increasing the
presence of women and minorities in science. She left her post at the NSF in
February 2004 to become chair of Canon U.S. Life Sciences, Inc., a new organization
that seeks to apply molecular research to medical diagnostic applications.
Colwell was the seventh of eight children of parents who emphasized the
importance of a good education. She obtained a full scholarship to study at Purdue,
where she majored in bacteriology. She married in her senior year of college and
planned to continue in the master's program while her husband, Jack Colwell,
completed his degree in physical chemistry. However, the head of the bacteriology
department did not want to give fellowship money to a woman. She was accepted
into the master's program in genetics instead. After she and her husband both
received doctorates from the University of Washington, Colwell obtained a grant
from the National Science Foundation and joined her husband in Canada to con-
duct research. The Colwell Massif geological site in Antarctica is named for her
work in the polar regions.
Colwell has authored, co-authored, or edited 16 books and hundreds of scien-
tific papers. She also produced the award-winning film, Invisible Seas. She was a
member of the National Science Board (1984-1990), which advises the federal
government on science policy. She is a fellow of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, the Society for Industrial Microbiology, and the
American Academy of Microbiology. She is a member of the American Society
for Microbiology (president, 1984-1985) and the Society for Invertebrate Pathology,
and the recipient of the Fisher Award of the American Society for Microbiology
(1985), Gold Medal Award of the International Institute of Biotechnology (1990),
Phi Kappa Phi National Scholar Award (1993), Outstanding Service Award from
the American Institute of Biological Sciences (2004), and National Medal of Science
(2006). She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2000, and in
2008 she began a three-year term as a councilor to the NAS.
314 | Conway, Lynn Ann
Further Resources
University of Maryland. Faculty website, http://chemlife.umd.edu/about/circleofdiscovery/
ritarcolwell.
Conway, Lynn Ann
b. 1938
Computer Scientist, Electrical Engineer
Education: B.S., Columbia University, 1962, M.S., electrical engineering, 1963
Professional Experience: staff researcher, IBM Corporation, 1964-1969; senior
staff engineer, Memorex Corporation, 1969-1973; research engineer, Xerox Cor-
poration, 1973-1983; chief scientist and assistant director of strategic computing,
Defense Advisory Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 1983-1985; professor,
electrical engineering and computer science and associate dean of the College of
Engineering, University of Michigan, 1985-1998, emerita
Concurrent Positions: visiting associate professor, electrical engineering and
computer sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1978-1979
Lynn Conway is famous for two major developments in computer circuitry, the
first being the invention of a new approach to the design of integrated computer
circuit chips that simplified and demystified the design process. Her second major
achievement was a new method of chip fabrication that enabled designers to
obtain rapidly prototypes with which to test their hardware and software designs.
The latter development was reported in the textbook Introduction to VLSI Systems
(1980, co-authored with Carver Mead), which became the standard text in courses
around the world.
Conway excelled in physics and mathematics in high school, and began her col-
lege career as a physics major at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
She took some time off from school before returning to Columbia University to com-
plete her undergraduate and master's degrees in engineering. While at Columbia, her
course project was a software system that impressed a visiting professor and led to a
job at IBM. In 1969, she accepted a position with Memorex Corporation, where she
headed a project to develop a processor for an inexpensive office computer. Memorex
decided to drop its computer program and, in 1973, Conway joined Xerox Corpora-
tion on a project to superimpose an optical character recognition over a facsimile
system. The prototype was a mammoth machine that filled a room, and Xerox
dropped the project. She next worked on designing computer chips, which resulted
Conwell, Esther Marly | 315
in the major accomplishment of simplifying computer chip design, and briefly taught
a course on chip design at MIT. In 1983, she had the opportunity to work for the
Defense Advisory Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Washington, D.C., the
agency that developed ARPAnet, an early version of the Internet. Part of her job
was to oversee the preparation of an advanced computing program to secure funding
from Congress. She moved to the University of Michigan in 1985 as associate dean of
the College of Engineering, where she spent the remainder of her career and helped
the university keep abreast of computer research and technology.
Conway is truly a pioneer in computer technology, as she has worked at the fore-
front of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, telecommunica-
tions, and personal computers. But she has an unusual personal story as well, in
that she was born a male (Robert) and underwent gender reassignment surgery in
1968. She believes she was fired from IBM because of her surgery, and she did not
speak publicly about her past as a man for many years, achieving worldwide recog-
nition for her work as a woman computer scientist. She now maintains a website that
tells her story and provides information on transgender and transsexual issues.
Conway is a fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and
has served on the editorial board of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engi-
neers (IEEE) magazine Spectrum. She is or has been a member of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association for Artificial
Intelligence, and the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, and is a presidential
appointee on the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Air Force Academy. She was elected
to the National Academy of Engineering in 1989 and has received numerous awards,
including the Wetherill Medal from the Franklin Institute (1985), the Meritorious
Civilian Service Award given by the Secretary of Defense (1985), and the National
Achievement Award of the Society of Women Engineers (1990).
Further Resources
University of Michigan. "Lynn Conway: Computer Scientist, Electrical Engineer, Inven-
tor; Research Manager, Engineering Educator." http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/
conway/conway.html.
Conwell, Esther Marly
b. 1922
Physicist
Education: B.A., physics, Brooklyn College, 1942; M.S., physics, University of
Rochester, 1945; Ph.D., physics, University of Chicago, 1948
316 | Conwell, Esther Marly
Professional Experience: instructor, physics, Brooklyn College, 1946-1951;
technical staff, Bell Telephone Laboratories, 1951-1952; engineering specialist,
Sylvania/General Telephone and Electronics Laboratory (GTE), 1952-1963,
manager, physics department, 1963-1970; professor, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 1971-1972; principal scientist, Xerox Laboratories, 1972-1980,
research fellow, 1980-1998; professor, chemistry and physics, University of
Rochester, 1998-
Concurrent Positions: visiting lecturer and researcher, University of Paris, 1962-
1963; associate director, National Science Foundation Center for Photoinduced
Charge Transfer, University of Rochester, New York, 1991—
Esther Conwell is a physicist who specializes in the study of solid-state materials,
such as silicon, which are used to make transistors and semiconductors in the elec-
tronics and computer industries. She spent almost her entire career in industry, as
head of research departments at both GTE and Xerox. She has published more
than 100 papers in leading scientific journals, describing how semiconductors can
be affected by subjecting the substances to outside perturbations like high electric
fields. She is the author of an early work in the industry, High-Field Transport in
Semiconductors (1967), which became a widely used text on the topic. She has also
researched xerography, or photoconductors, in the use of copy machines.
Her father lived through the Depression and encouraged Conwell's education so
that she would be able to support herself someday. Although she taught briefly at
Brooklyn College, there were few academic positions for a woman physicist at the
time she received her Ph.D., so she found her niche in industry research. She worked
at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for one year, then moved to GTE, where she rose
through the ranks to manager of the physics department. She spent another year
teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before accepting a posi-
tion as principal scientist and then research fellow for Xerox. Since her retirement
from Xerox, she has been on the chemistry faculty at the University of Rochester.
Conwell received the Society of Women Engineers achievement award (1960)
and was elected to both the National Academy of Engineering (1980) and the
National Academy of Sciences (1990). She has been elected a fellow of the
American Physical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
and is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Her numerous awards and honors include the Achievement Award of the Society
of Women Engineers (1960), being the first woman to receive the Thomas
Edison Medal of the IEEE (1997), a Dreyfus Senior Scholar Mentor Award
(2005), and the Susan B. Anthony Lifetime Achievement Award of the University
of Rochester (2006); most recently, the American Chemical Society honored her
with an Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences
Cordova, France Anne-Dominic | 317
(2008). As part of her commitment to issues faced by women scientists, she was a
founding member of the American Physical Society's Committee on Women in
Physics (1971). In 2002, she was named by Discover magazine as one of the
50 most important female scientists. Her son, Lewis Rothberg, is also a physicist
on the faculty at the University of Rochester, and the two have collaborated on
research and articles for publication.
Further Resources
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
University of Rochester. Faculty website, http://www.chem.rochester.edu/faculty/
faculty.php?name=conwell.
Cordova, France Anne-Dominic
b. 1947
Astronomer, Astrophysicist
Education: B.A., Stanford University, 1969; Ph.D., physics, California Institute of
Technology, 1979
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1969-1971; research assistant,
astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, 1975-1979, fellow, 1979; staff
member and department group leader, astrophysics, Los Alamos National Labora-
tory, 1979-1989; professor and head, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics,
Pennsylvania State University, 1989-1993; chief scientist, National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA), 1993-1996; professor, physics and vice
chancellor for research, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1996-2002;
professor, astrobiology and chancellor, University of California, Riverside,
2002-2007; president, Purdue University, 2007-
France Cordova, an observational astronomer and high-energy astrophysicist,
served as chief scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), a professor of physics and astrobiology, and a college president.
Her research covers a wide range of subjects: observational and experimental
astrophysics, multispectral research on x-ray and gamma-ray sources, ultraviolet
spectroscopy of nearby binary stars, thermal emissions from neutron stars, and
spaceborne instrumentation. As a chief scientist for NASA, she worked on the
318 | Cordova, France Anne-Dominic
Astronomer and astrophysicist France Anne-
Dominic Cordova became president of Purdue
University in 2007. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Mars Pathfinder Space Program and,
although she left NASA before the
Pathfinder reached Mars in 1997,
NASA later awarded her its highest
honor, the Distinguished Service
Medal (2007). Cordova spent several
years in California, improving fund-
ing for space and science research in
the University of California system.
In 2007, she became the first woman,
and first Latina, to become president
of Purdue University, coincidentally
the alma mater of astronaut Neil
Armstrong.
Cordova initially intended to study
anthropology, but after college gradu-
ation began teaching high school
physics and math. She became inter-
ested in cosmology and earned her Ph.D. in physics in 1979. She was employed
at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where she studied white dwarfs, neutron
stars, and black holes, theorizing that white dwarfs should emit x-rays but at lower
intensities than neutron stars. She looked at more than 200 white dwarf close bina-
ries with x-ray satellites to prove this theory and, with colleagues, described math-
ematically the low-energy pulsations in these systems. She moved to Pennsylvania
State University in 1989 as professor and head of the Department of Astronomy
and Astrophysics, where her husband, Christian J. Foster, led a Ph.D. program in
cognitive science and education.
Cordova has served on numerous prestigious committees, including the Presi-
dent's National Medal of Science Committee (1991-1993), the committee that
selects the persons to receive the National Medal of Science, one of the top awards
in the nation. She received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the California
Institute of Technology (2007) and was named to Stanford University's Multicultural
Hall of Fame (2008). She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and the Association for Women in Science, and a member of the American Astro-
nomical Society and the International Astronomical Union. In 1996, she appeared
on a PBS television series about women minority scientists.
Further Resources
Purdue University. President's website, http://www.purdue.edu/president/about/index
.html.
Cori, Gerty Theresa Radnitz | 319
Cori, Gerty Theresa Radnitz
1896 1957
Biochemist
Education: M.D., German University of Prague, 1920
Professional Experience: assistant, Karolinen Children's Hospital, 1920-1922;
assistant pathologist, Roswell Park Memorial Institute, 1922-1925, assistant
biochemist, 1925-1931; researcher, medical school, Washington University,
St. Louis, 1931-1947, professor, biochemistry, 1947-1957
Gerty Cori was a biochemist who was the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine, and the first American woman to win in any of the sci-
ences. She won the Nobel Prize jointly with her husband, Carl F. Cori, in 1947
for their work on the effect of hormones on the rate of conversion of glycogen to
glucose in the overall processes of the body's carbohydrate metabolism. Their dis-
covery was termed the "Cori cycle," and their laboratory at Washington University
in St. Louis became the focal point for all researchers interested in carbohydrate
metabolism. Their research had implications for understanding diabetes and other
metabolic diseases, and in later work they demonstrated that a human heritable
disease can stem from a defect in an enzyme.
The couple met while they were both in medical school in Prague and immigrated
to the United States when Carl received an appointment at Roswell Park Memorial
Institute in Buffalo, New York. Gerty also received a staff appointment and, in addi-
tion to their regular duties, the two pursued their own research interests in normal
carbohydrate metabolism and its regulation. They decided to leave Roswell and Carl
was recruited by several universities, none of which would offer Gerty a faculty
appointment. They finally found dual positions at Washington University, where Carl
was chair of the department of pharmacology, and Gerty collaborated with her hus-
band while receiving a token salary as a researcher for more than 15 years. Only after
they were awarded the Nobel Prize did she receive a full professorial appointment.
Gerty was diagnosed with bone marrow disease in 1947, but she continued to
work for another 10 years in spite of extreme pain. After receiving the Nobel
Prize, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1948. She was
also the 1948 recipient of the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society.
In 2008, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp featuring Gerty Cori as part of
an "American Scientists" series.
Further Resources
Opfell, Olga S. 1986. The Lady Laureates: Women Who Have Won the Nobel Prize. Metuchen,
NJ: Scarecrow Press.
320 | Cowings, Patricia Suzanne
McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch. 1998. Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles,
and Momentous Discoveries. Secaucus, NJ: Birch Lane Press.
"Dr. Gerty Theresa Radnitz Cori." Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating
America's Women Physicians. National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of
Health, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography
69.html.
Cowings, Patricia Suzanne
b. 1948
Psychologist, Physiologist
Education: B.A., psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook,
1970; M.A. and Ph.D., psychology, University of California, Davis, 1973
Professional Experience: postdoctoral associate, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)/Ames Research Center, 1973-1975; research specialist,
San Jose State University Foundation, 1975-1977; research psychologist and prin-
cipal investigator, NASA/ Ames Research Center, 1977-
Concurrent Positions: adjunct associate professor, psychology, University of
Nevada, Reno, 1987; adjunct assistant professor, psychiatry, University of California,
Los Angeles, 1991-2001; acting assistant chief, Life Sciences Division, NASA/
Ames, 1995; adjunct associate professor, biomedical engineering, University of
Akron, Ohio, 1997-; adjunct assistant professor, medical/clinical psychology,
F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of Health
Sciences, Maryland, 1998—
Patricia Cowings is known for specialized work in psychophysiology, the study of
the relationships among the mind, behavior, and bodily mechanisms, and, in par-
ticular, in studying the effects of zero gravity on astronauts. She worked to develop
a treatment for the motion sickness commonly experienced by astronauts and pio-
neered the use of biofeedback and autogenic (or self-suggestion) training to help
suppress the problem. The results of her research were first tested in space and
found successful during the September 1992 Spacelab-J mission, an eight-day
flight of the space shuttle Endeavour. Cowings replicated the conditions that cause
motion sickness to record the physiological and psychological changes that
occurred. The astronauts affectionately called her "the Baroness of Barf." She
teaches a subject to mentally evoke a sensation, like warmth in a limb or relaxation
of muscles, to bring about desired physiological changes such as increased skin
Cowings, Patricia Suzanne | 321
temperature or relaxed muscles. In
biofeedback, she teaches people to
control as many as 20 physiological
functions related to motion sickness,
including heart rate, skin conduct-
ance, depth and rate of respiration,
and flow of blood to the hands.
During the first test in space, the
astronauts had biofeedback units
strapped to their wrists. Another area
in which Cowings has worked is
therapy to exercise the veins in the
astronauts' legs to combat the effects
of weightlessness. Her husband,
William B. Tiscano, also works at
NASA, and the two have co-authored
several publications together.
Cowings's work combines her
early interests in both space science
and psychology. After receiving her
doctorate in psychology, she received
a postdoctoral appointment at NASA's Ames Research Center and has remained
there throughout most of her career. Her research for NASA has led to important
breakthroughs for the comfort and health of astronauts, and her autogenic training
exercise methods and system were patented in 1997. She has received numerous
awards and honors, including the NASA Individual Achievement Award (1993),
Black Engineer of the Year Award (1997), AMES Honor Award for Technology
Development (1999), NASA Space Act Award for invention (2002), and National
Women of Color Technology Award (2006). She is a member of the Society for
Psychophysiological Research, American Association for the Advancement of
Science, and New York Academy of Sciences.
NASA psychophysiologist Dr. Patricia
Cowings. (NASA)
Further Resources
Ehrhart-Morrison, Dorothy. 1997. No Mountain High Enough: Secrets of Successful African
American Women. Berkeley, CA: Conari Press.
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Patricia Cowings." http://humansystems
.arc.nasa.gov/groups/ACD/personnel view.php?personnel id=20.
322 | Cox, Geraldine Anne (Vang)
Cox, Geraldine Anne (Vang)
b. 1944
Environmental Scientist, Biologist
Education: B.S., Drexel University, 1966, M.S., 1967, Ph.D., environmental
science, 1970
Professional Experience: technical coordinator of environmental programs, Ray-
theon Company, 1970-1976; White House fellow, special assistant to secretary,
U.S. Department of Labor, 1976-1977; environmental scientist, American Petro-
leum Institute, 1977-1979; vice president and technical director, Chemical Manu-
facturers Association, 1979-1991; vice president, Fluor Daniel, subsidiary of
Fluor Corporation, 1991-1993; chair and chief executive officer, AMPOTECH,
1994-2000; independent consultant, 1996-; Disaster Assistance Employee,
FEMA, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2004-
Concurrent Positions: adjunct associate professor, Graduate Environmental
Program, Drexel University, 2002-
Geraldine Cox is an environmental scientist whose research focuses on water pol-
lution, ecological damage assessment, and environmental health. She is known for
her role in creating chemical industry policy guidelines for community emergen-
cies following the accidental release of methyl isocyanate gas at a plant in Bhopal,
India, late in 1984. At the time, she was vice president and technical director of the
Chemical Manufacturers Association, a professional organization whose members
represent 90% of the chemical companies in the United States. The explosion was
devastating to the owner of the plant, Union Carbide Corporation, because of the
contamination of the area around the plant and the adverse publicity about safety
procedures at that location. In the United States, the Chemical Manufacturers
Association's guidelines established the Community Awareness and Emergency
Response (CAER), which led to the adoption of a federal and later an international
standard drafted by the United States, both based on Cox's model.
Cox left the association in 1991 to join Fluor Daniel as a vice president, a position
she held for two years before helping to found AMPOTECH, a company committed
to using waste coal and other technologies to create low-pollution energy in develop-
ing countries. She has been an environmental impact consultant and analyst for both
government and trade organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency,
U.S. Department of Justice, and the chemical technologies firm EUROTECH, and
has been a participant in numerous workshops and committees of the National
Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. She has held many signifi-
cant committee assignments, such as founder and chair of the Marine Water Quality
Cox, Gertrude Mary | 323
Committee, member of the Transportation Advisory Committee of the U.S. Coast
Guard (from whom she received a Meritorious Service Medal, the highest civilian
award, in 1992), and member of the Engineering Affairs Council of the Association
of American Engineering Societies. She has received the Achievement Award of the
Society of Women Engineers (1984) and is a member of the American Society for
Testing and Materials, Water Pollution Control Federation, American Chemical
Society, American National Standards Institute, and Society of Women Engineers.
Cox, Gertrude Mary
1900 1978
Mathematician, Statistician
Education: B.S., mathematics, Iowa State University, 1929, M.S., statistics, 1931;
graduate student, psychological statistics, University of California, Berkeley,
1931-1933
Professional Experience: research assistant to assistant professor, statistical labo-
ratory, Iowa State University, 1933-1940; professor, experimental statistics, North
Carolina State College, 1940-1944, head, Institute of Statistics, 1944-1949,
department of biostatistics, 1949-1960; head, Research Triangle Institute, statis-
tics research division, 1960-1965; independent consultant
Gertrude Cox was the prominent American woman statistician of her time and is
remembered by many as the "First Lady of Statistics." She founded the department
of experimental statistics in the School of Agriculture and was head of the Institute
of Statistics at North Carolina State College. Perhaps her greatest legacy was as an
administrator, for Cox was committed to promoting statistics research and teaching
at other institutions throughout the South, helping to establish programs at the Univer-
sity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and the Research Triangle Institute, which com-
bined and drew on the research of the three campuses at North Carolina State
College, the University of North Carolina, and Duke University. Even after her formal
retirement in 1965, she traveled to Egypt, where she spent a year helping establish an
Institute of Statistics at the University of Cairo. Cox's specialty was the design of
experiments, and she enthusiastically used each new generation of computers as they
became available. Under her leadership, North Carolina State College was one of the
first colleges to use IBM computers and therefore to develop some of the most power-
ful statistical software programs. She published Experimental Designs (1950,
co-authored with William Cochran), which became a popular and widely used textbook.
After graduating high school, Cox began training to become a deaconess in the
Methodist Episcopal Church. She enrolled at Iowa State to obtain a degree in social
324 | Crane, Kathleen
science, but switched to mathematics for her bachelor's degree in 1929 and, in 193 1,
received the first master's degree in statistics from Iowa's mathematics department.
She studied psychological statistics at Berkeley for two years before returning to
Iowa State to assist in establishing the new Statistical Laboratory. Although she never
completed the requirements for the Ph.D., she was appointed to the faculty at Iowa
State in 1939. When her Iowa advisor was asked by North Carolina State College
for faculty recommendations, he sent a list of male graduates for consideration, but
then added a note: "Of course if you would consider a woman for this position I
would recommend Gertrude Cox of my staff." Cox was hired in 1940 as head of the
newly created department of experimental statistics at North Carolina State College,
the first female head of any department at that institution. She obtained sizable grants
from the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations for her program in statistics and in 1945
organized and became director of the Institute of Statistics, which combined the
teaching of statistics at the University of North Carolina and at North Carolina State
College. Even after her retirement from the Research Triangle Institute in 1965,
Cox remained active as a consultant for government agencies and research groups.
Cox was the first woman elected to the International Statistical Institute (1949),
and she served as president of the American Statistical Association (1956). She
was one of the founders and also president of the Biometric Society (1969), and
was editor (1945-1955) of the Society's Biometrics Bulletin. She was a fellow of
the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and the Royal Statistical Society of
England, and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1975. Her con-
tribution to North Carolina State College (now North Carolina State University)
has been honored with both a building and a scholarship in her name, and, in
1986, the Caucus of Women in Statistics also established a Gertrude M. Cox
Scholarship fund in her name.
Further Resources
American Statistical Association. Statisticians in History, http://www.amstat.org/about/
statisticiansinhistory /index. cfm?fuseaction=biosinfo&BioID=2.
Crane, Kathleen
b. 1951
Oceanographer
Education: B.S., Oregon State University, 1973; Ph.D., oceanography, Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, 1977
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti-
tution, 1977-1979; research scientist, Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory,
Crosby, Elizabeth Caroline | 325
1979-1993; professor, ocean and earth sciences, Hunter College, City University
of New York, 1985-2002; program manager, Arctic Research Office, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2002-
Concurrent Positions: director, Arctic Environmental Security Geographic Infor-
mation System, Naval Research Laboratory, 1993-1998
Kathleen Crane is an oceanographer, marine geologist, and ecologist who focuses on
the Arctic region. She is program manager of the Arctic Research Office of NOAA,
where she coordinates missions related to Arctic marine ecosystems and climate
change and has been mission coordinator for two major expeditions (2004 and
2009) of the Russian-American Long-term Census of the Arctic (RUSALCA).
Crane received a doctorate in oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Ocean-
ography in San Diego, California, where she studied geophysics and underwater
thermal vents in the Galapagos. She studied mid-ocean ridges as a postdoctoral
researcher at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, and then
began an affiliation with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York. She
was a director of an Arctic environmental research program at the Naval Research
Laboratory and taught for many years at Hunter College in New York.
Having originally studied waters and marine geology in the southern hemi-
sphere, in the 1990s, Crane became interested in Arctic research. Her professional
and personal lives came together after adopting her daughter from Siberia in 1996,
and in 2002, she left academia to join NOAA as part of a U.S.-Russian collabora-
tion on Arctic research. Crane has been an invited lecturer and visiting scientist at
numerous institutions throughout the United States and Europe, including the
University of California, Santa Barbara; the University of Hawaii; the University
of Oslo, Norway; and the University of Paris, France. She has coordinated and been
chief scientist of more than 18 international ocean expeditions as well. In 2003, she
published an autobiography, Sea Legs: Tales of a Woman Oceanographer.
Further Resources
Delaney, Peggy, ed. 2005. "Autobiographical Sketches of Women in Oceanography." Ocean-
ography 18(1): 65 246. (March 2005). The Oceanography Society, http://www.tos.org/
oceanography/issues/issue archive/issue pdfs/18 1/18.1 sketches.pdf.
Crosby, Elizabeth Caroline
1888 1983
Neuroanatomist
Education: B.S., Adrian College, 1910; M.S., University of Chicago, 1912, Ph.D.,
1915
326 | Crosby, Elizabeth Caroline
Professional Experience: principal and school superintendent, 1915-1920;
instructor, anatomy, University of Michigan Medical School, 1920-1926, assistant
to associate professor, anatomy, 1926-1936, professor, anatomy and consulting
neurosurgeon, 1936-1960; professor emeritus, anatomy, University of Alabama,
Birmingham, 1963-1983
Elizabeth Crosby was recognized as one of the leading anatomists of her time. Her
fields of research were neurobiology and neuroanatomy, or the anatomy of the
brain, with a special focus on the brains of vertebrates. After completing her doc-
torate at the University of Chicago, she worked as a public school administrator
in Michigan before receiving an appointment as instructor at the University
of Michigan. Over the course of her long career as a medical researcher, she
co-authored several textbooks for neurosurgeons: A Laboratory Outline of Neurology
(1918), The Comparative Anatomy of the Nervous System of Vertebrates, Including
Man (1936), The Correlative Anatomy of the Nervous System (1962), and The
Comparative Correlative Neuroanatomy of the Vertebrate Telencephalon (1982).
She held many distinguished lectureships at the University of Pittsburgh, Yale Uni-
versity, Mayo Clinic, Tulane University, and Emory University. After her retirement,
she was an emeritus professor at both the University of Michigan and the
University of Alabama, Birmingham, where she continued to direct the research of
a new generation of neuroanatomists. She has been inducted into both the Michigan
and Alabama Women's Hall of Fame.
At the University of Michigan, Crosby rose steadily through the ranks to
become the first woman to reach full professor at the Medical School. This was a
significant accomplishment because she did not have a medical degree. Toward
the end of her career, in 1958, she received an honorary M.D. from the University
of Groningen in The Netherlands. She also received the Galen Award in 1956 for
preclinical medical teaching and in 1979 was awarded the National Medal of Sci-
ence under President Jimmy Carter. She received several awards in recognition for
her studies on the comparative neurology of vertebrates and ultimately received
nine honorary doctoral degrees, including from Smith College (1968), Woman's
Medical College of Pennsylvania (1968), and the University of Michigan (1970).
Further Resources
Alabama Women's Hall of Fame. 2000. "Elizabeth Caroline Crosby (1888 1983)." http://
www.awhf.org/crosby.html.
D
Daly, Marie Maynard
1921 2003
Biochemist
Education: B.S., Queens College, 1942; M.S., New York University, 1943; Ph.D.,
chemistry, Columbia University, 1948
Professional Experience: instructor, physical sciences, Howard University,
1947-1948; visiting investigator and assistant, general physiology, Rockefeller
Institute, 1951-1955; associate, biochemistry, Goldwater Memorial Hospital,
Columbia University, 1955-1959; assistant professor, biochemistry, Columbia
University, 1960-1971; associate professor, biochemistry and medicine, Albert
Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, 1971-1986
Concurrent Positions: American Cancer Society fellow, Rockefeller Institute,
1948-1951; established investigator, American Heart Association, 1958-1963;
career scientist, Health Research Council of New York, 1962-1972; Commission
on Science and Technology, City of New York, 1986-1989
Marie Daly was the first African American woman to receive a doctorate in chem-
istry, and she is known for her research on the chemistry of the cell nucleus. She
taught at Howard University for one year while she sought an American Cancer
Society fellowship to conduct research at Rockefeller Institute. At the Institute,
she examined the ways in which proteins are constructed within the cells of the
body, in particular the cell nucleus. In 1952, James Watson and Francis Crick
described the structure of DNA, the spiral molecules that carry the genetic code
of every living thing. Daly was fortunate that this breakthrough led to an immedi-
ate increase in the scientific study of the chemistry of the cell nucleus. When her
research team moved to Columbia University, they undertook a long series of stud-
ies related to the underlying causes of heart attacks. She focused on the blockage
of arteries that supply oxygen and nutrition to the heart muscle and discovered that
cholesterol was part of the problem. She studied the effects of sugar and other
dietary products on the health of the arteries. Daly also did pioneering work on
the effects of cigarette smoke on the functioning of the lungs. She continued this
project when the team moved to Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and she also
327
328 | Darden, Christine V. Mann
taught courses in biochemistry to medical students. She focused her research on
the breakdown of the circulatory system caused either by advanced age or by
hypertension. She also studied the biochemical aspects of kidney function.
Daly was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the American Heart Association.
She was a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Society of
Biological Chemists, and sat on the board of governors for the New York Academy
of Science. She was also committed to increasing the presence of minorities in the
sciences, was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, and started a scholarship fund at Queens College in her father's
memory to support minority students in physics and chemistry.
Darden, Christine V. Mann
b. 1942
Aeronautical Engineer
Education: B.S., mathematics, Hampton Institute, 1962; M.S., applied mathematics,
Virginia State College, 1967; D.Sc, engineering, George Washington University, 1983
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1962-1965; research assistant,
physics, Virginia State College, 1965-1966, instructor, mathematics, 1966-1967;
data analyst, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Langley
Research Center, 1967-1973; aerospace engineer, NASA, 1973-1989; leader,
Sonic Boom Team, NASA, 1989-1994; deputy program manager, high speed
research, NASA/Langley Research Center, 1994-1999; senior project engineer,
Advanced Vehicles Division, 1999-2001; director, Aeroperforming Program,
2002-2003; director, Office of Communication and Education, NASA, 2004-2007
Concurrent Positions: management trainee, Senior Executive Career Develop-
ment Fellowship, Simmons College, Boston, 1994-1995
Christine Darden is recognized as an expert on the effects of sonic booms or shock
waves and the creator of a computer software program that is used across the
United States for simulating a sonic boom in a wind tunnel. Other engineers at
NASA were building models of aircraft to test them in wind tunnels, but Darden's
computer program simulated the sound wave with the same results. The computer
program was less expensive and more efficient, and Darden was promoted to
leader of the Sonic Boom Team. One area of her research was to redesign the
supersonic transport (SST) airplane to change the shape of the wing and to blunt
the nose to minimize the sonic boom. Later, the federal government decided not
Daubechies, Ingrid | 329
to invest in the SST because of its expense, but the NASA project continued
because military aircraft sometimes reach supersonic speeds as they fly across
populated areas. U.S. federal regulations specify that the Concorde, built by the
French and the British, cannot reach supersonic speeds in populated areas, so those
planes do not fly in the United States because of the financial considerations of
flying at lower speeds. Darden also led research into the environmental impact of
supersonic flights, such as the effect on the ozone layer of the atmosphere.
Darden's early interest in mathematics led her to teach high school math and then
to studying math and physics in graduate school. She studied mathematics at the his-
torically black Hampton Institute and, at Virginia State College, secured a research
assistantship in the physics department on a project analyzing air quality and deter-
mining the presence of specific kinds of pollutants. After receiving her master's
degree, she obtained a job at NASA as a data analyst doing very routine calculations
for the engineers. As the research became more computer-oriented, she wrote soft-
ware programs for the engineers and started taking doctorate-level classes in both
mathematics and engineering science. After successfully completing a difficult fluid
mechanics course, she enrolled in the engineering program at George Washington
University, where she received her Ph.D. in 1983. At the time, there were few black
men and very few women of any race in engineering.
Darden is a member of the National Technical Association (NTA) and the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Her awards and honors include the
A. T. Weathers Technical Achievement Award of the NTA (1985), the Candace
Award for Science and Technology of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women
(1987), and being named Black Engineer of the Year in Government by the Mobil Oil
Council of Engineering Deans (1988). She also received NASA Certificates of
Outstanding Performance from the Langley Research Center in 1989, 1991, and
1992. Darden is active in her church community and was ordained as an elder in
the Presbyterian church in 1980.
Further Resources
Warren, Wini. 1999. Black Women Scientists in the United States. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
Daubechies, Ingrid
b. 1954
Mathematician
Education: B.S., physics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, 1975, Ph.D., physics,
1980
330 | Daubechies, Ingrid
Professional Experience: research
assistant, theoretical physics, Vrije
Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, 1975-
1984, research professor, 1984-1987;
technical staff member, Mathematics
Research Center, AT&T Bell Labora-
tories, 1987-1994; professor, math-
ematics and Program in Applied and
Computational Mathematics, Prince-
ton University, 1994-2004, director,
Program in Applied and Computa-
tional Mathematics, 1997-2001,
William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor,
Princeton University, 2004-
Concurrent Positions: visiting pro-
fessor, University of Michigan, 1990;
professor, mathematics, Rutgers Uni-
versity, 1991-1993
Mathematician Ingrid Daubechies. (Princeton
University, Office of Communications, Brian
Wilson)
Ingrid Daubechies is an applied math-
ematician and theoretical physicist
who specializes in time-frequency
analysis and the construction of wavelets, which are used for data compression in
applications such as digital image processing. Daubechies was born in Belgium
and received her doctorate in physics from Vrije Universiteit (Free University)
Brussels in 1980. She remained on as a researcher and faculty member in theoretical
physics at Free University until relocating to the United States for a position with
AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1987. She joined the faculty of mathematics at Princeton
University in 1994 and served as director of the Program in Applied and Computa-
tional Mathematics for four years.
Daubechies was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1998 and is a
fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Electri-
cal and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Foreign Member of the Royal Netherlands
Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the American Mathematical
Society, Mathematical Association of America, and Society for Industrial and
Applied Mathematics. She was named the Josiah Willard Gibbs Lecturer of the
American Mathematical Society (2005) and was the prestigious Emmy Noether
Lecturer (2006). She has received numerous other honors and awards for her work,
including a five-year Mac Arthur Foundation "genius" grant (1992-1997) and the
Davis, Margaret Bryan | 331
American Mathematical Society Steele Prize for Exposition (1994) for her book
Ten Lectures on Wavelets. She also received the Louis Empain Prize for Physics
for a young Belgian scientist (1984), the American Mathematical Society Ruth
Lyttle Satter Prize in Mathematics (1997), the International Society for Optical
Engineering Recognition of Outstanding Achievement (1998), the IEEE Informa-
tion Theory Society Golden Jubilee Award for Technological Innovation (1998),
the Eduard Rhein Foundation Basic Research Award (2000), the Gold Medal
(Gouden Penning) of the Flemish Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, Belgium
(2005), and the Pioneer Prize from the International Council for Industrial and
Applied Mathematics (2008; co-recipient). In 2000 she was the first woman to
receive the National Academy of Sciences Award in Mathematics. She has
received honorary doctorates from universities in Belgium, Switzerland, France,
and Italy.
Further Resources
Case, Bettye Anne and Anne Leggett, eds. 2005. Complexities: Women in Mathematics.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Agnes Scott College. "Ingrid Daubechies." Biographies of Women Mathematicians, http://
www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/daub.htm.
Princeton University. Faculty website, http://www.pacm.princeton.edu/~ingrid/.
Davis, Margaret Bryan
b. 1931
Paleoecologist, Palynologist, Ecologist
Education: B.A., Radcliffe College, 1953; Ph.D., biology, Harvard University,
1957
Professional Experience: fellow, biology, Harvard University, 1957-1958;
fellow, geoscience, California Institute of Technology, 1959-1960; research
fellow, zoology, Yale University, 1960-1961; research associate, botany, Univer-
sity of Michigan, 1961-1964, associate research biologist, Great Lakes Research
Division, 1964-1970, associate professor, zoology, 1966-1970, research biologist,
Great Lakes Research Division and professor, zoology, 1970-1973; professor,
biology, Yale University, 1973-1976; professor, ecology and head, Department
of Ecology and Behavioral Biology, University of Minnesota, 1976-1981, professor,
1981-1983, Regents Professor, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, 1983-
332 | Davis, Margaret Bryan
Paleoecologist, palynologist and ecologist,
Margaret Bryan Davis. (Courtesy of the
University of Minnesota)
Margaret Davis is a distinguished pale-
oecologist who is renowned for her
analysis of ancient pollen to determine
trends in plant growth and migration.
Palynology is the study of pollen from
ancient plants, and as an undergraduate
at Radcliffe, she took a course on
paleobotany and became intrigued by
the vegetational history of the late
Quaternary period, some 10,000 years
ago. She believed that the best method
to understand and interpret the history
of ancient plant life is to understand
the physiology and ecology of flora (or
plants) rather than just the stratigraphic
interpretation of pollen records. She
received a Fulbright fellowship to study
in Greenland, where she recorded plant
pollen deposited during the interglacial
period.
Davis later focused on geology and studied the relationship between pollen in
lake sediments and vegetation composition in order to enhance the precision of
pollen records for describing past vegetation. In 1963, she attracted international
attention with a paper published in the American Journal of Science on her theory
of pollen analysis. Davis also compiled maps for eastern North America depicting
the migration of various species of trees during the past 14,000 years. Her maps
indicate that the temperate-forest trees moved at different rates and in different
directions. Her work has implications for the current debate over global warming,
and she predicted in 1989 that, in the next 100 years, sugar maple trees will disap-
pear across the southern edge of their current range in the middle of the country
and will shift eastward in Minnesota. Beech trees will disappear from the United
States except in northernmost Maine, and scattered blocks of growth will open
up in Canada.
Davis was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1982.
She has also served on numerous committees, such as on the International Union
of Quaternary Research of the National Academy of Sciences and the National
Research Council (1966-), as a delegate of the National Academy of Sciences to
the International Union of Quaternary Research Congress (1969, 1973, 1977,
and 1982), and as a member of the advisory panel for geological records of global
changes of the National Science Foundation (198 1— ). She is a fellow of the
Davis, Ruth Margaret | 333
Geological Society of America and of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science. She is a member of the American Quaternary Association
(president, 1978-1980), American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Eco-
logical Society of America (president, 1987-1988), and International Society for
Vegetative Science. In 1993, she was awarded the Nevada Medal for "unlocking
the history of environmental change and using it to understand present and future
shifts in plant and animal communities."
Further Resources
University of Minnesota. Faculty website, http://www.cbs.umn.edu/eeb/faculty/
DavisMargaret/.
Davis, Ruth Margaret
b. 1928
Computer Scientist, Mathematician
Education: B.A., American University, 1950; M.A., University of Maryland,
1952, Ph.D., mathematics, 1955
Professional Experience: mathematician, U.S. National Bureau of Standards,
1950; research associate, Institute of Fluid Dynamics and Applied Mathematics,
University of Maryland, 1952-1955; mathematician, David Taylor Model
Basin, 1955-1958, head, Operations Research Division, 1957-1961; staff assistant,
Office of the Special Assistant for Intelligence and Reconnaissance, Office of the
Director of Defense Research and Engineering, U.S. Department of Defense,
1961-1967; associate director, Research and Development, National Library of
Medicine, 1967-1968; director, Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Com-
munications, 1968-1970; director, Center for Computer Science and Technology,
National Bureau of Standards, 1970-1972; director, Institute for Computer Science
and Technology, 1972-1977; Deputy to Secretary of Defense for Research and
Engineering, U.S. Department of Defense, 1977-1979; Assistant Secretary for
Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, 1979-1981; founder, president, and CEO,
Pymatuning Group, Inc., 1981—
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, University of Maryland, 1955-1956 and American
University, 1957-1958; consultant, Office of Naval Research, 1957-1958; adjunct
professor, engineering, University of Pittsburgh, 1981-
Ruth Davis is a pioneer in computer science who is credited with programming
three of the first digital computers— SE AC, ORDVAC, and UNIVAC I. She is also
334 | DeFries, Ruth
responsible for securing worldwide acceptance of a data encryption standard, ena-
bling the United States to become a leader in robotics, and implementing a medi-
cal literature retrieval system and a satellite hookup to link the sick in remote
Alaska with doctors in the outside world. Her first two jobs involved working for
the U.S. Navy in developing the first computer programs for nuclear reactor
design. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she worked for the National
Bureau of Standards before returning to school to complete her master's degree.
Davis has since had a productive career working primarily in U.S. government
positions before establishing her own company.
Davis was later employed in the Office of the Director of Defense Research and
Engineering, and then did pioneering research in information technology and
indexing of medical articles for the National Library of Medicine between 1967
and 1970. Davis was appointed director of the Institute of Computer Science and
Technology at the National Bureau of Standards, where she developed standards
for data encryption, or coding of data for computing. Working for the Department
of Defense, she was involved in early work on robotics between 1977 and 1979.
She concluded her government work as assistant secretary of resource applications
for the Department of Energy. In 1981, she founded her own consulting firm,
Pymatuning Group, Inc., in Virginia.
Davis was the second woman to receive the "Man of the Year" award from the
Data Processing Management Association (1966) — the first was the computer
pioneer Grace Murray Hopper. Davis was elected to membership in the National
Academy of Engineering in 1976. She has been a member of the board of directors
of several companies, and received the Gold Medal of the Department of Commerce
(1972), the Rockefeller Public Service Award for Professional Accomplishment
and Leadership (1973), the National Civil Service League Award (1976), and the
Ada Augusta Lovelace Award in Computer Science (1984). She is a fellow of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Society for Information Display. She is a member
of the American Mathematical Society, Mathematical Association of America,
Council on Library Resources, and National Academy of Public Administration.
DeFries, Ruth
b. 1957
Environmental Geographer
Education: B.A., earth sciences, Washington University, 1976; Ph.D., geography
and environmental engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 1980
DeFries, Ruth | 335
Professional Experience: hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 1979-1980;
research associate, Environmental Science and Engineering Group, Indian
Institute of Technology, Bombay, India, 1981-1983; senior project officer,
Committee on Global Change, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.,
1983-1992; associate research scientist, geography, University of Maryland,
College Park, 1992-1999, associate professor, geography and Earth System Science
Center, 1999-2005, professor, 2005-2008; Denning Professor of Sustainable
Development, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology,
Columbia University, 2008-
Concurrent Positions: visiting scientist, Carnegie Institution, Department of
Plant Biology, Palo Alto, California, 1998
Ruth DeFries is an environmental geographer whose research focuses on how
human activities impact the Earth's landscape, ecosystems, and biodiversity, and
on the habitability of the Earth. She has written dozens of papers and book chap-
ters on topics related to the environmental consequences of human land use, agri-
cultural food production, urbanization, and carbon emissions, including habitat
loss, deforestation, and climate change. She has used satellite images to make
global scientific observations that can impact policy decisions. DeFries studied
earth sciences as an undergraduate and received her doctorate in geography and
environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1980. She spent
two years at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay and worked for the
U.S. National Research Council before joining the faculty at the University of
Maryland in 1992. She held joint appointments in geography and the Earth System
Science Interdisciplinary Center at the University of Maryland until 2008, and
moved to Columbia University as professor of ecology, evolution, and environ-
mental biology.
DeFries has been a member of several government advisory boards, including the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Strategic Planning Com-
mittee for Terrestrial Ecology Program (since 2001), the NASA Science Team for
Land Use and Land Cover Change (since 1996), the Committee on Geography,
Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, for the National Research Council
(2001-2003), the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Center for Ecological
Analysis and Synthesis (2001-2004), and a member of the International Satellite
Land Surface Climatology Project (since 1999). She is also a fellow of the Aldo
Leopold Leadership Program of the Ecological Society of America.
DeFries was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2006. She is the
recipient of a Performance Award of the National Research Council Commission
on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources (1990), and in 2007 received a pres-
tigious MacArthur "genius grant," a five-year $500,000 fellowship.
336 | De Laguna, Frederica Annis
Further Resources
University of Maryland. Faculty website. http://www.geog.umd.edu/people/DeFries.html.
Columbia University. Faculty website, http://www.columbia.edu/~rd2402/.
De Laguna, Frederica Annis
1906 2004
Archaeologist, Anthropologist
Education: B.A., Bryn Mawr College, 1927; Ph.D., anthropology, Columbia
University, 1933
Professional Experience: assistant and research associate, American section,
University of Pennsylvania Museum, 1931-1935; associate soil conservationist,
Pima Reservation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1935-1936; lecturer, Bryn
Mawr College, 1938-1941, assistant professor to professor, 1941-1975
Concurrent Positions: Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve, 1942-1945
Frederica de Laguna was an archaeologist and anthropologist who led the first sur-
vey of the Pacific Eskimo cultures. Both of her parents were philosophy teachers at
Bryn Mawr, where she received her undergraduate degree. She went on to study
under prominent pioneer of modern anthropology Franz Boas at Columbia Univer-
sity, who encouraged her to study Arctic cultures. De Laguna received a European
study fellowship from Bryn Mawr, studying in England and France before joining
a six-month-long Danish expedition to Greenland in 1929 as an assistant in
Eskimo archaeology, the first archaeological excavation of Greenland. De Laguna
was part of the team that discovered a previously unknown Norse culture, the
Inugsuk. She published The Archaeology of Cook Inlet, Alaska in 1934; it was
deemed still relevant and reprinted more than 40 years later by the Alaska Historical
Society. Among her other works is her three- volume masterpiece, Under Mount
Saint Elias: The History and Culture of the Yakutat Tlingit (1972), also the subject
of a 1997 documentary film, Reunion Under Mount Saint Elias. She later published
a memoir of her first expedition, Voyage to Greenland (1977).
De Laguna never married and, feeling she had to choose between her work and
having a family, devoted herself to her career. Throughout the 1930s, she led
anthropological expeditions to Alaska and the Yukon, primarily for the University
of Pennsylvania Museum, as a research associate and expert on Eskimo and Pale-
olithic art. She completed her Ph.D. at Columbia in 1933 and joined the faculty of
Bryn Mawr College in 1938, where she established the Anthropology Department
Delgado, Jane L. | 337
and spent the remainder of her career. She rose through the ranks to full professor
and secured funding for her work through grants from the Rockefeller Foundation,
the Viking Fund, Inc., and the Danish government, among other sources. She
served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1942 to 1945.
Her experience as an American in the Arctic region was invaluable during World
War II, since most exploration had been conducted by the Danes and Norwegians.
When Greenland and Alaska became strategic points in protecting mainland North
America, her data and observations were used by the American and Canadian
armed forces.
She was one of the first fellows of the Arctic Institute of North America, served
as president of the American Anthropological Association (1967), and was elected
to membership in the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1975, the same year
as Margaret Mead. De Laguna and Mead were among the first generation of
women to engage in professional field archaeology and were the first women
anthropologists appointed to the NAS. When the federal government passed the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990), de Laguna was
among those who saw the legislation, intended to protect burial sites and the rights
of ancestors to cultural artifacts and human remains, as a setback for science. De
Laguna also published mystery novels with anthropological themes.
Further Resources
Bryn Mawr Now. "Founder of BMC Anthropology Department Dies at 98." (21 October
2004). http://www.brynmawr.edu/news/2004-10-21/delaguna.shtml.
Gacs, Ute et al. 1988. Women Anthropologists: Selected Biographies. Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press.
Delgado, Jane L.
b. 1953
Psychologist
Education: B.A., State University of New York at New Paltz, 1973; M.A.,
psychology, New York University, 1975; M.S., urban policy and sciences,
W. Averell Harriman School, 1981; Ph.D., psychology, State University of New
York at Stony Brook, 1981
Professional Experience: clinical psychologist and children's talent coordinator,
Children's Television Workshop, New York, 1973-1975; research assistant, State
University of New York at Stony Brook, 1975-1979; staff member, Board of Co-
operative Educational Services, Westbury, NY, 1977-1979; social science analyst,
338 | Delgado, Jane L.
Psychologist Jane L. Delgado has been
president and chief executive officer of the
National Alliance for Hispanic Health since
1985. (AP/Wide World Photos)
U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, 1979-1983, health
policy advisor, 1983-1985; president
and CEO, National Alliance for
Hispanic Health, 1985-
Concurrent Positions: psychologist,
private practice, 1979-
Jane Delgado is the president and
chief executive officer of the only
national organization that focuses on
the improvement of health and human
services for the nation's Hispanic
population. The National Coalition
of Hispanic Health and Human
Services Organizations (now known
as the National Alliance for Hispanic
Health) was founded in 1985.
Delgado oversaw the first national
outreach program to educate and
inform Hispanics about AIDS and
brought women's health and environ-
mental health issues to the forefront of the organization. She is often called upon
by Congress to provide the latest health statistics on Hispanics. In conjunction
with the National Hispanic Women's Health Initiative, she published the first com-
prehensive health book by and about Latinas, jSalud! A Latina's Guide to Total
Health — Body, Mind, and Spirit (1997, rev. ed. 2002), available in both English
and Spanish.
Delgado's family emigrated from Cuba to New York when she was just two years
old. Although she had little knowledge of English when she entered kindergarten,
she learned quickly and accelerated her studies, graduating from college by age 19.
She began a master's degree program at New York University in social and person-
ality psychology, and financed her studies by working as the children's talent
coordinator for the television show Sesame Street. In this position, she developed a
test to determine which children had good television personalities and initiated
a movement to include handicapped children on the show. While in graduate school,
she also worked as an instructor and consultant providing psychological and educa-
tional services for bilingual children, their parents, teachers, and school officials. She
directed a three-year study focusing on language development as a predictor of
Delmer, Deborah | 339
learning disabilities in children, simultaneously earning a doctorate in clinical
psychology and a master's degree in urban policy and sciences.
Delgado went on to a position with the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, where she managed projects concerning Hispanics, black colleges, and
undocumented workers, and gained experience advising on health policy issues
and dealing with officials at the federal, state, and local levels. She brought this
experience to her later position as president of the National Alliance for Hispanic
Health, a group founded by health professionals concerned about the healthcare
issues, costs, and insurance needs of more than 45 million Hispanic Americans
in the United States and Puerto Rico. Delgado has also served as advisor for
numerous committees and community organizations, especially related to patient
and consumer rights and safety. She was a member of the National Advisory
Council for Mrs. Rosalyn Carter's Task Force on Mental Health, Robert Wood
Johnson's National Advisory Committee on Hospice and Palliative Care, and the
Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act Advisory Council. She has
received many awards and honors, including the Surgeon General's Award
(1992), the Community Leadership Award of the Puerto Rican Family Institute
(1996), and the Florence Kelley Consumer Leadership Award of the National
Consumer League (2003).
Further Resources
National Alliance for Hispanic Health, http://www.hispanichealth.org/.
Delmer, Deborah
b. 1941
Plant Biologist
Education: B.A., bacteriology, Indiana University, 1963; Ph.D., cellular biology,
University of California, San Diego, 1968
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, University of California,
San Diego, and University of Colorado, Boulder, 1968-1974; assistant to associate
professor, Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, 1974-1982;
principal scientist, ARCO Plant Cell Research Institute, California, 1982-1986;
professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1987-1997; professor, plant biology,
University of California, Davis, 1997-2001 ; Associate Director for Food Security,
340 | Delmer, Deborah
Rockefeller Foundation, New York City, 2002-2007; program director, BREAD,
2009-
Deborah Delmer is a plant biologist and biochemist whose research has been
applied to agricultural and crop improvement related to international develop-
ment. She was a science and policy advisor on food security at the Rockefeller
Foundation, where she researched and advised on issues facing African farmers,
such as poor soil quality, drought, pests, and plant diseases, and supported crop
improvement initiatives specific to the developing world. Before joining the Rock-
efeller Foundation and working on grant and policy issues in global agriculture,
she had a long career in research and academia and taught at Michigan State Uni-
versity, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and the University of California, Davis.
Her primary research was in cellular biology and plant biochemistry.
Delmer studied microbiology and bacteriology as an undergraduate at Indiana
University and went on to graduate study in marine biology at Scripps Institution
of Oceanography in California. She decided against marine biology and ocean
travel after becoming seasick and switched to the biology program at the Univer-
sity of California, San Diego. She worked with a professor on a plant tissue culture
project and became interested in plant biochemistry, receiving her Ph.D. in cellular
biology in 1968. She held postdoctoral fellowships at UCSD and at the University
of Colorado, Boulder before joining the faculty at Michigan State University's
Plant Research Laboratory in 1974, where her research focused on how plants syn-
thesize cellulose. She began working on a project in developing world agriculture
that resulted in a major move to Jerusalem in 1987 to accept a position at Hebrew
University. She spent 10 years in Jerusalem before returning to the United States
and a position at the University of California, Davis. She left academia to join
the Rockefeller Foundation. She retired from her Rockefeller position in 2007
and continues to consult on issues related to developing world agriculture, includ-
ing as program director for BREAD (Basic Research to Enable Agricultural
Development), a project funded by the National Science Foundation and the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation to support small farmers in the developing world.
Delmer was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2004. She is a
member of the American Society of Plant Biologists (president, 1999-2000).
She received the Anselme Payen Award from the American Chemical Society
(2004).
Further Resources
Zagorski, Nick. 2005. "Profile of Deborah P. Delmer." Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences. 102(44): 15736 15738. (1 November 2005). http://www.pnas.org/cgi/
content/fuU/102/44/15736.
De Planque, E. Gail | 341
De Planque, E. Gail
b. 1945
Physicist
Education: B.A., mathematics, Immaculata College, 1967; M.S., Newark College
of Engineering, 1973; Ph.D., physics, New York University, 1983
Professional Experience: physicist, Atomic Energy Commission, 1967-1982;
deputy director, Environmental Measurements Laboratory, U.S. Department of
Energy, 1982-1987, director, 1987-1991; member, Nuclear Regulatory Commis-
sion, 1991-1995; consultant, 1995-
Concurrent Positions: chair, American National Standards Institute, Health Physics
Society, 1973-1975, 1980-; co-chair, Committee for International Intercomparison
of Environmental Dosimeters, 1974-; U.S. expert delegate, international committee
for Development of an International Standard on Thermoluminescence Dosimetry,
ca. 1977
Gail De Planque is a renowned expert on radiation, problems of radiation protection,
environmental radiation, and nuclear facilities monitoring. After receiving her
undergraduate degree in mathematics, de Planque obtained a position as a research
physicist with the Radiation Physics Division of what is now the Department of
Energy. She was appointed deputy director in 1982 of the Environmental Measure-
ments Laboratory and director in 1987. The Environmental Measurements Labora-
tory is a direct descendant of the Manhattan Project and is particularly famous for
its long-standing global radiation fallout programs as well as research on radiation
dosimetry, radon, and radiation problems associated with nuclear facilities and
weapons testing. As director, she was responsible for the guidance, direction, and
management of the programs, activities, budget, and administrative functions of
the laboratory. She currently works as an independent consultant.
In 1997, de Planque was selected to chair the planning committee for a series of
conferences to encourage women to become engineers. The project, called Celebra-
tion of Women in Engineering, included establishing an educational outreach
website called EngineerGirl to encourage engineering as a career choice for young
women, and organizing a 1999 conference on the status of women in engineering.
According to NAE data, only 9% of engineers are women, even though women
receive as many as 20% of undergraduate engineering degrees. Her other profes-
sional activities have included extensive participation in standards management
and development both nationally and internationally. She is a member of the
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements and was chair of an
International Atomic Energy Agency international advisory committee to study the
342 | Densen-Gerber, Judianne
radiological situation on the Mururoa and Fangataufa Atolls, the site of French
nuclear weapons testing in the South Pacific. She was the U.S. expert delegate to a
standards committee to develop an international standard on thermoluminescence
dosimetry and a member of the visiting committee for the Department of Advanced
Technology of the Brookhaven National Laboratory. She has served on the editorial
board of Radiation Protection Dosimetry and on the scientific advisory and editorial
committees of the series International Conferences on Solid-State Dosimetry.
De Planque was elected a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for
the term 1991-1995 and elected to membership in the National Academy of Engi-
neering in 1995. She was elected a fellow of the American Nuclear Society and is
a member of the American Physical Society, Association of Women in Science,
Health Physics Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence. In 2003, she received the Henry DeWolf Smyth Statesman Award of the
Nuclear Energy Institute, and in 2004, she was inducted into the Women in Tech-
nology International (WITI) Hall of Fame.
Further Resources
EngineerGirl. http://www.engineergirl.org/.
Women in Technology International Hall of Fame. "Honorable E. Gail de Planque, Ph.D."
http://www.witi.com/center/witimuseum/halloffame/2004/gdeplanque.php.
Densen-Gerber, Judianne
1934 2003
Psychiatrist, Physician
Education: B.A., Bryn Mawr College, 1956; L.L.B., Columbia University, 1959,
J.D., 1969; M.D., New York University, 1963
Professional Experience: psychiatric resident, Bellevue Hospital, New York City,
1964-1965, Metropolitan Hospital, 1965-1967; staff member, Addiction Services
Agency, 1966-1967; founder, Odyssey House, 1966, researcher and clinical direc-
tor, 1967-1969, executive director, 1967-1983
Judianne Densen-Gerber was a psychiatrist known for her pioneering work in
drug rehabilitation. She was also a practicing lawyer and an activist who took up
serious social and legal issues, such as child pornography. She received her law
degree with the intention of combining it with a medical degree so she could teach
medical jurisprudence. However, when her second child died a week after birth,
the resulting acute mental stress impelled her to change to psychiatry. She was in
DeWitt-Morette, Cecile Andree Paule | 343
her residency at Metropolitan Hospital in the mid-1960s and pregnant with her
third child when she was working in the drug research unit. When some of her
patients decided they wanted to quit using an experimental heroin substitute, the
hospital administrators feared their research might be jeopardized and removed
her from the drug addiction ward. Later, the patients asked her to continue to help
them become drug-free, and she founded Odyssey House.
Densen-Gerber theorized that the root cause of drug addiction was psychological,
stemming from the individual's sense of hopelessness and lack of self-confidence,
and could be addressed in group therapy. Although the communal rehabilitation set-
ting, and preparing the individual to return to normal life, is now standard treatment,
it was controversial in the 1960s and subject to a great deal of criticism. When the
New York State Department of Social Welfare would not allow Odyssey House to
admit anyone under the age of 16, Densen-Gerber pointed out the large number of
teenagers who died from heroin overdoses and launched a local and national cam-
paign to obtain funding for a separate juvenile program, which she established in
1971. She continued to receive criticism and harassment from city officials, how-
ever, and resigned as head of Odyssey House in 1983. She continued to work as a
visiting physician, adjunct professor of law, and consultant.
Densen-Gerber embraced other controversial causes as well. Her work with
juvenile addicts drew her attention to the needs of sexually abused children, and
she helped write the federal legislation that created the National Center on Child
Abuse and Neglect in 1973. She testified on the problem of child pornography
before Congress, and also proposed the legalization of marijuana to enable author-
ities to concentrate on more serious problems, such as heroin addiction. She sup-
ported legalization of prostitution for the protection of the women involved. She
authored or co-authored several books, including Drugs, Sex, Parents, and You
(1972), Child Abuse and Neglect as Related to Parental Drug Abuse and Other
Antisocial Behavior (1978), Walk in My Shoes: An Odyssey into Womanlife
(1976), and We Mainline Dreams: The Odyssey House Story (1973). She was a
member of the American Medical Association, Society of Medical Jurisprudence,
and American Psychiatric Association.
DeWitt-Morette, Cecile Andree Paule
b. 1922
Theoretical Physicist
Education: licence es sciences, University of Caen, 1943; diploma, University of
Paris, 1944, Ph.D., theoretical physics, 1947
344 | DeWitt-Morette, Cecile Andree Paule
Professional Experience: member, Institute for Advanced Studies, Ireland,
1946-1947; member, University Institute for Theoretical Physics, Copenhagen,
1947-1948; member, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, 1948-1950;
teacher and researcher, Institut Henri Poincare, France, 1950-1951; research
associate and lecturer, University of California, Berkeley, 1952-1955; visiting
research professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1956-1967, direc-
tor, Institute of Field Physics, 1958-1966, lecturer, physics, 1967-1971; professor,
astronomy, University of Texas, Austin, 1972-1983, professor, physics,
1983-1993, Jane and Roland Blumberg Centennial Professor of Physics, 1993-,
professor emerita
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, Centro de Pesquisa Fisicas, Rio de
Janeiro, 1949; director and founder, Summer School of Theoretical Physics, Les
Houches, France, 1951-1972; visiting professor: Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore, 1977; Z.I.F. Universitat Bielefeld, 1984; Imperial College, London,
1985; University of Warwick, 1985; Universidade da Madeira, 1991
Cecile DeWitt-Morette is an internationally renowned theoretical physicist whose
research includes the theory of field elementary particles, mathematical physics,
and gravitation. She updated and stabilized physics education in France by found-
ing a summer school of theoretical physics beginning in 1951 with a distinguished
and international team of lecturers. L'Ecole de Physique des Houches has been the
model for similar programs initiated, with her assistance, in Varenna, Italy, and in
the United States as the Battelle Rencontres in Seattle.
She was born in France and was attending college during the World War II
German occupation of France. She studied physics, first at the University of Caen
and then at the University of Paris, where she worked in a laboratory directed by
Nobel Prize recipients Frederic Joliot and Irene Joliot-Curie. With the assistance
of the Joliots and the Allied military authorities, she went to study in England in
1946, and then spent a year in Ireland. After receiving her doctorate from the Uni-
versity of Paris, she became a member of the University Institute for Theoretical
Physics in Copenhagen for a year, and then was invited to the Institute for
Advanced Study at Princeton for two years. In these assignments, she was able
to meet and learn from most of the top theoretical physicists in the world at that
time, including Richard P. Feynman. Also at Princeton she met her future husband,
fellow physicist Bryce S. DeWitt, and they were married in 1951. That same
year, she received funding from the French Ministry of Education to start
the summer school of theoretical physics in the city of Les Houches, which she
directed until 1972.
She and her husband obtained positions at the University of California, Berkeley
and then the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Anti-nepotism rules
Diamond, Marian Cleeves | 345
prevented her from obtaining a tenured position even though she had an international
reputation and had been a director of a science institute. In 1972, the couple moved
to the University of Texas, Austin, where they both were given tenured positions as
full professors. Cecile was initially assigned to the astronomy department owing to
fears of nepotism, but the couple continued to collaborate on research and, in
1983, she moved to the physics department.
Dewitt-Morette authored or co-authored several papers and important textbooks
on the interplay between physics and mathematics. She received from the French
government the Chevalier Ordre National Du Merite (1981) for establishing Les
Houches, and she has also received the L' Ordre des Palmes Academiques (1991)
and the Prix du Rayonnement Francais (1992). She was elected a fellow of the
American Physical Society, and she is a member of the European Physical Society.
Diamond, Marian Cleeves
b. 1926
Neuroscientist
Education: B.A., biology, University of California, Berkeley, 1948; Certificate of
Courses, University of Oslo, Norway, 1948; M.A., University of California,
Berkeley, 1949, Ph.D., anatomy, 1953
Professional Experience: research assistant, Harvard University, 1952-1953;
instructor, Cornell University, 1955-1958; lecturer, gross anatomy and neuroanat-
omy, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, 1958-1960;
lecturer, University of California, Berkeley, 1960-1965, assistant professor,
anatomy and neuroanatomy, 1965-1974, professor, 1974-
Concurrent Positions: assistant to associate dean, College of Letters and Science,
University of California, Berkeley, 1967-1972; director, Lawrence Hall of Sci-
ence, University of California, Berkeley, 1990-1996; Governor's Board, Rand
Graduate School, 1985-1996
Marian Cleeves Diamond is a neuroscientist who studies physical changes in the
cerebral cortex area of the brain. She has shown how the cerebral cortex can be
changed, positively or negatively, depending on emotions or mental state and on
environmental conditions such as diet, exercise, and age. Her research has also
shown that, while there are some structural differences between the male and
female brains, the individual cortex can be altered and so is not fixed according
to sex. Diamond is an affiliated faculty member with both the University of
346 | Diamond, Marian Cleeves
Berkeley and the University of San Francisco. Her privately funded project,
Enrichment in Action, combines her neurological research with a humanitarian
educational project at a Cambodian orphanage where she and her colleagues are
attempting to improve the children's brain health and future prospects through
dietary changes and physical and mental exercise. She has been an invited lecturer
at institutions around the world and is the author of over 150 scientific papers and
several books, including Magic Trees of the Mind: How to Nurture Your Child's
Intelligence (1999).
Diamond was born in Glendale, California. Her father was a physician, and she
remembers seeing a human brain for the first time in a hospital laboratory when
she was still in high school. She attended a local community college, where she
first took an anatomy course, before transferring to the University of California,
Berkeley, where she completed both her undergraduate and graduate education.
She studied neuroanatomy with students enrolled in the medical program and
earned a master's degree in anatomy with a study on pain patterns and sensations.
In 1953, she was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in anatomy at Berkeley.
Although she spent a few years on the East Coast, at Harvard (where her husband,
a nuclear chemist, had an appointment) and as an instructor at Cornell University
in New York, she returned to California as a lecturer at the University of California,
San Francisco medical school and then returning to Berkeley as a lecturer in 1960.
Between 1953 and 1962, she also gave birth to four children, the first of these the
same month she received her doctorate. She took a tenure-track position in anatomy
and neuroanatomy at Berkeley and advanced to full professor by 1974, where she
remains on the faculty of the Department of Integrative Biology. In the 1990s,
she spent five years as director of the Lawrence Hall of Science at Berkeley, where
she developed exhibits about brains for the public.
Diamond is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence and the California Academy of Sciences, and was named Alumna of the Year
from the California Alumni Association. She has received numerous awards for
her teaching, including California Professor of the Year by the Council for
Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). She was named a Distinguished
Senior Woman Scholar by the American Association of University Women, and
has received the California Biomedical Research Association Distinguished
Service Award, a University Medal of La Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo,
Venezuela, a Brazilian Gold Medal of Honor, and the Benjamin Ide Wheeler
Service Award.
Further Resources
University of California, Berkeley. Faculty website, http://ib.berkeley.edu/research/interests/
research profile.php?person=57.
Dicciani, Nance Katherine | 347
Squire, Larry R., ed. 2006. The History of Neuroscience in Autobiography. Vol. 6. Society
for Neuroscience. San Diego, CA: Academic Press (Harcourt).
"Enrichment in Action." http://www.newhorizons.org/neuro/diamond cambodia.htm.
Dicciani, Nance Katherine
b. 1947
Chemical Engineer
Education: B.S., Villanova University, 1969; M.S., University ofVirginia, 1970;
Ph.D., chemical engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 1977, M.B.A., 1986
Professional Experience: superintendent of water treatment, City of Philadelphia,
1972-1974; research engineer, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., 1977-1978,
research manager, 1978-1981, director of research, process systems, 1981-1984,
division director of research and development, 1984-1986, division general
manager, 1986-1988, director of commercial development, 1988-1991; vice
president and business director, Petroleum Chemicals Division, Rohm and
Haas Company, 1991-2002; president and CEO, Specialty Materials Division,
Honeywell, 2002-
Nance Dicciani has been at the forefront of medical engineering research, making
contributions to the application of new technologies in the areas of petrochemi-
cals, energy, chemical processes, wastewater treatment, and catalysis of the pro-
duction of commercially important petrochemicals. While still in graduate
school, she explored new areas of applying chemical engineering to medical imag-
ing; the result was a pioneering effort in developing the ultrasonic scanning devi-
ces that now are used routinely to examine women during pregnancy. As early as
the fifth grade, she planned a career in the sciences, and she pursued an under-
graduate degree in chemical engineering because that allowed her to combine
her love for mathematics with a deep interest in the hard sciences, especially
physics and chemistry. After receiving her master's degree in chemical engineering,
she worked for the Philadelphia Department of Public Works, serving three years
as the city's superintendent of water treatment. She returned to graduate school
at the University of Pennsylvania in the application of chemical engineering to
medical imaging as part of a joint research project by the university, the National
Science Foundation, and the government of the Soviet Union. She later returned
to the University of Pennsylvania to receive an M.B.A. from Wharton Business
School. Her dual background in science and business allowed her to rise rapidly
through the ranks in corporate industry positions. In 2002, she was named
348 | Dick, Gladys Rowena Henry
President and CEO of Specialty Materials at Honeywell, where she oversees pro-
duction of a variety of consumer and industry chemical products.
Dicciani has also actively supported science education by serving as a member of
the chemical engineering advisory boards at both the University of Virginia and the
University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers, and the former vice president of the
Society of Chemical Industry. In 2006, she was appointed to the President's Council
of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) and in 2007 received the Distin-
guished Leadership Award from the American Chemistry Council.
Dick, Gladys Rowena Henry
1881 1963
Microbiologist, Physician
Education: B.S., University of Nebraska, 1900; M.D., Johns Hopkins University,
1907; University of Berlin, 1910
Professional Experience: school teacher, 1900-1901; physician, 1907-1909;
researcher, University of Chicago, 1911-1953
Gladys Dick and her husband, George Dick, were celebrated for their joint research
on the prevention and treatment of scarlet fever. In 1923, they proved that the hemo-
lytic streptococci was the causative agent. They developed the "Dick test," a skin test
to indicate susceptibility to or immunity from scarlet fever. The test involved injec-
tion of a solution into the arm; development of a local redness of the skin indicated
susceptibility. The test also was applied to pregnant women as an indication of their
likelihood of developing puerperal infection. The Dicks were contenders for the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1925, but no prize was awarded that year.
At that time, scarlet fever was endemic to North America and Europe; it struck chil-
dren, causing crippling complications and a mortality rate of up to 25%. The couple
took the unprecedented action of patenting their methods of toxin and antitoxin
preparation in order to protect the quality of the preparations. In the late 1920s, they
won a lengthy lawsuit against one company for patent infringement and improper
toxin manufacture. The antibiotics that were developed during World War II super-
seded the use of their test; however, the significance of their research cannot be over-
looked even today. Gladys later conducted research on polio.
After she received her undergraduate degree in 1900, Gladys spent three years
persuading her mother to allow her to enroll in medical school. She taught high
school biology for one year and enrolled in graduate courses at the University of
Donnay, Gabrielle (Hamburger) | 349
Nebraska. During her internship at
Johns Hopkins, she was involved in
research on experimental cardiac sur-
gery and blood chemistry. She met
her future husband and collaborator
while working at the University of
Chicago. After a short time in private
practice as a physician, she joined her
husband at the McCormick Memorial
Institute for Infectious Diseases. She
and her husband received the Cameron
Prize of the University of Edinburgh in
1933 and the Mickel Prize from the
University of Toronto in 1926. She
was co-author of the book Scarlet
Fever (1938). She received an honorary
degree from the University of Nebraska
in 1925 and from Northwestern Uni-
versity in 1928.
Microbiologist and physician Gladys Dick. In
the 1920s, Dick co-developed a vaccine for
scarlet fever with her husband, George F.
Dick. (National Library of Medicine)
Donnay, Gabrielle (Hamburger)
1 920 1 987
Geologist, Mineralogist
Education: B.A., chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, 1941; Ph.D.,
crystallography, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1949
Professional Experience: laboratory chemist, Massachusetts General Hospital,
Boston, 1944-1945; staff member, Division of Industrial Cooperation, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), 1945-1946; postdoctoral fellow, Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity, 1949-1950; crystallographer, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution
of Washington, 1950-1969; professor, crystallography, Department of Geological
Sciences, McGill University, Canada, 1970-1981
Concurrent Positions: researcher, U.S. Geological Survey, 1952-1955; guest
scientist, Johns Hopkins University
Gabrielle "Gai" Donnay was a geologist and mineralogist and the first woman to
receive a doctorate specifically in crystallography, earning her degree from MIT in
350 | Downey, June Etta
1949 with a thesis on the structure of tourmaline. That same year she married Jose
D. H. Donnay, a professor of crystallography and mineralogy at Johns Hopkins
University with whom she collaborated on dozens of projects and scientific papers
for nearly four decades. The Donnays were internationally renowned crystallogra-
phers and catalogers in the rapidly expanding field of crystallographic research,
publishing two editions of Crystal Data (1954 and 1963) for use by scientists. In
addition to her numerous scientific papers, in 1969 she compiled a history of the first
50 years of the Carnegie Institution program in geology entitled Crystallography:
Fifty Years ofX-Ray Crystallography at the Geophysical Laboratory, 1919-1969.
A mineral, Gaidonnayite, is named for her.
Gai Hamburger was born and received her early education in Germany. She passed
the examinations to attend the University of Oxford but immigrated to the United
States instead, enrolling at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in
1937. She was already interested in the structure of crystals as an undergraduate
and received her bachelor's degree in chemistry with highest honors from UCLA in
1941 . She worked briefly as a blood analyst at Massachusetts General Hospital before
enrolling in graduate study in crystallography at MIT, using photographic methods to
research the structure of minerals and crystal chemistry. Her research career was sub-
sequently divided between U.S. and Canadian institutions. She held a postdoctoral
fellowship at Johns Hopkins, and worked for three years with the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS), but otherwise she spent 20 years as a crystallographer in the
Geophysical Laboratory at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C. She left
Carnegie in 1970, after her husband retired from Johns Hopkins, and spent a decade
as a professor of geological sciences at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She
was a member of the National Committees for Crystallography in both countries
and was the first woman named to the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars (1970).
Further Resources
Martin, Robert F. 1989. "Memorial of Gabrielle Donnay: March 21, 1920 April 4, 1987."
American Mineralogist. 74:491 493. http://74.125. 155. 132/search?q=cache
: VeJYJWWfGLcJ: www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM74/AM74 49 1 .pdf+gabrielle+donnay
&cd= l&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.
Downey, June Etta
1875 1932
Psychologist
Education: B.A., University of Wyoming, 1895; M.A., philosophy and psychology,
University of Chicago, 1898, Ph.D., psychology, 1907
Downey, June Etta | 351
Professional Experience: instructor, English and philosophy, University of
Wyoming, 1898-1905, professor, 1905-1915, professor, philosophy and psychology,
1915-1932
June Downey was the first woman to head a department of psychology in a state
university, and she was honored for her development of one of the earliest scien-
tific personality tests to assess character traits separate from the question of intel-
ligence (popularly tested during her time with IQ tests). She was one of the first
psychologists to approach the question of personality scientifically and her work
earned her international recognition. Among Downey's other interests were crea-
tivity, voluntary and involuntary motor controls, color-blindness, imagery, and
esthetics. She spent her entire career at the University of Wyoming and contributed
to the growth and development of that school and the program in psychology.
During her tenure, she was one of the few faculty members in the school who
had a doctorate and was actively engaged in research. The university had few
graduate students at the time, but she was able to secure the enthusiastic assistance
of undergrads in conducting her research.
Downey studied both psychology and philosophy, but became interested in
experimental procedures in psychology during a summer session spent at Cornell.
She was not associated with a particular school of psychological thought and had a
variety of research interests, but was particularly known for her early work on the
analysis of personality through handwriting, the subject of her doctoral disserta-
tion. Her research involved analysis of automatic phenomena, muscle reading
(or body language), the reading and writing of mirror script, writing under distrac-
tion, the retention of writing skill after lapse of practice, handwriting disguise, and
pen lapses. These studies resulted in development of the Downey Individual Will-
Temperament Test. The test does not result in a total score; the scores are plotted
on a graph, resulting in a "will-profile" for each case. Downey determined that
there were three main personality types: the "hairtrigger" or spontaneous type,
the "willful" or decisive type, and the "accurate" or methodical type. The work
was summarized in her books, Graphology and Psychology of Handwriting
(1919) and The Will-Temperament and Its Testing (1924).
Downey was one of the first women elected to the Society of Experimentalists, a
select group of 50 eminent psychologists. She served on the Council of the American
Psychological Association (1923-1925) and was a fellow of the American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science. In addition to publishing 6 books and nearly
70 scholarly papers, her literary output included numerous short stories, poems,
and plays. Downey came from a pioneer Wyoming family. Her father was one of
the founders of the University of Wyoming and president of the board of regents.
She also wrote the song "Alma Mater" for the university in 1898.
352 | Drake, Elisabeth (Mertz)
Further Resources
Hogan, John D. and Matthew S. Broudy. 2000. "June Etta Downey." The Feminist Psy-
chologist, Newsletter of the Society for the Psychology of Women, Division 35 of the
American Psychological Association. 27(2). (Spring 2000). http://www. psych
.yorku.ca/femhop/June%20Etta%20Downey.htm.
Drake, Elisabeth (Mertz)
b. 1936
Chemical Engineer
Education: B.S., chemical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
1958, D.Sc, chemical engineering, 1966
Professional Experience: staff consultant and engineer, cryogenics and chemical
engineering, Arthur D. Little, Inc., 1958-1980, vice president of technological risk
management, 1980-1982; professor and chair, chemical engineering, Northeastern
University, 1982-1986; vice president and leader, safety, health, and environmental
practice, Arthur D. Little, Inc., 1986-1988; independent consultant, technological
risk management, 1988-1990; associate director of new technologies, Energy
Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1990-2001 (director,
1994-1995), emeritus staff, Laboratory for Energy and the Environment, MIT,
2001-2007, emeritus staff, Energy Initiative, MIT, 2007-
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, chemical engineering, University of California,
Berkeley, 1971; visiting associate professor, chemical engineering, MIT, 1973-
1974
Elisabeth Drake is a chemical engineer who is known for her expertise in safety
standards and other aspects of environmental safety. Very early in her career, in
1972, she invented a fractionation method and apparatus. Fractionation separates a
mixture into ingredients or into portions having different properties, and an appara-
tus of this type is a valuable contribution to the chemical industry. After receiving
her undergraduate degree, she accepted a position at Arthur D. Little, Inc., an
international management and technology consulting firm. Her early work was
involved in cryogenics, which is the branch of physics that deals with very low tem-
peratures. The term "cryogenics" was coined about 1955 or 1960, which means that
she was working on the cutting edge of research and development in this new field.
Drake was promoted to the senior staff after she completed her doctorate. She
switched fields to be manager of risk analysis and then vice president of technical
risk management. Risk management is the technique of assessing, minimizing,
Dreschhoff, Gisela Auguste-Marie | 353
and preventing accidental loss to a business through the use of safety measures,
insurance, and so forth. She accepted a position as chair of the Chemical Engineer-
ing Department at Northeastern University in 1982, then returned to work at
A. D. Little as vice president of technical risk management. She continued to con-
sult for the company after she left in 1990 to join the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology as associate director of new technology in the Energy Laboratory,
becoming director between 1994 and 1995.
She has long been active in committees on safety standards. She was a member
of the Technical Pipeline Safety Standards Committee of the U.S. Department of
Transportation from 1980 to 1985 and a member of the managing board of the
Center for Chemical Process Safety from 1988 to 1990. She has been vice chair
of the committee that reviews and evaluates the U.S. Army's chemical stockpile
disposal program of the National Research Council since 1993.
She was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in
1992. She is a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and a
member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the
American Chemical Society. Her research interests include energy technology,
risk assessment and control of hazardous material, liquefied natural gas technol-
ogy and safety, cryogenic engineering, and risk management.
Dreschhoff, Gisela Auguste-Marie
b. 1938
Radiation Physicist, Geophysicist
Education: B.S., Technical University of Braunschweig, 1961, M.S., 1965, Ph.D.,
physics, 1972
Professional Experience: staff scientist, radiation protection, Physikalisch
Technisch Bundesanstalt, Germany, 1965-1967; research associate, nuclear waste
disposal, Kansas Geological Survey, 1971-1972; deputy director, Radiation
Physics Laboratory, Space Technology Center, University of Kansas, 1972-1984,
co-director, 1984-, adjunct associate professor of geology
Concurrent Positions: visiting assistant professor, physics, University of Kansas,
1972-1974, adjunct assistant professor, 1974-; associate professional manager,
Division of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation, 1978-
Gisela Dreschhoff is a geophysicist whose areas of research include nuclear waste
disposal, reactor radiation protection, and geophysics of the polar regions. She is
354 | Dreschhoff, Gisela Auguste-Marie
renowned for her research in Antarctica to survey for radioactive uranium,
thorium, and potassium. Dreschhoff completed the requirements for her doctorate
while working as a research associate and then as a visiting assistant professor of
physics and astronomy at the University of Kansas. In 1972, she was appointed
deputy director of the Radiation Physics Laboratory at Kansas, where she collabo-
rated for many years with her husband, Edward Zeller, also a geophysicist, for
whom the Zeller Glacier in Antarctica was named (Zeller died in 1996). In 1978,
Dreschhoff was appointed by the National Science Foundation to coordinate and
manage the airborne surveys for the entire geophysics program that the foundation
sponsored there. The project was the start of a general radiometric survey to deter-
mine the distribution of uranium, thorium, and radioactive potassium, if any, and
formulate international policy to govern the future use of resources buried under
the polar ice. The survey was planned to last at least five years, and the team exper-
imented with a new system that combined airborne surveys with on-the-ground
measurements.
After completing her undergraduate training at Braunschweig, Dreschhoff
obtained a position as a staff scientist at Physikalisch Technisch Bundesanstalt in
Germany, where she was involved in safety procedures to be used around nuclear
reactors. In 1965, she was measuring the levels of radioactive fission products in
German air, soil, water, and plants. In 1967, when she attended a conference spon-
sored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, she met an American scientist
from the University of Kansas who was working on the effects of radiation on
solid bodies in space. He had several contracts from the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Air Force and offered her a job.
Because she speaks fluent German as well as English and French, she was a valu-
able participant in international research projects.
Until the late 1960s, American women scientists were not permitted to conduct
research in Antarctica, although women from other countries were permitted to do
so by their respective governments. The reasoning behind the prohibition was that
the only transportation to Antarctica was provided by the U.S. Navy, and that civil-
ian women would not be transported, although there had been a few American
women who had financed their own trips. At one point, she was the only woman
living at a remote base during the research season with 15 other scientists and
an equal number of naval personnel. Dreschhoff is a member of the American
Physical Society, American Geophysical Union, American Polar Society,
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Explorers' Club, and
U.S. Naval Institute.
Further Resources
Land, Barbara. 1981. The New Explorers: Women in Antarctica. New York: Dodd, Mead.
Dresselhaus, Mildred (Spiewak) | 355
Dresselhaus, Mildred (Spiewak)
b. 1930
Solid-State Physicist
Education: B.A., Hunter College, 1951; M.A., Radcliffe College, 1953; Ph.D.,
physics, University of Chicago, 1958
Professional Experience: Fulbright fellow, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge
University, 1951-1952; National Science Foundation fellow, Cornell University,
1958-1960; staff member, Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology (MIT), 1960-1967, Abby Rockefeller Mauze Visiting Professor, electrical
engineering and computer science, 1967-1968, professor, 1968-1973, associate
department head, 1972-1974, Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of Electrical
Engineering, 1973-1985, director, Center for Materials Science and Engineering,
1977-1983, professor, physics, 1983-1985, Institute Professor, MIT, 1985-
Concurrent Positions: director, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy,
2000-2001
Mildred Dresselhaus is a physicist renowned for her research on electronic proper-
ties of materials such as semiconductors and semimetals. Solid-state physicists
deal with matter in a condensed state, not in gaseous or liquid form, a new area
of research when Dresselhaus began her career in the 1950s. The launch of the
Russian satellite Sputnik in 1957 sparked an interest in the United States in
research on new materials, including superconductors, such as lead and tin. Her
most important work, starting in the 1980s, was done on analyzing carbon. She
and her associates found that carbon contained hollow clusters, each containing
60 atoms. These clusters are called Buckminster Fullerenes (named for the scien-
tist Buckminster Fuller), or Buckeyballs, because of their shape. They are impor-
tant for their potential use as a delivery system for drugs and as an extremely
strong form of wire tubing.
After completing her doctorate at the University of Chicago, she married Gene
Dresselhaus, a fellow physics student. He had already accepted a position at
Cornell University, and she accepted a National Science Foundation fellowship to
work there. After two years, the couple found joint appointments at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, where, in 1977, she was named director of the Center
for Materials Science and Engineering. She went on to hold a joint appointment as
professor in engineering and physics. At MIT, she has also been committed to
encouraging more women to pursue the sciences and engineering.
Dresselhaus has the distinction of having been elected to membership in both
the National Academy of Engineering (1974) and the National Academy of
356 | Dunbar, Bonnie J.
Sciences (1985). She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sci-
ences and the American Physical Society (president, 1984), and a member of the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Society of Women
Engineers (SWE). She has received numerous honorary doctorates, and her other
prestigious awards include the National Medal of Science (1990), the Weizmann
Institute Millenial Lifetime Achievement Award (2000), the Nicholson Medal of
the American Physical Society (2000), the Karl T. Compton Medal for Leadership
in Physics from the American Institute of Physics (2001), the Founders Medal of
the IEEE (2004), and the Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy, and Employ-
ment (2005). In 2007, she was named the North American Laureate for the
L'Oreal-UNESCO Awards for Women, and in 2009, she received the Vannevar
Bush Award of the National Science Board for public service as a scientist.
Further Resources
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Faculty website, http://web.mit.edu/physics/
people/faculty /dresselhaus mildred.html.
Dunbar, Bonnie J.
b. 1949
Biomedical Engineer, Ceramics Engineer, Astronaut
Education: B.S., ceramic engineering, University of Washington, 1971, M.S.,
ceramic engineering, 1975; Ph.D., biomedical engineering, University of Houston,
1983
Professional Experience: staff engineer, Boeing Computer Services, 1971-1973;
senior research engineer, Space Division, Rockwell International, 1976-1978;
staff engineer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),
1978-1980, astronaut, 1981-1998, assistant director, University Research and
Affairs, 1998-2003; deputy associate director, Biological Sciences and Applica-
tions, 2003-2005; associate director, Technology Integration and Risk Management,
2005; president and CEO, Museum of Flight, 2005-
Concurrent Positions: visiting scientist, Harwell Laboratories, England, 1975;
adjunct assistant professor, mechanical engineering, University of Houston
Bonnie J. Dunbar has spent more hours in space than any of the other women
astronauts except Shannon Lucid. Dunbar joined NASA as a staff engineer in
Dunbar, Bonnie J. | 357
1978 and performed key guidance and
flight control duties for the Skylab
reentry mission in 1979. She was
accepted for the astronaut training pro-
gram in 1980, one of the eight original
women astronauts. Her first shuttle
flight was aboard STS-61-A Chal-
lenger in October 1985. On STS-32
in 1990, she had the major respon-
sibility for the Remote Manipulator
System (RMS) to retrieve a satellite.
As payload commander for the 1992
space shuttle Columbia flight, she
oversaw experiments in materials
science, fluid dynamics, combustion
science, and biotechnology. She flew
a fourth mission on STS-71 in 1995.
Her last flight as an astronaut was as
a member of the Endeavour crew
that picked up David Wolf when he
completed his Mir assignment in
1998. Dunbar retired from NASA in
2005 and became president and CEO
of the Museum of Flight in Seattle,
Washington, where, in 2008, she held an event called WomenFlyl to encourage
and showcase careers of women in aerospace and aviation. Her husband, Ronald
M. Sega, is also an astronaut, engineer, and physicist with NASA.
Dunbar became fascinated with space flight as a child and, encouraged by a
teacher, studied all of the math and science courses that were available in high
school. At the University of Washington, there were only 6 women in the class
of 2,000 engineering students. She originally planned to major in aeronautical
engineering, but the head of the Ceramic Engineering Department, who had
received a NASA contract to work on thermal insulation systems for the space
shuttle, was recruiting students, and she switched to that program. As a graduate
student, she had a short appointment as a visiting scientist at Harwell Laboratories
in England to do research on turbine blades in aircraft engines, which must with-
stand extremely high temperatures. She joined the Rockwell International Space
Division, the prime contractor for the space shuttle, to help develop equipment
and processes for the manufacture of the space shuttle's ceramic-tile heat shield.
Astronaut Bonnie Dunbar prepares for a
mission aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour,
1998. (NASA)
358 | Dunbar, Bonnie J.
After joining the NASA astronaut program, she went on to pursue her Ph.D. in
bioengineering, studying the effect of space flight on bone strength and calcium.
Dunbar was elected to the National Academy of Engineers in 2002. Among her
numerous awards and honors, she has received the Rockwell International Engi-
neer of the Year (1977), American Ceramic Society (ACS) Greaves- Walker Award
(1985), NASA Space Flight Medals (1985, 1990, 1992, 1995, and 1998), NASA
Exceptional Service Medal (1988, 1991, and 1996), National Engineering Award
of the American Association of Engineering Societies (1992), Museum of Flight
Pathfinder Award (1992), Design News's Engineering Achievement Award
(1993), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Judith Resnik
Award (1993), Society of Women Engineers Resnik Challenger Medal (1993),
NASA Outstanding Leadership Award (1993), and James I. Mueller Award of
the ACS (2000). She was a member of the National Science Foundation (NSF)
Engineering Advisory Board (1993-1999) and has been inducted into the Women
in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame (2000). She is a member of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Ceramic
Society, Biomedical Engineering Society, Materials Research Society, National
Institute of Ceramic Engineers, Arnold Air Society, and Angel Flight.
Further Resources
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Bonnie J. Dunbar (Ph.D.)" http://www
.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/dunbar.html.
E
Earle, Sylvia Alice
b. 1935
Marine Botanist, Oceanographer, Environmentalist
Education: B.S., Florida State University, 1955; M.A., Duke University, 1956,
Ph.D., botany, 1966
Professional Experience: research biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
1957; instructor, biology, St. Petersburg Junior College, 1963-1964; research asso-
ciate, marine biology, Cape Haze Marine Laboratory, 1964-1965, resident director,
1966-1967, senior research associate, 1967-; instructor, Tulane University, 1968;
research fellow, Farlow Herbarium, Harvard University, 1967-1975, researcher,
1975-; research scholar, Radcliffe Institute for Independent study, 1967-1969;
research associate, botany, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County,
1970-1975; research biologist and curator, California Academy of Sciences,
1976-; research associate, University of California, Berkeley, 1969-1975; chief
scientist, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
1990-1992, advisor to the administrator, 1992-1993; founder, director, and officer,
Deep Ocean Technology, Inc., and Deep Ocean Engineering, Inc., 1981-1990;
founder and chair, Deep Ocean Exploration and Research (DOER), 1992-; direc-
tor, Sustainable Seas Expeditions, National Geographic/NOAA/Goldman Founda-
tion, 1999-2003; program director, Harte Research Institute for the Gulf of
Mexico, Texas A&M University, 2000-; executive director, Global Marine Conser-
vation, Conservation International, 2001-
Concurrent Positions: fellow in botany, Natural History Museum, 1989-; direc-
tor, Kerr-McGee Corporation, 1998-; explorer in residence, National Geographic,
1998-; director, Common Heritage Corporation, 1999-
Sylvia Earle is known internationally as a marine botanist and oceanographer. She
was the first female chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA); during her tenure there, she led investigations into the
pollution of the Persian Gulf that resulted from Iraq's burning of the Kuwait oil
refineries. She also studied the pollution of Prince William Sound, Alaska, after
359
360 | Earle, Sylvia Alice
the supertanker Exxon Valdez ran aground there in 1989. Earle eventually earned
the nickname "Her Deepness" for her record-breaking and numerous dives,
including a 1979 dive to 1,250 feet in which she spent two and a half hours on
the ocean floor.
Earle spent part of her childhood on a farm in New Jersey, where she studied the
aquatic life in a pond on the property. Later, when the family moved to Florida, she
had the entire Gulf of Mexico as her backyard and learned to scuba dive at a time
when very few people dove recreationally and marine biologists were just taking
advantage of new diving technologies. Earle graduated from high school at
16 and quickly went on to college and then graduate school at Duke University,
where she studied algae. In 1964, she was invited to join an expedition to the
Indian Ocean sponsored by the National Science Foundation, and in 1966, the year
she received her Ph.D., she became resident director of the Cape Haze Marine
Laboratory.
In 1970, Earle was appointed team leader of the group of women oceanogra-
phers who lived underwater for two weeks in Tektite II. The purpose was not only
to observe the marine environment but also to determine the effects of isolation on
aquanauts as a way for NASA to plan for the needs of astronauts on future space
flights. The sponsors would not allow male and female scientists to live together
and, although there were 16 tests involving all-male teams, the women's test
received the most publicity. As team leader, Earle received invitations to give
speeches and publish articles, providing important opportunities to talk about her
research on the environment and marine life.
In 1982, she formed a company, Deep Ocean Engineering, with Graham
Hawkes, an engineer who had designed a special dive suit worn by Earle. Their
company designed and manufactured the Deep Rover, an easily maneuverable,
relatively inexpensive, one-person submersible capable of going to an ocean depth
of 3,000 feet. Earle was one of the first three individuals to test it and, although she
and Hawkes were married but then divorced, she remains involved in the operation
of the company. In 1990, she became chief scientist at NOAA, but she left the
position to work independently again. In 1999, she returned to a project sponsored
by NOAA and National Geographic, a five-year study of the National Marine
Sanctuary called the Sustainable Seas Expedition.
In addition to her numerous magazine articles, ocean atlases, and children's
books, Earle's other books include Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans (1996)
and The World Is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean's Are One (2009). She is a
corporate member of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and was the first
woman to receive the Lowell Thomas Award of the Explorers' Club (1980). She is
a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a
member of the International Phycological Society, Phycological Society of
Eastwood, Alice | 36 1
America, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, American Institute
of Biological Sciences, and Ecological Society of America. She was inducted into
the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2000. She is listed as "Sylvia Mead" in some
sources.
Further Resources
Harte Research Institute. "Dr. Sylvia Earle." http://www.harteresearchinstitute.org/
index. php?option=com content&view=article&id=98%3Adr-sylvia-earle-&catid=19
%3 Aadvisory-board&Itemid=29 1 .
Eastwood, Alice
1859 1953
Botanist
Education: public schools
Professional Experience: high school teacher, Denver, 1879-1890; curator of
botany, California Academy of Sciences, 1892-1950
Alice Eastwood was one of the most knowledgeable systematic botanists of her
time. She was curator of botany at the California Academy of Sciences for more
than 50 years and was a specialist on the flowering plants of the Rocky Mountains
and the California coast. In a study of 100 prominent American botanists in 1903,
she was one of only two women named. While teaching high school in Denver, she
acquired an extensive knowledge of botany by exploring various areas of
Colorado. She was invited in 1892 to join Kate Brandegee, curator of botany at
the California Academy of Sciences, and later succeeded her as curator. Both were
members of a group of prominent botanists who were working in California at the
turn of the century. In 1 893, Eastwood published, at her own expense, Popular Flora
of Denver, Colorado. In 1905, she wrote A Handbook of the Trees of California. In
1932, she and J. T. Howell founded and edited the journal Leaflets of Western
Botany. This was an important outlet for the active research that was being con-
ducted in the western United States. She founded the California Botanical Club
and directed its activities thereafter. In addition to her work at the Academy, she
was able to perform extensive fieldwork in California and added hundreds of speci-
mens to the collection.
After the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906, Eastwood spent several
years rebuilding the botanical collections at the California Academy of Sciences.
She verified the descriptions of specimens by visits to the British Museum, the
362 | Eastwood, Alice
Kate Brandegee
Mary Katharine Layne Curran Brandegee (1844-1920) was one of the outstand-
ing women botanists in the United States in the nineteenth century and was a
leading authority on California plants. After her first husband died in 1874, she
obtained an M.D. from the University of California at San Francisco. The curricu-
lum included training in the medicinal uses of plants and, after practicing medi-
cine for a few years, she joined the California Academy of Sciences. She
began actively collecting specimens and in 1883 became curator of the herba-
rium, a position she held for 10 years, and one of the highest-level botany posi-
tions for a woman at that time. In this post, she edited and published a series of
botanical Bulletins. Later, with her husband Townshend Brandegee, a civil engi-
neer and plant collector, she co-founded Zoe, a journal of the natural history of
the west coast. In 1898, the Brandegees moved to San Diego, where they built
their own botanical library and herbarium. They returned to San Francisco in
1906 when Townshend Brandegee accepted a position as honorary curator at
the University of California. They spent the rest of their lives at the herbarium,
without salary, donating their library and collection of over 75,000 specimens
to the university.
Royal Botanic Gardens, the Natural History Museum at Paris, Harvard University,
the New York Botanical Garden, and the National Herbarium. Between 1912 and
her retirement in 1950, over 340,000 specimens were added to the herbarium.
One of her goals was to verify the classification of tropical and subtropical exotics
grown in California. She also was responsible for developing the Academy's vast
botanical library, which included many volumes she contributed from her personal
collection.
Eastwood published about 300 scientific papers. Among the honors she received
was being elected honorary president of the Seventh International Botanical
Congress in Stockholm in 1950. She was a member of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, the Botanical Society of America, and the Ecological
Society of America. Carol G. Wilson wrote a biography, Alice Eastwood's Wonder-
land: The Adventures of a Botanist (1955).
Further Resources
Bonta, Marcia M. 1995. American Women Afield: Writings by Pioneering Women Natural-
ists. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Rudolph, Emanuel D. 1982. "Women in Nineteenth Century American Botany: A Gener-
ally Unrecognized Constituency." American Journal of Botany. 69(8): 1346 1355.
Edwards, Cecile Hoover | 363
Edinger, Tilly
1897 1967
Paleontologist
Education: University of Heidelberg and University of Munich, 1916-1918;
Ph.D., natural philosophy, University of Frankfurt, 1921
Professional Experience: research assistant, paleontology, University of Frankfurt,
1921-1927; curator, vertebrate collection, Senckenberg Museum of Frankfurt,
1927-1938; translator, 1939; research associate, Museum of Comparative Zoology,
Harvard University, 1940-1967
Tilly Edinger was the first person to perform systematic work on the study of fossil
brains. She proved that the brain's evolution could be studied directly from fossils.
She recognized that the evolution of the brain must be studied directly from the
fossils and that mammals' brains are uniquely suited to such study. She theorized
that the evolution of the brain was more complex than other paleontogists had
stated. She worked for a number of years as curator of the vertebrate collection,
without pay, in the museum in Frankfurt, Germany. Five years after the Nazis
came to power, she was forced to flee the country due to her Jewish heritage. She
came to Harvard because the school had designated funds for the temporary employ-
ment of displaced European scholars. She spent the rest of her life at Harvard's
Museum of Comparative Zoology. She published the first of her major works while
still in Germany: Die Fossilen Gehirne (1929). Her second book, The Evolution of
the Horse Brain (1948), was published while she was at Harvard.
Edinger virtually established the field of paleoneurology, the study of fossil brains.
Her father was a famous medical researcher who helped found the science of compa-
rative neurology. She did not originally intend to follow in his footsteps. She planned
to study geology but, fearing there were few employment opportunities in that field
for women, she switched to vertebrate paleontology and ultimately ranked among
the major figures in her field. She was elected president of the Society of Vertebrate
Paleontology (1963-1964) and received honorary degrees from Wellesley College
(1950), the University of Giessen (1957), and the University of Frankfurt (1964).
Edwards, Cecile Hoover
1926 2005
Nutritionist, Biochemist
Education: B.S., Tuskegee Institute, 1946, M.S., 1947; Ph.D., nutrition, Iowa State
University, 1950; diplomate, human nutrition, American Board of Nutrition, 1963
364 | Edwards, Cecile Hoover
Professional Experience: research associate, nutrition, Iowa State University,
1949-1950; assistant professor and research associate, foods and nutrition, Tuske-
gee Institute, 1950-1956, department head, 1952-1956; professor, nutrition, North
Carolina A&T State University, 1956-1971, department chair, home economics,
1968-1971; department chair, home economics, Howard University, 1971-1974,
dean, School of Human Ecology, 1974-1986, professor, nutrition, 1971-2000
Concurrent Positions: dean, School of Continuing Education, Howard Univer-
sity, 1986-1987; collaborator, Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics,
Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1952-1955;
adjunct professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1971; project direc-
tor, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 1985-1989
Cecile Edwards was a researcher and educator who devoted her career to improv-
ing the nutrition and well-being of disadvantaged people. She accepted a position
at Howard University in 1971 as chair of the Department of Home Economics, but
was assigned the task of designing a new curriculum for the School of Human
Ecology. In 1969, Arthur Jensen had advanced the theory in a scientific paper that
blacks were genetically inferior and that providing education, nutrition, and other
resources could not bring them into equality. Edwards's major goal was to dis-
prove the Jensen hypothesis. Her school evaluated programs that provided
resources for low-income people and taught parenting, childcare, nutrition, budg-
eting, and job skills as part of a comprehensive approach. She was ultimately
responsible for helping to establish the Ph.D. program in nutrition at Howard
University.
Edwards enrolled in the Tuskegee Institute at the age of 15 with a major in
home economics and went on to earn graduate degrees in nutrition and chemistry,
in particular studying methionine, an essential amino acid. She returned to Tuske-
gee as a faculty member and research associate and was appointed head of the
Department of Foods and Nutrition in 1952. She later expanded her research to
the amino acid composition of food, the utilization of protein from vegetarian
diets, and the planning of well-balanced and nutritious diets, especially for low-
income and disadvantaged people both in the United States and abroad.
Starting in 1985, Edwards directed a five-year project sponsored by the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to study the nutri-
tional, medical, psychological, socioeconomic, and lifestyle factors that influence
pregnancy outcomes for low-income and minority women. She served on numer-
ous commissions and committees involving human health and nutrition and was
a member of the American Institute of Nutrition, American Home Economics
Association, Society for Nutrition Education, and American Dietetic Association.
In 1984, her home state of Illinois declared April 5 as "Dr. Cecile Hoover Edwards
Edwards, Helen Thorn | 365
Day," and in 2000, the Illinois legislature passed a resolution honoring Edwards
upon her retirement from Howard University.
Edwards, Helen Thorn
b. 1936
Accelerator Physicist
Education: B.A., Cornell University, 1957, M.A., 1963, Ph.D., physics, 1966
Professional Experience: research associate, Laboratory for Nuclear Studies,
Cornell University, 1958-1970; research, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory,
1970-1987, head, Accelerator Division, 1987-1989; head and associate director,
Superconducting Division, Superconducting Supercollider Laboratory, 1989-
1992; guest scientist, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Office of Science,
Department of Energy, 1992-
Helen Edwards is an internationally renowned physicist who supervises the design
and building of accelerators. She has been responsible for two of the largest in the
United States: the Tevatron at Fermi Laboratory (Fermilab) in Illinois and the
Superconducting Supercollider in Texas. Unfortunately, the latter project has
never been completed due to lack of Congressional funding, but she divides her
time between Fermilab (where her husband, Don Edwards, is also a physicist)
and the Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg, Germany. Her
goal is to develop an international superconducting linear collider to enable
scientists to gather data on the nature of subatomic particles. The construction of
a particle accelerator is a complicated operation requiring the effort of hundreds
of people. Edwards has served as a chief designer, group leader, and project
coordinator at these laboratories.
Edwards pursued her graduate studies at Cornell due to the school's
international reputation for pioneering work in the construction of particle acceler-
ators. She was appointed a research associate in the Laboratory for Nuclear Stud-
ies, where she was primarily responsible for commissioning (or ensuring that it
was in operating order) the 12-GeV electron synchrotron. A synchrotron, which
also is called an atom smasher or particle accelerator, is an electrostatic or
electromagnetic device that produces high-energy particles and focuses them on
a target. The GeV is a unit of measurement for the energy level of accelerated par-
ticles equivalent to a billion electron volts. In 1970, Edwards was invited to join
the research team at the Fermi Laboratory, where she was instrumental in commis-
sioning the 400-GeV main accelerator and commissioning auxiliary equipment.
366 | Ehrlich, Anne (Fitzhugh) Howland
In 1987, she was one of the supervisors assigned to oversee the completion of the
world's highest-energy superconducting particle accelerator, called the Tevatron.
This accelerator can produce an energy level of 1 TeV, the equivalent of 1,000
GeV, as it collides protons and antiprotons moving in opposite directions.
Edwards was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1988. She has
received the U.S. Department of Energy's Ernest O. Lawrence Award (1986) and a
prestigious MacArthur Fellowship (1988). She was a co-recipient of the President's
National Medal of Technology (1989) and in 2003 received the Robert R. Wilson
Prize of the American Physical Society "for her pivotal achievement and critical
contribution as the leader in the design, construction, commissioning and opera-
tion of the Tevatron, and for her continued contributions to the development of
high-gradient superconducting linear accelerators as well as bright and intense
electron sources."
Further Resources
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Ehrlich, Anne (Fitzhugh) Howland
b. 1933
Environmental Scientist, Author
Education: student, University of Kansas, 1952-1955
Professional Experience: technician, entomology, University of Kansas, 1955;
research assistant and biological illustrator, biological sciences, Stanford Univer-
sity, 1959-1972, research associate, 1972-1975, senior research associate,
1975-; associate director/policy coordinator, Center for Conservation Biology,
Stanford University, 1987-
Concurrent Positions: consultant, Council on Environmental Quality, 1977-
1980; instructor, biology and environmental policy, Stanford University, 1981-
Anne Ehrlich has had a great impact on the debates about population growth, food
resources, extinction of species, and human ecology. In 1984, her husband, Paul R.
Ehrlich, a professor of biological sciences and population studies, founded the
Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University, and in 1987, Anne was
appointed Policy Director. Anne Ehrlich has authored or co-authored more than
10 books on controversial topics. In one of the couple's most recent books,
Ehrlich, Anne (Fitzhugh) Howland | 367
Betrayal of Science & Reason: How
Anti- Environmental Rhetoric Threatens
Our Future (1996), they argue that
overpopulation, global warming, and
natural resource limits continue to
threaten human life and the planet.
The Ehrlichs have been especially
criticized for their population fore-
casts and ominous warnings. In
1968, when they published The Popu-
lation Bomb, there were 3.5 billion
human beings. The Ehrlichs warned
that the planet could not support that
number of people and predicted that
in the 1970s, famines would result in
millions of human deaths. In fact,
their critics pointed out, the decade
saw food production soar worldwide,
prices dropped, and growers experi-
enced a surplus. But the Ehrlichs issued
a sequel, The Population Explosion,
in 1990; by that time, world popula-
tion was at 5.3 billion, and they stated that the excess numbers of people had over-
loaded both the environment and human communities, and the result will be global
warming, acid rain, a larger hole in the ozone layer, crime, viral epidemics, and
homelessness. While it is difficult to find consensus on the extent or urgency of
such problems as related to population increases, many of the environmental prob-
lems the Ehrlichs warned about have become prominent concerns and political
issues of the twenty-first century.
Anne Ehrlich has served as a consultant for or member of numerous government
and academic committees and organizations, including the White House Council on
Environmental Quality's Global 2000 Report (1980), Conferences on the Fate
of the Earth (1981-1984), the Center for Innovative Diplomacy (1981-1992), the
President's Commission on Sustainable Development (1994-1995), the Rocky
Mountain Biological Laboratory (1989-1999), the Ploughshares Fund (1990-2003),
and the Sierra Club (1996-2002). She has also served on numerous advisory panels
and was on the editorial board of Pacific Discovery, the journal of the California Acad-
emy of Sciences (1998-1994).
The Ehrlichs have received numerous honors and awards together, including the
American Humanist Association Distinguished Service Award (1985), the United
Anne Ehrlich is a biologist specializing in
population issues. She is policy coordinator
of the Center for Conservation Biology at
Stanford University. (Stanford University)
368 | Elders, (Minnie) Joycelyn (Jones)
Nations Environment Programme Prize (1994), the Heinz Award for Environmental
Achievement (1995), and the Distinguished Peace Leader Award of the Nuclear
Age Peace Foundation (1996). When the couple won the Tyler Prize for Environ-
mental Achievement (1998), they used a portion of their prize money to buy and
restore a piece of eroded land in Costa Rica. Anne Ehrlich has also received sev-
eral awards for her separate work, including being named to the Global 500 Roll
of Honour for Environmental Achievement of the United Nations (1989). She is
an honorary fellow of the California Academy of Science, an honorary lifetime
member of the American Humanist Association, and a fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has received honorary doctorates from
Bethany College (1990) and Oregon State University (1999).
Further Resources
Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University. Staff website. http://www
.stanford.edu/group/CCB/Staff/anne.htm.
Elders, (Minnie) Joycelyn (Jones)
b. 1933
Endocrinologist, Pediatrician
Education: B.A., Philander Smith College, 1952; certified physical therapist,
Brooks Army Medical School, 1954; M.D., University of Arkansas, 1960; diplo-
mate, American Board of Pediatrics, 1964; M.S., biochemistry, University of
Arkansas Medical School, 1967
Professional Experience: intern, pediatrics, University of Minnesota Hospital,
1960-1961; resident, Medical Center, University of Arkansas, 1961-1964, instruc-
tor, 1964-1967, assistant professor, 1967-1971, associate professor, 1971-1974,
professor of pediatrics, 1976-1987; Chief Public Health Director, Arkansas Depart-
ment of Health, 1987-1993; Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, 1993-1994; professor of pediatrics, College of Medicine, University
of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 1994-2002, emerita, 2002-
Concurrent Positions: research fellow, National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development, 1964-1967
Joycelyn Elders was the second woman and the first African American to be
appointed to the post of Surgeon General of the United States, succeeding the first
woman to hold the post, Antonia Novello. Her medical specialty is endocrinology,
Elders, (Minnie) Joycelyn (Jones) | 369
Endocrinologist and pediatrician Joycelyn Elders was the second woman and the first
African American to be appointed Surgeon General of the United States, 1994. (AP/Wide
World Photos)
which is the branch of biology dealing with the endocrine glands and their secre-
tions; this includes the thyroid, the adrenal, and the pituitary. Elders was a share-
cropper's daughter in rural Arkansas who worked as a maid to pay her way
through undergraduate school. After completing her residency, she joined the
pediatrics faculty of the University of Arkansas Medical Center. In 1987, then-
governor Bill Clinton appointed her director of the Arkansas Department of
Health. In this position, she established school-based health clinics to combat the
state's teen pregnancy rate, which was the second-highest in the nation.
President Clinton appointed her Surgeon General in 1993. Her responsibilities
were primarily to disseminate information about widespread health problems
such as smoking-related illnesses and sexually transmitted diseases. She also
managed the commissioned corps, a uniformed service whose members are
assigned to medical trouble spots as needed. She was also responsible for the
Public Health Service's offices of population affairs, minority health, and women's
health, and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Her time as
surgeon general was plagued by controversy due to her support for controversial
measures such as widespread condom distribution, sex education, abortion rights,
370 | Elion, Gertrude Belle
imposing higher excise taxes on alcohol as well as on tobacco, and the medical
use of marijuana. In 1994, she was forced to resign after just 15 months in office
under pressure from conservatives amid controversy over public comments in
which she said that masturbation "is a part of human sexuality." She returned to
the University of Arkansas Medical Center as a professor of pediatrics, retiring
in 2002.
Elders is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research, Endocrinology Society,
and American Federation for Clinical Research. Her autobiography is Joycelyn
Elders, M.D.: From Sharecropper's Daughter to Surgeon General of the United
States of America (1996).
Further Resources
"Dr. M. Joycelyn Elders." Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America's Women
Physicians. National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of Health, http://
www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography 98.html.
Elion, Gertrude Belle
1918 1999
Biochemist
Education: A.B., Hunter College, 1937; M.S., New York University, 1941
Professional Experience: lab assistant, Biochemistry, School of Nursing, New
York Hospital, 1937; assistant organic chemist, Denver Chemical Company,
1938-1939; teacher, chemistry and physics, 1941-1942; analyst, food chemistry,
Quaker Maid Company, 1942-1943; research chemist, Johnson & Johnson,
1943-1944; senior research biochemist, Burroughs Wellcome Research Laborato-
ries, 1944-1967, assistant to director, Chemotherapy Division, 1963-1967; head,
Experimental Therapy, Burroughs Wellcome Company, 1967-1983, emerita sci-
entist and consultant, 1983-1999
Concurrent Positions: consultant, chemotherapy study section, U.S. Public
Health Service, 1960-1964; adjunct professor, pharmacology and experimental
medicine, Duke University, 1971-1983, research professor, 1983-1999
Gertrude Elion was an organic chemist, pharmacologist, and leader in the field
of purine antimetabolites for the treatment of cancer. Her research earned her
the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1988. She and her collaborators
developed drugs to interrupt the life cycle of abnormal cells while leaving
Elion, Gertrude Belle | 371
healthy cells unharmed, changing the
course of pharmaceutical research. In
her chemotherapy research, she syn-
thesized and studied drugs used to
treat leukemia and to ensure success-
ful organ transplants. Her research
was the basis for the development
of AZT, the first drug approved by
the Food and Drug Administration
for AIDS patients, and she contrib-
uted to the development of drugs for
the treatment of malaria, gout, and
viral and bacterial infections. She
began working for Burroughs Well-
come (now GlaxoSmithKline) in
1944. Unlike many pharmaceutical
companies, Burroughs Wellcome
encouraged its scientists to publish
their findings once patents had been
registered, and she ultimately pub-
lished more than 225 papers in her
own name.
Elion was one of the few scientists
in the cancer research field, and one of the few Nobel Prize winners in science,
who did not have a doctorate. She graduated from Hunter College summa cum
laude, but 15 schools rejected her applications for a graduate assistantship because
she was a woman. She held marginal jobs for several years until her great potential
was recognized at Burroughs Wellcome. By that time, she had completed her
master's degree and enrolled in classes toward her doctorate at Brooklyn Polytechnic
Institute, which she attended for two years. The college expected her to enroll full-
time, but she was unwilling to quit her job. She was awarded an honorary doctorate
from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University in 1989, one of numerous
honorary degrees she received in her lifetime.
Elion was awarded the highest and most prestigious honors bestowed upon sci-
entists. She was awarded the Garvan Medal in 1968, the Nobel Prize in 1988
(awarded jointly with her colleague and mentor George Hitchings), and the
Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Elion was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences in 1990, and she was awarded the National Medal
of Science in 1991. Also in 1991, she was the first woman inducted into the
National Inventor's Hall of Fame. She was elected a fellow of the American
George Hitchings, left, and Gertrude Elion,
right, won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology
or Medicine for their work developing drugs
to fight cancer, AIDS, and other diseases.
(AP/Wide World Photos)
372 | Ellis, Florence May Hawley
Academy of Pharmaceutical Scientists. She was a member of the American
Chemical Society, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the American Society
of Biological Chemists.
Further Resources
McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch. 1998. Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles,
and Momentous Discoveries. Secaucus, NJ: Birch Lane Press.
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Ellis, Florence May Hawley
1906 1991
Anthropologist
Education: A.B., University of Arizona, 1927, M.A., 1928; Ph.D., anthropology,
University of Chicago, 1934
Professional Experience: research associate, Arizona State Museum, 1928-1929;
instructor, anthropology, University of Arizona, 1929-1933; assistant to associate
professor, anthropology, University of New Mexico, 1934-1953, professor,
1954-1971
Concurrent Positions: adjunct associate professor, University of Chicago, 1937
and 1938-1940; adjunct professor, Eckerd College, 1973
Florence Ellis was known for her pioneer work on the dating of ceramics of the
Southwest. She published her first papers in the 1920s, becoming one of the first
women to establish herself in the study of early American culture. She originally
enrolled as a history major at the University of Arizona, but feeling there were
too many dates to remember, she switched to anthropology. Her master's thesis
featured ceramics from three closely successive stages found in excavated sites
near her hometown of Miami, Arizona. She was able not only to separate the
sequential stages but also to suggest the possible Mexican relationship. After
receiving her master's degree, she taught at Arizona in the anthropology depart-
ment and continued her research. In addition to her skill at dating ceramics, she
developed expertise in tree-ring dating (dendrochronology). Due to her special
skills, she was on loan half-time to the University of Chicago to teach dendrochro-
nology between 1937 and 1940. After receiving her doctorate, she accepted a posi-
tion at the University of New Mexico, where she remained until her retirement.
Elmegreen, Debra Meloy | 373
Fortunately for Ellis, very little work had been reported on the history and pre-
history of the Native Americans of New Mexico. In the 1960s and 1970s, she
assisted in the definition of ancient tribal areas for most of the New Mexico and
Arizona Pueblo tribes and for the Navajos. She had a major role in the Wetherill
Mesa project to establish relationships between prehistoric culture and living
peoples. She did extensive work in ethnography and ethnology, particularly in
Pueblo and Navajo ethnography. She had close relationships with many Native
Americans, who often permitted her to investigate areas that were closed to other
ethnologists due to religious principles.
In addition to scientific papers, Ellis published four books: The Significance of
the Dated Prehistory of Chetro Ketl, Chaco Canyon, N. M. (1934), Field Manual
of Prehistoric Southwestern Pottery Types (1936), Tree Ring Analysis and Dating
in the Mississippi Drainage (1941), and A Reconstruction of the Basic Jemez
Pattern of Social Organization (1964). She was a member of the Society for
American Archaeology, American Society for Ethnohistory (president, 1969),
Tree-Ring Society, New Mexico Archaeological Society, and Northern
Arizona Society for Science and Art. She was active in museum work in New
Mexico as a member of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation Board, and a
teacher and consultant at the Ghost Ranch Museum, which now houses her per-
sonal library and archaeological finds at the Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of
Anthropology. She published as both Florence M. Hawley and Florence Hawley
Ellis.
Further Resources
Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology, http://www.ghostranch.org/museums
--activities/florence-hawley-ellis-museum-of-anthropology.html.
Elmegreen, Debra Meloy
b. 1952
Astronomer
Education: B.A., astrophysics, Princeton University, 1975; M.A., astronomy,
Harvard University, 1977, Ph.D., astronomy, 1979
Professional Experience: research assistant, Thermophysics Division, Goddard
Space Flight Center, 1969, Laboratory of Cosmic Ray Physics, Naval Research
Laboratory, 1971-1972, Spectres Division, National Bureau of Standards, 1973,
Kitt Peak National Observatory, 1974, Arecibo Observatory, 1975; teaching
374 | Elmegreen, Debra Meloy
fellow, Harvard University, 1977; Carnegie postdoctoral fellow, Mt. Wilson and
Las Campanas Observatory, 1979-1981; visiting astronomer, Royal Greenwich
Observatory and Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge University, 1981; visiting
scientist, T. J. Watson Research Center, IBM Corporation, 1982-1988; assistant
professor to professor, astronomy, Vassar College, 1985-
Concurrent Positions: chair, Committee on Status of Women in Astronomy,
American Astronomical Society; director, New York State Science Talent Search
Debra Elmegreen is an astronomer whose research on spiral galaxies has resulted
in a new method for classifying these galaxies. The primary feature of spiral
galaxies is the waves that shape the spiral, waves that arise from the gravitational
pulls within the galaxy. The Earth is part of a spiral galaxy, and researchers esti-
mate that spiral galaxies represent about one-third of the estimated 100 billion gal-
axies in the observable universe. The Earth's galaxy, typical of large spirals,
contains about 200 billion stars spread mostly through its disk, which is 100,000
light-years across and about 3,000 light-years thick. A gas, usually hydrogen
gas, floats among the stars in the disk. Some of the gas forms clouds, with the
largest clouds being concentrated in or near the spiral arms. In conjunction with
her husband, astronomer Bruce Elmegreen, Debra Elmegreen has proposed a clas-
sification scheme based on the size of the spiral arms, since all spirals have the
same components. Because most galaxies seem to be tilted to our line of sight,
the researchers use computer imaging to make the arms seem round and to
enhance the contrast against the disk.
After receiving her doctorate from Harvard University, she had a series of short
appointments at several observatories and was a visiting scientist at IBM. Such a
record of research often is just a reflection of the competition for employment in
the field of astronomy, as astronomy and related fields receive small amounts of
funding compared to the number of qualified people who are searching for posi-
tions. She received an appointment as assistant professor of astronomy at Vassar
College in 1985, and is now the Maria Mitchell Professor of Astronomy, named
after the first American woman astronomer, Maria Mitchell, who served as the first
director when the college's observatory was built in the 1860s.
Elmegreen is a member of the American Astronomical Society, Royal Astro-
nomical Society, and International Astronomical Union. Her textbook for under-
graduate astronomy courses, Galaxies and Galactic Structure, was published in
1998. Some of the images from her Hubble Telescope and National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) Spitzer Space Telescope observations of spiral
galaxies were selected as the Space Telescope Science Institute Heritage Image
of the Month (November 1999) and the Astronomy Picture of the Day (1999
and 2004).
Emerson, Gladys Anderson | 375
Further Resources
Vassar College. Faculty website, http://faculty.vassar.edu/elmegree/.
Clavin, Whitney. 2006. "Galaxies Don Mask of Stars in New Spitzer Image." Press
release. http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2006-ll/release.shtml.
Emerson, Gladys Anderson
1903 1984
Nutritionist, Biochemist
Education: B.S., physics and chemistry, A.B., history and English, Oklahoma
College for Women, 1925; M.A., history, Stanford University, 1926; Ph.D., nutri-
tion and biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley, 1932
Professional Experience: assistant, Stanford University, 1925-1926; teacher,
social sciences, 1926-1929; assistant, Iowa State College, 1930-1931; research
associate, Institute for Experimental Biology, University of California, Berkeley,
Gladys Emerson in the labs at the UCLA School of Public Health. (National Library of
Medicine)
376 | Esau, Katherine
1933-1942; department head, nutrition, Merck Institute of Therapeutic Research,
1942-1957; professor and chair, home economics, University of California, Los
Angeles, 1957-1961, professor, nutrition and head of division, School of Public
Health, UCLA, 1962-1970
Concurrent Positions: advisory board member, Quartermaster Food & Container
Institute, 1948-1949; research associate, Sloan-Kettering Institute of Cancer
Research, 1950-1953; board member, food and nutrition, National Research
Council, 1959-1964
Gladys Emerson was a nutritionist and biochemist who researched amino acids and
vitamins and was recognized as the co-isolator of vitamin E while at the University
of California, Berkeley in the late 1930s. As an undergraduate, she received a joint
degree in both science and history. After receiving a master's degree in history, she
taught school for several years. Changing directions in her career, she obtained a
fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, where she received a doctorate
in nutrition and biochemistry in 1932. She received an appointment as a research
associate at the Institute for Experimental Biology at Berkeley, where she started
the research that resulted in isolating vitamin E from wheat germ oil. In 1942, she
joined the Merck Institute of Therapeutic Research as head of the department of
nutrition. At the University of California, Los Angeles, she became professor and
head of the department of home economics and then professor of nutrition and head
of the division of the School of Public Health at Los Angeles. She held concurrent
positions as a member of the advisory board for the Quartermaster Food & Container
Institute (1948-1949), research associate at Sloan-Kettering Institute of Cancer
Research (1950-1953), and member of the food and nutrition board of the National
Research Council (1959-1964).
Emerson was also associate editor of the Journal of Nutrition from 1952 to 1956.
She received the prestigious Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society in
1952. She was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence, the American Institute of Nutrition, and the New York Academy of Sciences.
Esau, Katherine
1898 1997
Botanist
Education: Golitsin Women's Agricultural College, Moscow, 1916-1917; Agri-
cultural College of Berlin, 1919-1922; Ph.D., botany, University of California,
Davis, 1931
Esau, Katherine | 377
Professional Experience: staff, Sloan Seed Company, Oxnard, California, 1923-
1924; plant breeder, Spreckels Sugar Company, 1924-1927; assistant, botany, Uni-
versity of California, Davis, 1928-1931, instructor, 1931-1937, assistant professor
to professor, botany, 1937-1963; professor, botany, University of California, Santa
Barbara, 1963-1965
Concurrent Positions: junior botanist to botanist, agricultural experiment station,
University of California, Davis, 1931-1968; Guggenheim fellow, Harvard Univer-
sity, 1940; lecturer, Botanical and Plant Research Institute, University of Texas,
1956; Prather Lecturer, Harvard University, 1960; lecturer, Walker Conference
on Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1968; Powell Lecturer,
American Academy of Art and Science, 1973
Katherine Esau was recognized for her work on the effects of viruses on the
structure and development of plant tissues, and was an authority on the food-
conducting tissue of plants and plant-host virus relationships. Born in Russia,
Esau received college degrees from agricultural schools in Moscow and in Berlin
before her family immigrated to the United States in 1922. The family wanted to
settle in California to be near a Mennonite community that shared their religious
beliefs. California's agricultural economy was the ideal place for Katherine to find
work, and she spent a year on a seed-production ranch in southern California
before being hired as a plant breeder by the Spreckels Sugar Company near
Salinas. Her primary research task was to develop a hybrid sugar beet that was
resistant to a viral disease spread by insects, which caused the plant leaves to curl
and wilt. When the head of the botany department at the University of California,
Davis visited the Spreckels project, he offered Esau an assistantship at the univer-
sity to continue her research on sugar beets. She worked with an entomologist at
Berkeley to infect her beet plants with the virus-spreading insects and soon moved
from a focus on creating a virus-resistant strain of beets to studying the effect of
the virus on the plant, or plant pathology. The school determined her previous edu-
cation in Russia and Germany to be the equivalent of a master's degree, and she
went on to receive her doctorate through a joint program with Davis and Berkeley
in 1931. After that, she held a joint position as faculty member and botanist with
the agricultural experiment station.
In 1963, Esau moved to the Santa Barbara campus of the University of California
to continue collaborative research on plant development and anatomy, especially of
crop or food plants. She authored several books, including two of the most widely
used and influential botany textbooks, Plant Anatomy (1953) and Anatomy of
Seed Plants (1960), which went through multiple editions through the 1970s.
She also authored Plants, Viruses, and Insects (1961), Vascular Differentiation in
Plants (1965), and Viruses in Plant Hosts (1968). Although she officially retired in
378 | Estrin, Thelma Austern
1965, Esau continued her research for another 30 years. She died in 1997 at the
age of 99.
Esau was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1957.
She was also an elected member of Phi Beta Kappa and of the Swedish Royal
Academy of Sciences. She was president of the Botanical Society of America in
1951, was awarded a Certificate of Merit from the Botanical Society of America
in 1956, and in 1989, she received the National Medal of Science from President
George H. W. Bush "[i]n recognition of her pioneering research, both basic and
applied, on plant structure and development, which has spanned more than six
decades . . . and for providing a special role for women in science." She was a
member of the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Art
and Science, the International Society of Plant Morphologists, and the Botanical
Society of America, which has established a Katherine Esau Award for graduate
students in her name.
Further Resources
Evert, Ray F. 1985. "Katherine Esau." Plant Science Bulletin. 31(5). (October 1985).
http://www.botany.org/bsa/misc/esau.html.
University of California. "Katherine Esau, Biological Sciences: Santa Barbara." http://
content. cdlib.org/xtf/view?docld=hb7tlnb4v2&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=div00026
&toc.depth= 1 &toc.id.
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press.
Estrin, Thelma Austern
b. 1924
Computer Scientist, Biomedical Engineer
Education: B.S., University of Wisconsin, 1948, M.S., 1949, Ph.D., electrical
engineering, 1951
Professional Experience: researcher, Neurological Institute, Columbia Presby-
terian Hospital, New York City, early 1950s; researcher, Weizmann Institute of
Science, Israel, 1953-1955; research engineer, Health Science Center, University
of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1960-1970, director, Data Processing Labo-
ratory, Brain Research Institute, 1970-1980; director, Division of Electronic Com-
puter and Systems Engineering, National Science Foundation, 1982-1984;
professor of engineering, Computer Science Department, UCLA, 1980-1991,
Estrin, Thelma Austern | 379
assistant dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science, 1984-1991, director,
Department of Engineering and Science Extension, 1984-1991, emeritus professor
Concurrent Positions: Fulbright fellow, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot,
Israel, 1963; principal investigator, U.S. Public Health Service grant, Data Process-
ing Laboratory, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles,
1970-1980, adjunct professor, anatomy and computer science, 1978-1980
Thelma Estrin is a biomedical engineer renowned for her research in the applica-
tion of computer technology to neurophysiological research. Her work has been
applied by medical researchers to create brain maps of patients based on external
imaging and for identifying the epileptic foci in the brain. She was the first woman
to be certified as a clinical engineer. She participated in designing and building the
first computer in the Middle East at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel
from 1953 through 1955, and she was one of the team leaders who designed and
established the first general -purpose computer for brain research at UCLA in 1961.
She and her husband were history majors during World War II when they were
recruited for the war effort. Her husband enlisted in the army and, after an inten-
sive engineering assistant course at the Stevens Institute of Technology, Thelma
was placed at a tool and model shop called Radio Receptor Company. After the
war, both enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, where they obtained degrees
in electrical engineering. Her husband, Gerald Estrin, went to Princeton to design
and build the first digital electronic computing machine, but few universities were
interested in hiring women as engineers in the 1950s. Thelma obtained a research
position in the electroencephalography (EEG) Department of the Neurological
Institute at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York, conducting research on
the electrical activity of the brain.
In 1953, Israeli scientists invited Gerald to build a version of his digital com-
puter for the Weizmann Institute of Science, and Thelma participated in building
the first computer in the Middle East. The couple returned to Los Angeles, where
Gerald taught engineering at UCLA and Thelma was affiliated with the medical
school, where she helped establish the first computer facility for brain research,
called the Data Processing Laboratory, in 1961. Her work was funded by National
Institutes of Health, and in 1970, Estrin was appointed director of the laboratory
and principal investigator. She later designed an online analog-to-digital system
and studied interactive graphics as a brain research tool. She eventually joined
UCLA's School of Engineering and Applied Science, and one of her graduate stu-
dents in the 1980s developed a microcomputer version of the concept of artificial
intelligence (AI).
Estrin officially retired in 1991, but she remains very active in promoting the
role of women in science and engineering, and mentoring younger women in their
380 | Evans, Alice Catherine
careers. All three of Estrin's own daughters have excelled in the sciences; two are
computer engineers and one is a physician. Estrin has served on numerous com-
mittees and as president of the Biomedical Engineering Society. She is a fellow
of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (vice president, 1992),
and was inducted into the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of
Fame (1999). She is a member of the Institute for the Advancement of Engineers,
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Alliance for Engineering
in Medicine and Biology, and Association for Computing Machinery. She received
the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award (1981) for her work in
biomedical engineering.
Further Resources
University of California, Los Angeles. Faculty website, http://www.cs.ucla.edu/csd/
people/faculty pages/testrin.html.
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. "Oral History: Thelma Estrin." http://
www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Oral-History :Thelma Estrin.
Evans, Alice Catherine
1881 1975
Microbiologist
Education: B.S., Cornell University, 1909; M.S., bacteriology, University of
Wisconsin, 1910
Professional Experience: public school teacher, 1901-1905; dairy bacteriologist,
Bureau of Animal Industry, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), staff, agri-
cultural experiment station, Madison, Wisconsin, 1910-1913, bacteriologist,
USDA, Washington, D.C., 1913-1918; U.S. Public Health Service, 1918-1945
Alice Evans was a microbiologist employed by the federal government, and her
work on brucellosis is cited as one of the outstanding achievements in medical sci-
ence in the early twentieth century. Working in the dairy division of the USDA,
she studied the bacterial contamination of milk products. She led pioneering stud-
ies on the common origin of brucellosis in both cattle and humans. Prior to that,
the assumption was that these were two separate diseases; the human form was
called undulant fever. Many scientists and physicians would not accept her conclu-
sions and refused to support her campaign for the pasteurization of milk. It was
unthinkable that a pure product such as unpasteurized milk could cause disease,
Evans, Alice Catherine | 381
and she was a woman scientist who
did not have a doctorate or a medical
degree. Transferring to the U.S. Pub-
lic Health Service in 1918, Evans
worked on epidemic meningitis,
influenza, and streptococcal infec-
tions. By that time, her theories on
brucellosis were gaining wide accep-
tance because human brucellosis was
being reported throughout the world
and from diverse animal sources. In
the 1930s, the dairy industry was
forced to begin pasteurizing all milk.
Evan taught public school for four
years before enrolling in a nature
study course for rural teachers at Cor-
nell. She continued taking courses at
Cornell to earn her undergraduate
degree, then went on to receive her
master's degree in bacteriology from
the University of Wisconsin. She
later received an honorary M.D. from
the Woman's Medical College of
Pennsylvania (1934) and an honorary
doctorate from Wilson College (1936). In 1928, she became the first woman
elected president of the Society of American Bacteriologists. In 1975, she was
elected an honorary member of the American Society for Microbiology.
Microbiologist Alice Evans identified the
organism causing undulant fever, which led to
laws mandating milk pasteurization. (National
Library of Medicine)
Further Resources
Burns, Virginia Law. 1993. Gentle Hunter: A Biography of Alice Evans, Bacteriologist.
Laingsburg, MI: Enterprise Press.
F
Faber, Sandra (Moore)
b. 1944
Astronomer, Cosmologist
Education: B.A., Swarthmore College, 1966; Ph.D., astronomy, Harvard Univer-
sity, 1972
Professional Experience: assistant professor to professor and astronomer, Lick
Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1972-
Concurrent Positions: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation fellow, 1977-; science advi-
sory committee, National New Technology Telescope, 1983-1984; board of trust-
ees, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1985-; chair, Keck Telescope Science
Steering Committee, 1987-1990; member, Hubble Space Telescope Strategy
Panel, 1990, Users Committee, 1990, Wide-Field Camera Team, 1985-
Sandra Faber is known internationally for her research on the origin of the uni-
verse and of galaxies in particular, a special branch of astronomy called "cosmol-
ogy." She has discovered correlations between galaxies' features — called scaling
laws — that enable astronomers, having measured some features, to predict others.
One of the more prominent, called "the Faber-Jackson law," is that larger elliptical
galaxies have stars that are orbiting more rapidly than those in smaller ones. She
theorized that much of the matter in the universe is in the form of massive, invis-
ible halos surrounding galaxies, and that this cold, dark matter has played a deter-
mining role in the origin and development of galaxies. Previously, scientists
believed the universe was formed by hot matter.
Faber majored in physics and minored in mathematics and astronomy at
Swarthmore College, where she was mentored by the renowned observatory direc-
tor Sarah Lee Lippincott. The limited opportunities faced by Lippincott, who did
not hold an advanced degree and was not a regular faculty member, inspired Faber
to pursue the Ph.D. Faber went on to Harvard, then moved to Washington, D.C.,
where her husband had a job. She was able to use the computers at the Carnegie
Institution's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism to compile data for her thesis
and received her Ph.D. in Astronomy from Harvard in 1972. The couple moved
to California, where Faber obtained a position at the Lick Observatory at the
383
384 | Farquhar, Marilyn (Gist)
University of California, Santa Cruz. She was the first female faculty member at
Lick, where she and Robert Jackson, a fellow graduate student, developed the
Faber-Jackson scaling law. Faber and six associates formed a collaboration called
the Seven Samurai in the 1980s. The team identified the Great Attractor, the near-
est huge supercluster of galaxies, and estimated the distance of different galaxies
by creating a map of all of the elliptical galaxies surrounding the Earth in space.
Faber helped establish the Keck Observatory and 10-meter telescope at Mauna
Kea, Hawaii, currently the largest optical telescope in the world. She was part of
the team responsible for the Wide-Field Planetary Camera for the Hubble Space
Telescope and helped diagnose the problem with the telescope's mirror and pre-
pare a plan to fix it.
Faber was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1985.
She has received numerous prizes, such as the Bart J. Bok Prize of Harvard
University (1978), the Heineman Prize of the American Astronomical Society
(1986), a Harvard Centennial Medal (2006), and the Bower Award of the Franklin
Institute (2009). Faber has been invited to give guest lectures throughout the world
and is a member of the International Astronomical Union, American Astronomical
Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association
for the Advancement of Science. Her research involves formation and evolution of
normal galaxies, stellar populations in galaxies, galactic structure, stellar spectros-
copy, cluster of galaxies, and cosmology. She has participated in several documen-
taries on public television, such as "Mysteries of Deep Space" (1997).
Further Resources
University of California, Santa Cruz. Faculty website, http://www.ucolick.org/~board/
faculty/faber.html.
Farquhar, Marilyn (Gist)
b. 1928
Cell Biologist, Experimental Pathologist
Education: B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1949, M.A., experimental
pathology, 1953, Ph.D., experimental pathology, 1955
Professional Experience: junior research pathologist, University of California,
1953-1954; research assistant, anatomy, University of Minnesota Medical School,
1954-1955; assistant research pathologist, University of California, San
Francisco, 1956-1958; research associate, cell biology, Rockefeller University,
Farquhar, Marilyn (Gist) | 385
1958-1962; associate research pathologist to professor, University of California,
San Francisco, 1962-1970; professor, cell biology, Rockefeller University, 1970-
1973; professor, cell biology and pathology, Yale University School of Medicine,
1973-1989; professor, pathology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine,
University of California, San Diego, 1990-
Marilyn Farquhar is a pioneer cell biologist who studies the mechanisms of renal
disease and protein trafficking within cells. Her research has yielded a number of
discoveries in basic biomedical research, including the mechanisms of kidney dis-
ease, the organization of functions that attach cells to one another, and the mecha-
nisms of secretions — that is, the mechanisms by which cells produce and release
their products.
She grew up in the central valley farmlands of California and majored in zoology
before becoming one of only three women in her medical school class at the
University of California, San Francisco. She became fascinated with the nature
of diseases and shifted to a program in experimental pathology instead of
obtaining a medical degree. She married another medical student in 1951 and also
felt that research would allow more flexibility in raising a family. She was fortu-
nate to work with a professor who had the only electron microscope in the entire
medical center, allowing her to be involved in the very beginning of applications
of electron microscopy in the new field of cell biology.
After receiving her Ph.D., she conducted kidney research at the University of
Minnesota and then Rockefeller University, where she joined the laboratory of
George Palade, the most active and productive team working in cell biology in
the country. She took a faculty position in San Francisco for eight years before
returning to Rockefeller as a professor of cell biology, the only woman professor
at the institution. She divorced her first husband and married George Palade in
1970. The couple moved to Yale University School of Medicine in 1973 as full pro-
fessors to start a new department of cell biology. In 1974, Palade received the Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of ribosomes, the cell organ that
synthesizes proteins. In 1990, both were actively recruited to move to the Univer-
sity of California, San Diego, where they started and became co-directors of the
new Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine in the Medical School.
Farquhar was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1984. She has received numerous honors and awards, including the E. B. Wilson
Medal of the American Society for Cell Biology (1987), the Homer Smith Award
of the American Society of Nephrology (1988), the Distinguished Scientist Medal
of the Electron Microscopy Society of America (1987), the National Institutes of
Health Merit Award (1988), and the Federation of American Societies of Experi-
mental Biology (FASEB) Award for Excellence in Science (2006). She is a
386 | Farr, Wanda Kirkbride
member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Society for
Cell Biology (president, 1981-1982), American Association of Pathologists,
American Association of Anatomists, American Society of Nephrology, Endo-
crine Society, and Histochemical Society.
Further Resources
University of California, San Diego. Faculty website, http://cmm.ucsd.edu/farquhar/
index.html.
Farr, Wanda Kirkbride
1895 1983
Cytologist
Education: B.S., Ohio University, Athens, 1915; A.M., Columbia University,
1918
Professional Experience: assistant, botany, Ohio University, 1915-1916; instructor,
Kansas State College, 1917-1918; instructor, Agricultural and Mechanical College
of Texas, 1918-1919; research associate, Barnard Free Skin and Cancer Clinic,
St. Louis, 1926-1927; instructor, Shaw School of Botany, St. Louis, 1928; investiga-
tor, plant physiology, Boyce Thompson Institute, 1928-1929; associate cotton
technologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1929-1936; director, Cellu-
lose Laboratory, Chemical Foundation, Boyce Thompson Institute, 1936-1940;
research chemist, American Cyanamid Company, 1940-1943; Research Division,
Celanese Corporation of America, 1943-1954; Marie Curie lecturer, Pennsylvania
State University, 1954-1955; research consultant, 1956-1983
Concurrent Positions: associate professor, botany and cytochemistry, University
of Maine, consultant, 1957-1960
Wanda Farr discovered the source for cellulose in research she and her first
husband had started several years previously. She had planned to study medicine
when she attended college, but her family refused to permit it because her health
was somewhat frail. She then decided to study science and focus on research.
She completed her undergraduate degree in three years and went to Columbia
University for her master's degree. There she met Clifford Farr, who was complet-
ing his doctorate. She interrupted her master's program to teach at Kansas State
while he was teaching at Texas A&M. After their marriage, the couple moved
to Washington, D.C., where he was on special assignment to the USDA during
Fausto-Sterling, Anne | 387
World War I, She obtained a position in the botany department when they returned
to Texas, and when they moved to St. Louis, she obtained a position at the Barnard
Free Skin and Cancer Clinic, where she assisted in research on living cells of ani-
mal organisms.
When her husband died in 1928, she was invited to continue his university bot-
any classes even though she did not hold a doctorate. She was, however, familiar
with his work, and she was able to continue their research on root hairs of plants
under her own name. Some contemporaries questioned the originality of her con-
tributions due to her taking over her husband's work, but she was able to secure
important grants and move on to other employment based on her own merits. After
working briefly for Boyce Thompson, Farr moved to the USDA to perform
research on cotton. This research applied to her individual project on root hairs,
which led to her discovery of the source for cellulose. She later obtained signifi-
cant appointments at Boyce Thompson and two chemical companies, American
Cyanamid and Celanese Corporation, and started her own research firm, Farr
Cytochemical Laboratories, in 1956. Farr was elected a fellow of the Royal Micro-
scopical Society and was a member of professional societies such as the Botanical
Society of America and the Torrey Botanical Club.
Fausto-Sterling, Anne
b. 1944
Embryologist
Education: B.A., University of Wisconsin, 1965; Ph.D., developmental genetics,
Brown University, 1970
Professional Experience: instructor, medical science, Brown University, 1971-1972;
assistant professor to professor, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University,
1972-
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, University of Amsterdam, 1986
Anne Fausto-Sterling researches biological theories about women from the per-
spective of the formation, development, structure, and functional activities of
embryos. As a scientist and a feminist, she criticizes those who link biology to gen-
der assumptions, such as the myths that sex-related hormones control one's destiny
as a man or a woman, assumptions that females possess an inherently inferior abil-
ity to perceive spatial relations among objects, or that hormonaily induced mood
fluctuations affect a woman's ability to function in society. Fausto-Sterling argues
that the political goal to relegate women to subordinate positions within society
388 | Fedoroff, Nina Vsevolod
has influenced much of the research conducted in both biology and genetics. In
1985, she published Myths of Gender: Biological Theories about Women and Men,
in which she raised doubts about the validity of scientific studies that support tradi-
tional gender roles, pointing out the underlying social biases, inadequate evidence,
and faulty methods in scientific research on sex differences. An updated edition of
the book was published in 1992 to include new research on the brain and homo-
sexuality. Her work has, not surprisingly, generated controversy and criticism.
Fausto-Sterling received her doctorate from Brown University in 1970 and has
remained at Brown as a faculty member since that time. Her initial research was
based on Drosophila, the fruit fly, and on the evolution and regeneration of fresh-
water flatworms called Planaria. She discovered these flatworms have five differ-
ent modes of reproduction, three asexual and two sexual. She became aware of
gender bias even in scientific studies of animals and began to examine the research
on human reproduction and sexuality. Many of her articles and books have reached
a mainstream audience. Her essay on "The Five Sexes" was an honorable mention
among The Best American Essays of 1994. Among her other works is the book
Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality (2000).
She has received many honors, including a National Science Foundation grant
(1971) and a Wellesley Center for Research on Women Mellon fellowship
(1980-1981). She was a fellow of Pembroke Center for Research and Teaching
on Women (1982) and is a member of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, the Society for Developmental Biology, and the International
Society for Developmental Biology.
Further Resources
Ambrose, Susan A. et al. 1997. Journeys of Women in Science and Engineering: No
Universal Constants. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Brown University. Faculty website. http://bms.brown.edU/faculty/f/afs/afs home.html.
Fedoroff, Nina Vsevolod
b. 1942
Molecular Biologist
Education: B.S., Syracuse University, 1966; Ph.D., molecular biology, Rockefeller
University, 1972
Professional Experience: assistant professor, biology, University of California,
Los Angeles, 1972-1974, Damon Runyan- Walter Winchell Cancer Research Fund
Fellow in molecular biology, School of Medicine, 1974-1975; professor, biology,
Fedoroff, Nina Vsevolod | 389
Johns Hopkins University, 1979-1994; director, Biotechnical Institute, Pennsylvania
State University, 1995-, professor, life sciences, 1995—
Concurrent Positions: National Institutes of Health fellow, Carnegie Institution of
Washington, 1975-1977, research associate, 1977-1978, staff scientist, 1978-1994.
Nina Fedoroff is renowned for her success in duplicating and analyzing the trans-
posable genetic elements in maize (corn) first identified by the American geneti-
cist Barbara McClintock. After meeting McClintock at a conference, Fedoroff
became so intrigued with the idea of transposable elements that she not only repli-
cated McClintock's work but also discovered that the transposable elements were
mobile in plants other than maize. Other molecular biologists quickly picked up
Molecular biologist Nina Fedoroff receiving the National Medal of Science from President
George W. Bush, 2007. (AP/Wide World Photos)
390 | Ferguson, Angela Dorothea
the system of cloning from her work and used the maize transposable elements to
mark and clone genes in other plants. She is the author of the book Dynamic
Genome: Barbara McClintock's Ideas in the Century of Genetics (1992).
While still an undergraduate, Fedoroff received a National Science Foundation
grant to spend the summer at Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, where
she was inspired to pursue scientific research. After receiving her Ph.D. in Molecu-
lar Biology, she taught classes and conducted research on ribonucleic acid (RNA)
under cancer research grants and a fellowship from the National Institutes of
Health (NIH). Her early work on the replications of viruses that destroy bacteria
shed light upon ribosomes, the principal sites of protein synthesis. She then turned
to cloning and molecular genetic analysis of maize transposable elements. These
elements, known as "jumping genes," were of interest because of their ability to
move to new positions on the chromosome. Her work has contributed substantially
to the development of the entire field of plant molecular biology and to debates
about introducing genetically engineered organisms into the environment. In
2004, she co-authored with Nancy Marie Brown the book Mendel in the Kitchen:
A Scientist's View of Genetically Modified Foods.
Fedoroff was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1990 and was honored by the New York Academy of Sciences as an outstanding
woman scientist in 1992. The U.S. government has acknowledged her work with
a 2006 National Medal of Science, and in 2007, Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice named Fedoroff a national science and technology advisor. She has been a
member of the Science Advisory Panel on Applications of Genetics, Office of
Technological Assessment, U.S. Congress, the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory
Committee, and the Council on Life Science and Board of Basic Biology. She is
a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
Pennsylvania State University. Faculty website, http://www.lsc.psu.edu/lsc/fedoroff.html.
Ferguson, Angela Dorothea
b. 1925
Pediatrician
Education: B.S., Howard University, 1945, M.D., 1949
Professional Experience: instructor, pediatrics, Howard University School of
Medicine, 1953-1959, associate pediatrician, Freedmen's Hospital, 1953-1970,
Ferguson, Angela Dorothea | 391
assistant professor, 1959-1963, professor, 1963-1990, head, University Office of
Health Affairs, 1970-1979, associate vice president for health affairs, 1979-1990
Concurrent Positions: staff member, District of Columbia General Hospital,
1963-1990
Angela Ferguson has been recognized for her research on the symptoms and treat-
ment of sickle-cell anemia, a hereditary disease that overwhelmingly affects peo-
ple of African descent. She was born in Washington, D.C., and although her
father was a public school teacher, the family lived on the edge of poverty. In
elementary school, she worked in the cafeteria in exchange for her school meals.
In high school, she first focused on business courses because she felt she would
be unable to attend college, but by her second year of high school, she had discov-
ered that she liked science and math courses and that she was intelligent enough to
do well in them. She enrolled in Howard University so she could live at home
while attending school. Her parents paid her tuition the first year, but she received
scholarships after that. By the second year of college, her interests had shifted
from chemistry and mathematics to biology, and she began considering medical
school. She wanted to become both a researcher and a physician. In medical
school, she majored in pediatrics, which involves the treatment of infants and
young children.
After completing her residency, she started a private pediatrics practice, but she
found that she was unable to answer parents' questions about their children
because all research on developmental physiology had been conducted on children
with European backgrounds, not on African American children. She obtained a
research position at Howard University's School of Medicine and its teaching hos-
pital, Freedmen's Hospital, to gather data on the physiology of children from the
well-baby clinics around the United States. The data on height and weight from
these records could be used to estimate the expected size at each age level. In
examining the records, she found that a large number of black children suffered
from sickle-cell anemia, a hereditary disease that causes red blood cells to func-
tion improperly. Healthy red blood cells are doughnut- shaped, but diseased red
blood cells are folded into a sickle shape, which affects the easy flow of blood in
veins and arteries.
In attempting to develop a method for detecting the disease in young children,
Ferguson found that the early symptoms closely resemble many other medical
conditions. In infants, the symptoms resemble those of arthritis; between the ages
of 2 and 6, the symptoms look like a shortage of certain vitamins in the diet;
between 6 and 12 years, most children show no symptoms or only very mild ones;
and after 12 years of age, the disease can return, with the most common symptom
being skin ulcers. She started giving each newborn infant a blood test to detect the
392 | Ferguson, Margaret Clay
condition at the earliest possible time. If a patient required surgery, he or she could
be given oxygen after coming out of the anesthesia. For five-year-olds, the severe
symptoms could be reduced by drinking water with baking soda on a daily basis.
In the 1960s, she decided to shift her focus to administrative work. She was
instrumental in developing plans to build a new teaching hospital, one that included
a children's wing, to replace the outdated Freedmen's Hospital. In 1970, she was
appointed to be in charge of the University Office of Health Affairs, which included
responsibility for facility development, student health services, research, and
advanced instruction for all degree programs at the Howard University Medical
School. The new Freedmen's Hospital opened in 1975, and in 1979, she was named
the associate vice president for health affairs.
Among her awards are two Certificates of Merit from the American Medical
Association. She is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research, Society of
Nuclear Medicine, National Medical Association, and New York Academy of
Sciences.
Ferguson, Margaret Clay
1863 1951
Botanist
Education: student, Wellesley College, 1889-1891; B.S., Cornell University,
1899, Ph.D., botany, 1901
Professional Experience: public school teacher and principal, 1877-1888; private
school teacher, 1892-1893; instructor, botany, Wellesley College, 1894-1896,
1901-1904, associate professor, 1904-1906, head of botany department, 1904-1930,
research professor, 1930-1932
Concurrent Positions: director, botany greenhouses and gardens, Wellesley,
1922-1932
Margaret Ferguson was recognized as one of the most productive women bota-
nists of her time. As head of the department at Wellesley, she trained more
women botanists than anyone else. After teaching school and obtaining a limited
amount of education, she became a special student at Wellesley in botany and
chemistry. She taught school again before returning to Wellesley as an instructor
in botany. She completed her formal education at Cornell, receiving her doctor-
ate in 1901. In her research at Cornell, she initiated important work on the
reproductive process and life history of a species of native pine (Pinus strobes).
Fink, Kathryn Ferguson | 393
Her research was published in the Proceedings of the Washington Academy of
Sciences in 1904 and gained wide attention. The study was one of the first to
give a detailed analysis of the functional morphology and cytology of a pine
native to North America. Returning to Wellesley in 1901, she rose in rank to
professor and head of the department in 1904. As department head, she helped
make it one of the leading undergraduate centers in the nation for the study of
plant science. She emphasized laboratory work and added coursework in chem-
istry, physics, and zoology to botanical studies. She also helped build the plant
specimen collection and the science library at Wellesley. She was able to com-
bine research with her teaching and administrative responsibilities and to secure
funds to build new college greenhouses and a botany building, allowing space
for students to grow their own plants and conduct experiments. During the
1920s, the focus of her research and advanced courses shifted to genetics, help-
ing to classify previously confused horticultural varieties. She discovered that
flower color and pattern were not necessarily hereditary traits, findings that
would not be confirmed by other researchers until the 1970s. Although she offi-
cially retired in 1932, she continued her research under a grant from the
National Research Council and was able to present her work at the Sixth
International Congress of Genetics.
Ferguson was elected vice president of the American Microscopical Society in
1914, and was elected the first female president of the Botanical Society of
America in 1929. She was elected a fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences
in 1943 and was also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science. She received an honorary degree at Mount Holyoke College's centen-
nial in 1937. Wellesley honored her by naming for her the greenhouses that she
had designed and directed.
Fink, Kathryn Ferguson
1917 1989
Biochemist
Education: B.A., University of Iowa, 1938; Ph.D., biochemistry, University of
Rochester, 1943
Professional Experience: research technician, Mayo Institute of Experimental
Medicine, 1938-1939; research associate, Manhattan Project, University of Rochester,
1943-1946, Atomic Energy Project, 1946-1947; associate clinical professor, bio-
physics, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),
394 | Fischer, Irene (Kaminka)
1948-1963, associate research professor, biophysics and nuclear medicine,
1964-1966, professor, 1966-1967, professor of medicine, 1967-1989, assistant
dean, 1976-1989
Concurrent Positions: research biochemist, Veterans Administration Hospital,
1947-1961
Kathryn Fink was a pioneer in the field of nuclear medicine. After receiving her
doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Rochester in 1943, she held a
National Research Council fellowship to work on the Manhattan and Atomic
Energy Projects during World War II. The Manhattan Project proved to be a boon
to the careers of numerous women scientists, since the federal government's accel-
erated program to develop atomic power required huge scientific staffs. It also saw
the creation of the field of nuclear medicine. After the war, Fink moved to California
as a faculty member in biophysics and nuclear medicine at the UCLA School of
Medicine. For many years, she held a joint appointment as a researcher at the
Veterans Administration Hospitals in Van Nuys and then Long Beach. In 1967,
she was the first Ph.D. (instead of M.D.) to be appointed full professor of medicine
at the UCLA medical school. She served as an assistant dean of student affairs at
the school during the last decade of her career.
Fink published numerous scientific papers in collaboration with her husband,
Robert Fink, a professor of biological chemistry. Fink was named UCLA Woman
of Science (1971) and Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year in Science (1971).
She was a member of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, and
the American Society of Biological Chemists.
Further Resources
University of California. "Kathryn Ferguson Fink, Medicine: Los Angeles." http://
content, cdlib.org/xtf/view ?docld=hb4p30063r&doc.view=frames&chunk. id
=divOOO 1 7&toc.depth= 1 &toc.id=.
Fischer, Irene (Kaminka)
1907 2009
Geodesist, Mathematician
Education: M.A., mathematics, University of Vienna; M.A., descriptive geom-
etry, Vienna Institute of Technology, 1931; postgraduate study, University of
Virginia and Georgetown University, 1950-1957
Fischer, Irene (Kaminka) | 395
Professional Experience: secondary school teacher, mathematics, description
geometry, and engineering drawing, Vienna, Austria, 1931-1938; researcher,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1942-1944; mathematician, Geodesy
Branch, U.S. Army Map Service, 1952-1958, geodesist, 1958-1962, supervisory
geodesist, 1962-1965, supervisory research geodesist, 1965-1977, branch chief,
1962-1977
Concurrent Positions: teacher, various secondary schools and colleges, United
States, 1941-1945
Irene Fischer was an expert in her field, although much of her research was classi-
fied as military secrets. She was a mathematician and geodesist, a scientist who
deals with the measurement of the shape and area of large tracts of country, the
exact positions of geographical points, and the curvature, shape, and dimensions
of the Earth. Born and educated in Austria, her family fled the Nazis and came
to the United States during World War II. She taught mathematics at a variety of
schools and colleges before taking a research position at MIT. After two years at
MIT, she obtained a position as a mathematician with the U.S. Army Map Service
(later the Defense Mapping Agency Topographic Center), where she held research
and supervisory positions. She contributed data used for the Mercury, Gemini, and
Apollo projects, which were among the first experimental flights conducted by
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA required
precise topographical data on both the Earth and the seas in order to plan and
execute these experimental flights.
Fischer wrote two books, Geometry (1965) and Basic Geodesy: The Geoid —
What's That? (1973), in addition to hundreds of articles in professional journals
and a self-published memoir, Geodesy: What's That? My Personal Involvement
in the Age-Old Quest for the Size and Shape of the Earth (2005). In the 1950s
and 1960s, she published a series of papers in the Journal of Geophysical Research
on work conducted at the Defense Mapping Agency on the geoid, an imaginary
surface that coincides with mean sea level in the ocean and its extension through
the continents. In the 1970s, she published papers on bathymetry, which is the
measurement of the depth of oceans, and marine geodesy. During her years of
employment at the agency, she was involved in using all of the new technology,
from the introduction of computers to satellite observations. In 1969, she was a
member of the committee that compiled South American data for the Pan-
American Institute of Geography and History. She was also a member of the spe-
cial study group on the history of geodesy for the International Association of
Geodesy. Much of Fischer's early work was conducted before the use of satellites,
which would later confirm her models and measurements.
396 | Fisher, Anna L.
Fischer was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in
1979. Among the awards she received were the Meritorious Civilian Service
Award, Department of the Army (1957), the Bronze Leaf Cluster (1966), the
Research and Development Achievement Award (1966), a Decoration for Excep-
tional Civilian Service (1967); the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, Depart-
ment of Defense (1967), Outstanding Career Woman, Defense Mapping Agency
(1975), the Meritorious Service Medal (1977), a National Civil Service League
Career Award (1976), and the designation of Federal Retiree of the Year (1978). She
was a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, a member of the International
Association of Geodesy, and inducted into the National Imagery and Mapping
Agency Hall of Fame. Fischer lived to be 102 years old.
Further Resources
Straight, Wendy J. W. 2005. "Irene K. Fischer, Geodesist." Newsletter No. 2/05, Joint
Commission Working Group on Under-Represented Groups in Surveying, International
Federation of Surveyors, http://www.fig.net/pub/underrep news/200502/newsletter
200502.htm#Irene.
Fisher, Anna L.
b. 1949
Physician, Astronaut
Education: B.S., chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, 1971, M.D.,
1976, M.S., chemistry, 1987
Professional Experience: emergency room physician, Los Angeles area hospitals,
1977-1978; mission specialist, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), 1978-1979, astronaut, 1980-1989, Chief, Operations Planning/Training,
Space Station Branch, 1997-1998, Deputy, Operations/Training, Space Station
Branch, 1998-1999, Chief, Space Station Branch, Astronaut Office
Anna Fisher was one of the first group of women astronauts selected in 1978 and
has the distinction of being the first mother to fly in space. She decided at age 13
that she would like to be an astronaut, and began by pursuing a career in medicine.
She earned her medical degree and was working as an emergency room specialist
when NASA announced that a new group of astronauts with revised requirements
would be selected. She and her then-fiance both applied for admission to the
program; a week after she married William F. Fisher (who was selected for the
astronaut program in 1980), she found out she was chosen. Her duties as an
Fisher, Anna L. | 397
astronaut included developing and
testing the Remote Manipulator Sys-
tem (RMS), verifying flight software,
and providing medical backup in res-
cue helicopters. She and her husband
served as emergency physicians for a
number of the launchings and land-
ings, and she was on-orbit capsule
communicator for the STS-9 mission.
Her first space flight was on Novem-
ber 8, 1984, on the second flight of
the orbiter Discovery, which she flew
when her first child was barely one
year old. The crew accomplished the
first space salvage in history, retriev-
ing the Palapa B-2 and Westar VI sat-
ellites. In her later work in the Space
Station Support Office, she became
the crew representative for space-
station development training, opera-
tions concepts, and health maintenance. She also tested a shuttle-tile repair kit in
which epoxy was sprayed into the place of a lost or broken thermal tile — which
proved to be unnecessary after the first and second flights of Columbia. She helped
Martin-Marietta test and develop the manned maneuvering unit (MMU), the
rocket-powered backpack that allows an astronaut to propel himself or herself
around while wearing a space suit.
Between 1989 and 1996, Fisher took a leave of absence from NASA to focus on
raising her family before returning to a position in the Operations Planning Branch
in support of the International Space Station and then as deputy for procedures and
training of astronauts and engineers related to the Space Station Program. Fisher
has also worked in the Shuttle Branch and awaits assignment to either a shuttle
mission or to the International Space Station. She is the recipient of a NASA Space
Flight Medal, Lloyd's of London Silver Medal for Meritorious Salvage Opera-
tions, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Professional Achievement
Award, UCLA Medical Professional Achievement Award, and NASA Exceptional
Service Medal (1999).
Astronaut Anna Fisher prepares for training,
1980. (NASA)
Further Resources
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
398 | Fitzroy, Nancy (Deloye)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Anna L. Fisher, (M.D.)." http://www
.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/fisher-a.html.
Fitzroy, Nancy (Deloye)
b. 1927
Engineer
Education: B.ChE., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1949
Professional Experience: assistant engineer, Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory,
1950-1952; development engineer, Hermes Missile Project, General Electric
Company, 1952-1953, development engineer, 1953-1963, heat transfer engineer,
Advanced Technology Laboratories, 1963-1965, consultant in heat transfer,
Research and Development Center, 1965-1971, manager, heat transfer consulting,
1971-1974, strategy planner, 1974-1976, advanced concepts planner and proposal
manager, 1976-1979, program development manager, Gas Turbine Division,
1979-1982, manager, energy and environment programs, Turbine Market and
Projects Division, 1982-1987; consultant in fields of gas turbines, nuclear energy,
and space vehicles, 1987—
Nancy Fitzroy is known for her research in the properties of materials, heat trans-
fer, and fluid flow that she conducted at General Electric Company, where she
worked for more 30 years. She was first assigned to a team to solve a thorny heat
transfer problem: how to keep the high temperatures produced by an atomic reac-
tion from escaping the nuclear reactor of an atomic generator or a nuclear subma-
rine. Later she worked on keeping the delicate electronic equipment in space
satellites at room temperature while the skin of the satellite was being alternately
superheated and supercooled. She has also designed more standard consumer-
type products such as toasters and microwave ovens. She says that toasters can
present more problems than missiles and satellites because outer space is basically
uniform, but no two pieces of bread are alike.
Fitzroy was one of the first to study heat transfer surfaces in nuclear-reactor
cores, and she holds a patent in the area of cooling integrated circuits, having
invented a thermal chip that is used to measure temperatures in such circuits.
She also developed a thermal protection system for hardened radar antennae that
was used in the U.S. early-warning system. Her work reflects the interdisciplinary
nature of engineering, as she can be considered both a chemical and a mechanical
engineer. In the 1970s, she took on more administrative and management respon-
sibilities at GE. She taught in the GE employee Advanced Engineering Course and
Flanigen, Edith Marie | 399
is the author of the GE Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Data Books (1955-1974),
which were used throughout industry and academia.
Fitzroy was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in
1995. She received the Achievement Award of the Society of Women Engineers
(1972), the Federation of Professional Women Award (1984), the Demers Medal
of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1975), and the Centennial Medallion of the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (1980). In 1999, she was inducted into
the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Alumni Hall of Fame. She was, in fact, the
first female chemical engineering student at Rensselaer, and her alma mater later
acknowledged her with an honorary doctorate. She helped establish the Nancy
Fitzroy Scholarship Fund for female students in science and technology. She is a
fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and was the first female
president of that organization (1986-1987). She was also a member of the American
Institute of Chemical Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, and
Society of Women Engineers.
Flanigen, Edith Marie
b. 1929
Inorganic Chemist
Education: B.A., D'Youville College, 1950; M.S., Syracuse University, 1952
Professional Experience: research chemist, Union Carbide Corporation,
1952-1960, senior research chemist, 1960-1962, research associate, 1962-1967,
senior research associate, 1967-1969, senior research scientist, 1969-1973, cor-
porate research fellow, 1973-1982, corporate senior research fellow, 1982-1988;
senior research fellow, UOP, Inc. (Union Carbide-Allied Signal joint venture),
1988-1994; consultant, UOP, 1994-
Edith Flanigen is renowned for her research on synthetic molecular sieves
and synthetic zeolites, which are used in industry as catalysts. Molecular sieves
are compounds with molecule-size pores, such as sodium aluminum silicate;
zeolites are hydrated silicates of aluminum with alkali metals. In the 1970s, she
developed a synthetic emerald for industrial use. Lincoln Laboratory had con-
tracted with Union Carbide, where Flanigen was employed as a research chemist,
to make synthetic emeralds for masers, which were microwave forerunners of
lasers. Although zeolites are found in nature, scientists, including Flanigen, have
found ways to make naturally and nonnaturally occurring structures by heating
aqueous alumina-silica gels at 100 degrees Celsius to 450 degrees Celsius.
400 | Flugge-Lotz, Irmgard
Flanigen devised a process to make emeralds by using temperature and pressure to
control the different solubilities of aluminum, silicon, beryllium, and chromium
oxides in aqueous gels. Union Carbide later marketed these as synthetic gemstones
for use in jewelry.
Flanigen was first introduced to chemistry in high school, and she and her two
sisters all majored in chemistry at D'Youville College. All three sisters eventually
worked at Union Carbide. Edith Flanigen invented or co-invented more than 200
new synthetic materials and holds more than 100 U.S. patents. Her work has also
had environmental applications in water purification and oil refining, and in 2004,
she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Flanigen advanced
through the researcher ranks at Union Carbide and, in 1982, was named a corporate
senior research fellow, the first woman to achieve that distinction. In 1983 she
received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, D'Youville College.
Flanigen was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in
1991 and has received two of the primary awards in chemistry: the Perkin Medal of
the Society of Chemical Industry (1992, the first woman to receive that award), the
Garvan-Olin Medal of the American Chemical Society (1993), International Zeolite
Association Award (1994), and the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award
(2004). She is a member of the Mineralogical Society of America, American
Chemical Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Edith Flanigen: 2004 Lemelson-MIT Lifetime
Achievement Award Winner." http://web.mit.edu/invent/a-winners/a-flanigen.html.
Flugge-Lotz, Irmgard
1903 1974
Engineer
Education: Diplom Ingenieur, Hannover Technische Hochschule, 1927, Doktor
Ingenieur, 1929
Professional Experience: junior research engineer to department head, Theoreti-
cal Aerodynamics, Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt, Gottingen, 1929-1938;
consultant, aerodynamics and dynamics of flight, Deutsche Versuchsanstalt fur
Luftfahrt, 1938-1945; chief, research group in theoretical aerodynamics, National
Office for Aeronautical Research, France, 1946-1948; lecturer, engineering
mechanics and research supervisor, Stanford University, 1949-1960, professor,
aeronautical engineering and engineering mechanics, 1960-1968
Flugge-Lotz, Irmgard | 401
Irmgard Flugge-Lotz was among the world's leading authorities on fluid mechan-
ics. She received international recognition for her many important mathematical
contributions to aerodynamics and automatic control theory. She began her career
at an aerodynamics research institute in Germany cataloging reprints. After she
developed an equation for one of her bosses, she was appointed head of a group
dealing with theoretical dynamics. The work she performed in 1931 on the lifting
force of wings of various shapes, known as the Lotz method, was recognized as a
fundamental contribution throughout her lifetime. The only other women on the
staff were "computers" who performed calculations for research engineers. After
she married Wilhelm Flugge, an authority on thin-shell construction, in 1938, they
moved to Berlin and both worked for Deutsche Versuchsanstalt fur Luftfahrt.
There she conducted research on electronic automatic control theory that had
implications for development of simple automatic flight-control equipment for air-
craft. Although they were known to have anti-Nazi views, they survived the war
due to their scientific expertise. When Germany collapsed in 1945, the Flugges
found work for the National Office for Aeronautical Research in Paris for two
years and then emigrated to the United States for faculty positions at Stanford.
Although there were few graduate students who were interested in fluid dynam-
ics, from nearby Ames Research Center, Flugge-Lotz drew a large group of
research engineers who were working toward advanced degrees from Stanford.
She developed another new area of research in the theory of automatic controls,
a topic she had first investigated in the 1940s. In 1960, she was the only woman
delegate from the United States at the First Congress of the International Federa-
tion of Automatic Control in Moscow, an honor that resulted in her appointment
as full professor. After her retirement from teaching, she continued her research
on problems of satellite control, heat transfer, and draft of high-speed vehicles.
In 1971, Flugge-Lotz became the only woman ever to be selected to present a
von Karman Lecture, which is sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics. She also was the first woman to reach a full professorship in the
engineering college at Stanford. In addition to more than 50 technical papers, she
published two books: Discontinuous Automatic Control (1953) and Discontinuous
and Optimal Control (1958). The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronau-
tics in 1970 elected her a fellow, only the second woman to be so honored. She
also was a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and
the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
Further Resources
Agnes Scott College. "Irmgard Flugge-Lotz." Biographies of Women Mathematicians.
http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/lotz.htm.
402 | Fossey, Dian
Fossey, Dian
1932 1985
Primatologist, Zoologist, Anthropologist
Education: B.A., occupational therapy, San Jose State College, 1954; Ph.D.,
Cambridge University, 1976
Professional Experience: occupational therapist, Kosair Crippled Children's
Hospital, Louisville, Kentucky, 1955-1966; scientific director, Karisoke Research
Centre, Ruhengeri, Rwanda, 1967-1980 and 1983-1985
Concurrent Positions: visiting associate professor, anthropology, Cornell University,
1980-1982
Dian Fossey was the international authority on the mountain gorilla at the time of
her death in 1985. One of the unsolved mysteries in science is who murdered her at
her research station in Rwanda. Fossey attracted controversy for her work in politi-
cally unstable areas and, while several people or groups were suspected, there was
only a cursory investigation by the understaffed Rwanda police. One of her
Primatologist Dian Fossey plays with a group of young mountain gorillas in Rwanda, 1982.
(AP/Wide World Photos)
Fossey, Dian | 403
associates and several native employees were accused of the crime, but the con-
sensus is that she was targeted by poachers angry over her efforts to protect goril-
las. She was buried on the mountain in the graveyard that she had established for
her gorillas.
Fossey had a lifelong interest in animals. She enrolled in the preveterinary
medicine program at the University of California, Davis, but transferred to San
Jose State after two years and earned a degree in occupational therapy. She real-
ized her dream to see the gorillas that the primatologist George Schaller had
described in his book, The Mountain Gorilla: Ecology and Behavior (1963), when
she took out a three-year bank loan in 1963 for $8,000 to finance a seven-week
safari. Her first stop was the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania to visit renowned archae-
ologists and anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey. Fossey also stopped in the
Congo (or Zaire) to see the mountain gorillas and returned to the United States
to continue her work, pay off the loan, and keep up contacts with Leakey.
Fossey became known as one of "Leakey's Ladies" — along with Jane Goodall
and Birute Galdikas — all of whom were mentored by Louis Leakey and conducted
research on the three major primate groups — gorillas, chimpanzees, and orang-
utans, respectively. The three women did not work together (and only met as a
group three times over the course of their careers), but collectively changed the
way primatologists conduct research by studying animals as individuals with life
histories, as humans are studied. Leakey and Fossey were interested in not only
sponsoring research on gorillas but also protecting them from further encroach-
ments. Leakey offered Fossey a position with this project in 1966 in Zaire. When
civil war broke out in that region, the rebels sought to expel all Westerners, and
Fossey was held prisoner for several weeks until she escaped across the border into
Uganda. Leakey helped her reestablish a center in Rwanda's Pare National des
Volcans, a remote area in a high rain forest. Here Fossey developed a unique
research methodology: Rather than observing the animals from a distance, she
gradually habituated them to her presence by imitating their sounds and behavior.
Her research was funded by the Leakey Foundation, the Wilkie Foundation, and
the National Geographic Society. Leakey arranged for her to attend Cambridge
University to complete her doctorate, as her work was attracting international atten-
tion. She began training graduate students in 1970 to see her gorillas. She accepted
graduate students starting in 1970, and her group prepared a census of the gorilla pop-
ulation in 1981, indicating the number had declined 50% since Schaller's 1963 book
that first inspired Fossey. She became increasingly focused on protecting the gorillas
and their habitat, making her the enemy of local poachers and farmers. In 1980, she
accepted a visiting associate professorship at Cornell University, where she wrote
her book Gorillas in the Mist (1983). When she returned to the research station, she
continued her war against the poachers and farmers until she was murdered in 1985.
404 | Fowler-Billings, Katharine Stevens
Fossey received the Franklin Burt Award from the National Geographic Society
(1973) and the Joseph Wood Krutch Medal from the Humane Society of the United
States (1984), and in 1988, her book, Gorillas in the Mist, was made into a feature
film starring Sigourney Weaver, now the Honorary Chairperson of the Dian Fossey
Gorilla Fund International. There are numerous books about Fossey's life and work.
Further Resources
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, http://www.gorillafund.org/.
Fowler-Billings, Katharine Stevens
1902 1997
Geologist
Education: A.B., geology and biology, Bryn Mawr College, 1925; M.A., Univer-
sity of Wisconsin, 1926; Ph.D., geology, Columbia University, 1930
Professional Experience: geologist/prospector, Maroc Gold Company, Africa,
1931-1932; instructor, geology, Wellesley College, 1935-1938; instructor, geology,
Erskine Junior College, Boston, 1941; instructor, geology, Tufts College,
1942-1943; geologist, New Hampshire Planning and Development Commission,
1943-1944; associate geologist, New England Museum of Natural History,
1940-1947; private research, 1947-1997
Katharine Fowler-Billings was one of a handful of women employed as a field
geologist and explorer in the first half of the twentieth century, and her research
spanned the globe. While pursuing her master's degree at the University of
Wisconsin, she conducted research in the Black Hills and Glacier National Park.
After receiving her Ph.D. from Columbia in 1930, she divided her time between
teaching appointments and research expeditions to collect data for geological map-
pings, studying the anorthosites of the Laramie Mountains, Wyoming (the subject
of her doctoral thesis); iron ores and molybdenite in Sierra Leone, West Africa;
and the geology of the Cardigan Quadrangle of New Hampshire, Monadnock, and
Mount Washington regions. While attending the International Geological Congress
in South Africa in 1929, she met and married her first husband, James Lunn, also
a geologist. When she was forbidden by local authorities to accompany Lunn to
the Gold Coast of West Africa, she went anyway. She wrote a book about her
adventures in Gold Missus: A Woman Prospector in Sierra Leone (1938). She also
encountered sexism in the United States and had to disguise herself as a boy in
order to be admitted to Western mines. She remarried in 1938 to prominent
Fox, Marye Anne (Payne) | 405
geologist and Harvard professor Marland Pratt Billings. The couple had two chil-
dren, and Fowler-Billings combined childrearing with her continued research
trips, attendance at international conferences (in Russia and Copenhagen), and
teaching appointments. She spent several years as an instructor in geology at
Wellesley, Erskine Junior College, and Tufts College, and later worked for the
state of New Hampshire and for the New England Museum of Natural History,
but eventually spent most of her career engaged in private research.
Fowler-Billings was elected a fellow of the Geological Society of America, and
she was a member of the Society of Women Geographers and an honorary member
of the New Hampshire Geological Society. Her autobiography, Stepping Stones:
The Reminiscences of a Woman Geologist in the Twentieth Century, was published
in 1996, just before her death. She was actively writing up until her death at the
age of 95, her last scientific article appearing in the March 1997 issue of The
Granite State Geologist. She co-authored several publications with her husband,
Marland Pratt Billings, with whom she traveled the world. In 1996, the Mount
Washington Observatory established a Marland Pratt and Katharine Fowler-
Billings Fund for Research in New England Geology to continue the legacy of
their work.
Fox, Marye Anne (Payne)
b. 1947
Organic Chemist, Physical Chemist
Education: B.S., Notre Dame College, 1969; M.S., Cleveland State University,
1970; Ph.D., organic chemistry, Dartmouth College, 1974
Professional Experience: instructor, physical science, Cuyahoga Community
College, 1970-1971; postdoctoral fellow and research associate, chemistry,
University of Maryland, 1974-1976; assistant to associate professor, chemistry,
University of Texas, Austin, 1976-1985, professor, chemistry, 1985-1991, direc-
tor, Center for Fast Kinetics Research, 1986-1991, Waggoner Regents Chair in
Chemistry, 1991-1998, Vice President for Research, 1994-1998; Chancellor and
Professor of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, 1998-2004; Chancellor
and Professor of Chemistry, University of California, San Diego, 2004-
Concurrent Positions: visiting scholar, Harvard University, 1989; Professeur
Invitee, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, 1992; visiting professor, Chemistry
Research Promotion Center, National Science Council, Taipei, Taiwan, 1993; visit-
ing scholar, University of Iowa, 1993; visiting professor, University of Chicago,
1997; Distinguished Visitor, Biomedical Research Council, Singapore, 2005
406 | Fox, Marye Anne (Payne)
Marye Anne Fox is renowned for her research to solve major problems in organic
photochemistry and electrochemistry, the branch of chemistry that deals with
chemical changes produced by electricity and the production of electricity by
chemical changes. She and her team members have pioneered the interdisciplinary
field of organic photoelectrochemistry and mastered problems in physical, inor-
ganic, and analytical chemistry. She was one of the first researchers to apply the
research techniques of physical organic chemistry to reactions occurring on surfa-
ces and to recognize semiconductor particles as ideal microenvironments for
initiating controlled redox (or oxidation reduction) chemistry.
Fox says she had no qualms about deciding on science as a career while in high
school because, at the time, almost everyone who was reasonably bright was inter-
ested in science. She chose chemistry because that field enabled her to steer clear
of the messy aspects of biology as well as the extreme emphasis on math that is
found in physics. She married a medical student after receiving her undergraduate
degree, and since he was in Ohio, she entered the master's program at Cleveland
State so she could complete her degree in one year even while supporting her hus-
band. She accomplished this feat by teaching at the local community college. She
was then able to pursue her own professional development successfully while she
followed her husband around the country. When her husband received a residency
in New Hampshire, she entered the doctoral program at Dartmouth. She was preg-
nant her second year at Dartmouth and had to decide whether to continue her studies
or put a hold on a scientific career. Instead of leaving the program, she completed
her doctorate in three years.
Fox has had a distinguished career as an administrator and teacher, as well as
researcher. She has received numerous honors for teaching and mentoring graduate
students. She has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific articles and a
textbook, Organic Chemistry (1994). She has been a member of the editorial advi-
sory boards of numerous industry and academic journals, and was associate editor
of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (1986-1995). She has been a con-
sultant and advisor on numerous civic, corporate, corporate, and government proj-
ects and committees, including the National Science Board (1991-1996),
executive committee of the National Academy of Sciences (1996-1999), National
Research Council Governing Board (1997-1999), Women in Science and Technol-
ogy Alliance National Board (1999-2002), and National Institute for the Environ-
ment (2001-2004).
Fox was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1994.
Her numerous awards and honors include the Garvan Medal (1988), the Arthur C.
Cope Scholar Award (1989), and the Parsons Award for Public Service (2005),
all of the American Chemical Society. She is a fellow of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
Free, Helen (Murray) | 407
Electrochemical Society, American Philosophical Society, and American Society
for Photobiology.
Further Resources
University of California, San Diego. "Marye Anne Fox (Brief Biography)." http://www
.chancellor.ucsd.edu/biographybrief.html.
Free, Helen (Murray)
b. 1923
Clinical Chemist
Education: B.A., College of Wooster, 1944; M.A., Laboratory Management and
Health Care Administration, Central Michigan University, 1978
Professional Experience: control chemist, Miles Laboratories Corporation,
1944-1946, research chemist, Biochemical Section, 1946-1959, associate research
biochemist and group leader, Ames Research Laboratories, 1959-1964, Ames Prod-
uct Development Laboratory, 1964-1966, Ames Technical Service, 1966-1969, new
product manager, clinical test systems, Ames Growth and Development, 1969-1974,
senior new product manager, microbiological test systems, 1974-1976, director,
special test systems, Ames Division, 1976-1978, director, clinical laboratory and
reagents, Research Division, 1978-1982, consultant, Diagnostic Division, Bayer
Healthcare (formerly Miles, Inc.), 1982-
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, biochemistry, Goshen College; adjunct
professor, management, Indiana University, South Bend
Helen Free is a pioneer in the field of diagnostic chemistry who has been involved
in the development of convenient test systems involving chemical reagents and the
instrumentation to accompany those tests. Her research led to the development of
the convenient tablet tests for urinalysis and to the introduction and development
of easy dip-and-read tests for various urinary conditions, as well as tests for blood
chemistry and histology. Clinical laboratory diagnostic methods and devices were
comparatively primitive in the 1940s and 1950s, and her pioneer research at Miles
Laboratories (later known as Bayer) contributed greatly to modern test procedures
that are used in clinical laboratories throughout the world.
Free initially majored in Latin before changing to chemistry. She was employed
at Miles Laboratory as a chemist right after college and remained with Miles (and
its acquisition, Ames Laboratories) throughout her career, eventually obtaining a
supplemental degree in management and administration, which helped her
408 | Friend, Charlotte
advance through the company ranks. Free holds seven patents and is the author or
co-author of more than 200 papers, many of them written with her husband, Alfred H.
Free, who was also a chemist at Miles. The Frees co-authored the book Urinalysis
in Clinical Laboratory Practice (1976), which is still considered the standard text
on the subject. Helen Free also edited Modern Urine Chemistry (1986), which was
published by Miles.
Free has received two honorary doctorates, and in 1980, she was awarded the
Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society as well as the Distinguished
Alumni Award of the College of Wooster. She served as president of the American
Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) in 1990 and president of the American
Chemical Society in 1993. In that role, she urged members to participate in outreach
to students and citizens to bring chemistry into their everyday lives. In 1995, she was
the first recipient of the Helen M. Free Public Outreach Award. In 2006, the AACC
presented her with the Award for Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Chemistry.
She was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2000 for her work with
her husband on "laboratory urinalysis and the more consumer-oriented 'dip-and-
read' tests that first enabled diabetics to easily and accurately monitor their blood
glucose levels on their own."
Further Resources
Hall of Fame. "Helen Free." http://www.invent.org/Hall Of Fame/63. html.
Friend, Charlotte
1921 1987
Medical Microbiologist
Education: B.A., Hunter College, 1944; Ph.D., bacteriology, Yale University, 1950
Professional Experience: associate professor, microbiology, Sloan-Kettering
Division, Medical College of Cornell University, 1952-1966; professor and director,
Center for Experimental Cell Biology, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, 1966-1987
Concurrent Positions: associate member, Sloan-Kettering Institute, 1949-1966
Charlotte Friend pioneered the idea that a virus causes cancer and a vaccine could
be developed against it. Her major research focused on childhood leukemia, but
she paved the way for a large number of other avenues of research into other types
of cancer. She was the first to show that animals could be immunized with retrovi-
rus preparations and protected against developing the disease. Her theory was
initially scorned, and it was not until an internationally known scientist replicated
Fromkin, Victoria Alexandria (Landish) | 409
her work and assisted her in publishing the paper that researchers would even con-
sider her ideas. Her experiments indicating that such protection is possible were
later used by researchers trying to develop a vaccine against the human immuno-
deficiency virus (HIV).
Friend might have been motivated to work in the field of microbiology by the
death of her father from bacterial endocarditis when she was three years old; when
she was 10, she wrote a paper for a school assignment on why she wanted to be a
bacteriologist. To help with family expenses, she worked in a physician's office
during the day and took college classes at night. After college, she joined the
Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Services (WAVES), the women's divi-
sion of the U.S. Navy at the time, and worked in a naval hospital hematology lab.
Upon her discharge, she used the GI Bill to obtain a doctorate from Yale and began
researching the theory that leukemia was caused by a virus. She vaccinated mice by
injecting them with a weakened form of the virus, now called "the Friend virus." She
accepted appointments where she did not have to teach so that she could devote her
time to research. In 1972, she announced the discovery of a method to alter a leu-
kemia mouse cell in a test tube so that it would no longer multiply. Through chemical
treatment, the malignant red blood cell could be made to produce hemoglobin, as do
normal cells. Friend herself was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1981, but very few
people knew of the diagnosis, as she did not want reviews of grants or manuscripts
to be influenced by her illness. She continued to conduct research in the lab while
undergoing therapy, but succumbed to the disease in 1987.
Friend received two honorary doctorates and many awards during her career,
including the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Cancer Research and an award from the
American Cancer Society in 1962. She was elected to the National Academy of
Sciences in 1963. She received the Presidential Medal Centennial Award of Hunter
College ( 1 970), the Virus-Cancer Program Award of the National Institutes of Health
(1974), and the Jacobi Medallion of Mt. Sinai Medical Center (1984). She was a
member of the American Association for Cancer Research (president, 1976), New
York Academy of Sciences (president, 1978), American Association of Immunologists,
American Society of Hematology, and Tissue Culture Association.
Fromkin, Victoria Alexandria (Landish)
1923 2000
Linguist, Neurolinguist
Education: B.A., economics, University of California, Berkeley, 1944; M.A.,
University of California, Los Angeles, 1963, Ph.D., linguistics, 1965
410 | Fromkin, Victoria Alexandria (Landish)
Professional Experience: assistant professor, English, California State University,
1965; assistant professor, speech, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),
1966-1967, assistant professor, linguistics, 1967-1969, acting director, phonetics
lab, 1968-1969, professor, linguistics, 1969-ca.l990, chair, department of linguis-
tics, 1972-1976, dean of graduate division and vice chancellor of graduate affairs,
1979-1989
Concurrent Positions: linguistics delegate to China, National Academy Science,
1974; member, linguistics panel, National Science Foundation; visiting professor,
University of Stockholm, 1977; member of executive board, Center for Applied Lin-
guistics; visiting fellow, Wolfson College, Oxford University, 1983-1987; Ida Beam
Professor, Departments of Neurology, Psychology, and Linguistics, University of
Iowa, 1985; Cecil H. and Ida Green Visiting Professor, University of British Columbia,
1986; chair of Council of Graduate Deans, University of California, 1985-1986;
McMaster University Centennial Lecturer and Learned Society Visitor, 1987
Victoria Fromkin was a linguist who conducted research in the brain mechanisms
underlying language and cognition, including neurological problems, speech pro-
duction, and perception studies. Linguistics is the science of language that encom-
passes phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and the
history of linguistics. After receiving her doctorate, she accepted a position at
UCLA in the Linguistics Department. She advanced quickly through the ranks to
professor of linguistics and performed a range of administrative responsibilities as
department chair, dean of the graduate division, and vice chancellor for academic
programs, the first woman vice chancellor at the university. In addition to her teach-
ing and administrative duties, Fromkin was a prolific scholar and writer, serving as a
member of the editorial boards of Brain and Language, Studies in African Linguis-
tics, and the Journal of Applied Psycholinguistics. She investigated many aspects of
the subject in her books, including the bestselling textbook An Introduction to
Language (1974), which has been translated into six languages. Her other books
included Language, Speech, and Mind (1988), Speech Errors as Linguistic Evi-
dence (1974), and Errors in Linguistic Performance: Slips of the Tongue, Ear, Pen,
and Hand (1980), and published papers on her research on dyslexia. For her
research on how the brain processes language, but also partly for her own amuse-
ment, she kept a notebook recording the thousands of slips of the tongue and verbal
mistakes she heard in everyday speech. In 1988, an edited collection was published
dedicated to her work and influence entitled Festschrift: Language, Speech and
Mind: Studies in Honor of Victoria A. Fromkin.
Even after her retirement in the early 1990s, Fromkin continued to serve on
numerous distinguished committees and to stay involved with professional organi-
zations. She was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
Fuchs, Elaine V. | 411
1996, and was a member of the linguistics panel of the National Science Founda-
tion (1976-1978); linguistics delegate to the National Academy of Science of
China (1974); member of the National Institutes of Health Sensory Disorder and
Language Section (1982-1984); member of the National Research Council Com-
mittee on Basic Research Behavior and Social Sciences (1982-1988); and U.S. del-
egate and member of the executive board of the International Permanent
Committee on Linguistics. She was a member or fellow of the Linguistics Society
of America (president, 1985), the American Association of Phonetic Sciences,
the Linguistics and the Language Sciences section of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science (secretary, 1994-1997, and chair, 1997-1998),
the Acoustical Society of America, the American Psychological Society, and the
New York Academy of Sciences. She was the recipient of both a UCLA Distin-
guished Teaching Award and a UCLA Professional Achievement Award, and was
active in mentoring female students and in promoting the role of women scientists,
including being a member of the National Science Foundation Advisory Panel on
Faculty Awards for Women in Science and Engineering (1990-1991).
Further Resources
University of California, Los Angeles. Faculty website, http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/
people/fromkin/fromkin.htm.
Fuchs, Elaine V.
b. 1950
Cell Biologist, Molecular Biologist, Biochemist, Geneticist
Education: B.S., chemistry, University of Illinois, 1972; Ph.D., biochemistry,
Princeton University, 1977
Professional Experience: postdoctoral research fellow, biochemistry, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1977-1980; assistant professor, biochemistry, University
of Chicago, 1980-1985, associate professor, molecular and cell biology and
biochemistry, 1985-2002; professor, cell biology and development, Rockefeller
University, New York, 2002-
Concurrent Positions: investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Maryland,
1988-
Elaine Fuchs is renowned for her research in molecular genetics and on the stem
cells of skin and hair. She has researched the normal development of skin and hair,
which originate from the same stem cell, as well as abnormalities that can lead to
412 I Fuchs, Elaine V.
Biologist Elaine Fuchs is presented with the National Medal of Science by President Barack
Obama, 2009. (AP/Wide World Photos)
disorders and diseases of the skin, including skin cancer. She has focused on under-
standing the biochemical mechanisms that regulate genes during the growth and
differentiation of the inner or basal epidermis cells. During differentiation, the
basal cells stop multiplying, migrate to the skin's surface, and then undergo mor-
phological and biochemical changes, the most pronounced being the production
of keratin proteins. A malfunction of this process characterizes many skin diseases.
In basal-cell carcinomas, for example, the cells do not differentiate or specialize at
all, creating abnormal cell or tissue growth. Her research may also provide clues to
other problems, such as abnormal or inhibited hair growth. She has published
numerous research papers and has served on the editorial board of several journals,
including the Journal for Cell Biology, Genes and Development, Developmental
Cell, Cell, and Stem Cell. She currently holds positions as an investigator at the
prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and professor and head of the labo-
ratory of mammalian cell biology and development at Rockefeller University in
Furness, Caroline Ellen | 413
New York, overseeing numerous research projects related to skin and follicle
development, wound-healing, and skin cancer, using both mouse and human cells.
Fuchs was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1994 and the National Acad-
emy of Sciences in 1996. She is a fellow of the American Philosophical Society,
New York Academy of Sciences, German Society of Dermatology, and the Ameri-
can Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was recognized early on in her career by
being named a Presidential Scholar (1982); her numerous other awards and honors
include the Searle Scholar Award (1981 and 1991), career development award of
the National Institutes of Health (1982-1987), Bensely Award of the American
Association of Anatomists (1988), Montagna Award of the Society of Investiga-
tive Dermatology (1995), Women in Cell Biology Senior Women's Career
Achievement Award (1997), Richard Lounsbery Award of the National Academy
of Sciences (2001), Cartwright Award from Columbia University (2002), Novartis
Drew Award in Biomedical Research (2003), Dickson Prize in Medicine (2004),
and Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Award for Scien-
tific Excellence (2006).
Further Resources
Rockefeller University. Faculty website, http://www.rockefeller.edu/research/abstract.php
?id=42.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D." http://www.hhmi.org/research/
investigators/fuchs bio .html.
Furness, Caroline Ellen
1869 1936
Astronomer
Education: A.B., Vassar College, 1891; Ph.D., Columbia University, 1900
Professional Experience: high school instructor, 1891-1894; assistant, Vassar
College Observatory, 1894-1903, instructor, 1903-1911, associate professor and
acting director, 1911-1915, Maria Mitchell Professor of Astronomy, 1915-1936
Caroline Furness was one of the pioneer women astronomers who contributed to
our knowledge of comets and minor planets. After matriculating at Vassar and
teaching high school for several years, she was invited by professor Mary Whitney
to return to Vassar as an assistant in the observatory. At the time, Whitney was car-
rying a heavy teaching load of eight different astronomy courses with a total of
160 students. With her own funds, she hired Furness as a teaching and research
414 | Furness, Caroline Ellen
assistant between 1894 through 1910.
Furness later succeeded her mentor
and employer as professor of astron-
omy. Furness and Whitney also col-
laborated on the observation of comets
and minor planets and, after 1909, on
variable stars. After Whitney retired,
Furness was acting director of the
observatory and was named the Maria
Mitchell Professor of Astronomy.
During her tenure, the college trained
a large number of women astronomers,
and other observatories around the
country looked to Vassar when they
wanted to hire women.
Furness emphasized the use of
photography in astronomical research,
and her students were actively engaged
in the research. She was particularly
interested in cataloging the stars of the
North Pole, and she edited Observa-
tions of Variable Stars Made at Vassar
College (1901-1912). She also published on the history of astronomy, including the
relationship between religion and astronomy. Furness made several trips abroad,
working at the astrophysical laboratory at the University of Groningen in 1908 and
visiting scientific institutions throughout the world, including as a delegate to the
Pan-Pacific Congress in Japan in 1926. She was also politically active, attending
the International Woman Suffrage Alliance in Amsterdam in 1908 and petitioning the
U.S. Congress to pass a suffrage amendment. Furness was elected a fellow of the
Royal Astronomical Society in 1922 and was also a member of the American Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science, Association of Variable Star Observers, the
British Astronomical Association, and the Astronomische Gesellschaft.
Astronomers Caroline Furness of Vassar, left
and Annie Jump Cannon of Harvard
Observatory, right, at a meeting of the
American Astronomical Society in 1930.
(Bettmann/Corbis)
G
Gaillard, Mary Katharine (Ralph)
b. 1939
Theoretical Physicist
Education: B.A., Hollins College, 1960; M.S., physics, Columbia University,
1961; D.ScL, theoretical physics, University of Paris-Sud, Orsay, 1968
Professional Experience: research assistant, Centre National de Recherche Sci-
entifique (CNRS), Geneva, 1964-1968, research associate, 1968-1973, head of
research, 1973-1979, director of research, 1980-1981; professor, physics, Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley, 1981—
Concurrent Positions: visiting scientist, European Center for Nuclear Research
(CERN), Geneva, 1964-1981; Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Illinois,
1973-1974, 1983; Institute for Theory of Physics, University of California, Santa
Barbara, 1985; principal investigator, National Science Foundation grant, 1982-;
faculty senior scientist, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 1981—
Mary Gaillard is known internationally for her research in theoretical physics,
specifically on gauge theories, supergravity, physics of the early universe, super-
collider physics, and effective theories of particle physics based on superstring
theories. She has held distinguished appointments with the Centre National de
Recherche Scientifique in Paris and at laboratories in the United States, such as
Fermilab and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Although she was born in New Jer-
sey, and educated at two American universities, she received her doctorate in
France and spent the early part of her career employed primarily in Europe. She
found it difficult to secure a research position in France, but was briefly employed
by her husband, also a physicist, to work in his lab until the couple moved to
Geneva where she worked at the French National Center for Scientific Research.
During this time, she also had an unpaid visiting position at the European Center
for Nuclear Research and, discouraged by the lack of a regular position and the
low salary at CNRS, in 1981, she accepted an offer as professor of physics at the
University of California, Berkeley, the first woman faculty member in the depart-
ment. In addition to her numerous scientific papers and publications, Gaillard
has edited two books: Weak Interactions (1977) and Gauge Theories in High
415
416 I Gantt, Elisabeth
Energy Physics (1983). Although she had a good science education and supportive
family and teachers, she has said that, as a woman, she was still discouraged from
pursuing theoretical physics because it was "too difficult." She encourages young
women to take more difficult mathematics courses in high school and college to
prepare for scientific careers.
Gaillard was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1991. She has received numerous awards and honors, including the Prix Thibaud
of the Academy of Arts and Sciences of Lyons, the E. O. Lawrence Memorial
Award of the U.S. Department of Energy, and the J. J. Sakurai Prize of the American
Physical Society. She has held distinguished lectureships at institutions around the
world and has served on important academic and governmental committees, such
as the High-Energy Physics Advisory Panel, U.S. Department of Energy (1983 and
1991-1994); Astrophysics Advisory Committee (1985-1988) and Physics Advisory
Committee (1986-1990), Fermilab; advisory committee, Theoretical Advanced
Study Institute of Elementary Particle Physics (1983-1988); Subcommittee on Over-
sight Review, National Science Foundation Theoretical Physics Program (1988); and
review committee, Argonne National Laboratory High Energy Physics Division
(1988-1990). In 1996, President Clinton appointed her to a six-year term on the
National Science Board. She has been active in professional associations and chaired
the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics of the American Physical Society
in 1985. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the
American Physical Society, and a member of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
University of California, Berkeley. Faculty research website. http://www. physics
.berkeley.edu/research/faculty/gaillard.html
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Gantt, Elisabeth
b. 1934
Botanist
Education: B.A., Blackburn College, 1958; M.Sc, Northwestern University,
1960, Ph.D., biology, 1963
Gantt, Elisabeth | 4 1 7
Professional Experience: National
Institutes of Health (NIH) research
associate in microbiology, Dartmouth
College Medical School, 1963-1966;
NIH research associate in microbiol-
ogy, Radiation Biology Laboratory,
Smithsonian Institution, 1966-1988;
professor, cell biology and molecular
genetics, University of Maryland,
1988-
Elisabeth Gantt is noted for her work
on plant physiology and biological
structure, including the structures of
photosynthetic apparatus, localiza-
tion and characterization of phycobi-
liproteins, and membrane structure.
For many years, her research has
focused on examining the process of
photosynthesis, which, especially in
plants, is defined as the synthesis of
complex organic materials, especially
carbohydrates, from carbon dioxide,
water, and inorganic salts using sun-
light as the source of energy and with
the aid of chlorophyll and associated pigments. Her particular focus has been on
photosynthesis and algae. Born in Yugoslavia, Gantt immigrated to the United
States and received degrees from Blackburn College and Northwestern University.
After receiving her doctorate from Northwestern University, she was an NIH
research associate in microbiology, first at Dartmouth College Medical School
and then at the Radiation Biology Laboratory of the Smithsonian Institution. She
then joined the faculty of University of Maryland in botany and cell biology,
where she is now Distinguished University Professor.
Gantt was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1996.
She has received numerous awards and honors, such as the Darbaker Prize of the
Botany Society of America (1958) and the G. M. Smith Medal of the National
Academy of Sciences (1994). She was a member of the board of fellows and asso-
ciates of the National Research Council (1973-1976) and has been active in pro-
fessional organizations, serving as president of the Phycological Society of
America (1978) and the American Society of Plant Physiologists (1989). She is a
Botanist Elisabeth Gantt. (Courtesy of Scott
Suchman, University Publications, University
of Maryland)
418 | Gardner, Julia Anna
fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a
member of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, American Society for
Photobiology, and Japan Society of Plant Physiologists. She has been active
in the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB), serving as secretary (1985—
1987) and president (1988). In 2007, she was named an ASPB Fellow, an exclusive
honor for long-term members of the profession.
Further Resources
University of Maryland. Faculty website. http://www.life.umd.edu/CBMG/faculty/gantt/
gantt2.html.
Gardner, Julia Anna
1882 I960
Geologist
Education: A.B., Bryn Mawr College, 1905, A.M., 1907; Ph.D., geology, Johns
Hopkins University, 1911
Professional Experience: public school teacher, 1906; assistant paleontologist,
Johns Hopkins, 1911-1915; volunteer, Red Cross and American Friends Service
Committee, France, 1917-1919; paleontologist, U.S. Geological Survey, 1920-
1924, geologist, 1924-1952
Julia Gardner was an expert in the paleontology of the Coastal Plain, and her pri-
mary interest was in the mollusks found in sedimentary and other rocks. She was
one of the few women geologists of the early twentieth century and one of the first
women employed by the U.S. Geological Survey. She volunteered to serve in
France with the Red Cross in World War I and was injured in the line of duty.
She joined the U.S. Geological Survey after the war, and her research on the oil-
bearing formations of the Coastal Plain, published in Correlation of the Cenozoic
Formations of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain and the Caribbean Region
(1943), was of particular importance to petroleum geologists. By the 1940s, her
work in stratigraphic paleontology was of national and international importance,
contributing especially to studies of economic geology in the Western hemisphere.
During World War II, she provided strategic and tactical information through
analyses of maps, serial photographs, and other sources for use by the armed
forces. One of her contributions was that she was able to identify some of the Jap-
anese beaches from which incendiary balloons were being launched by identifying
the origin of the shells in the sand ballast of the balloons. After her official
Garmire, Elsa (Meints) | 419
retirement, she was rehired on a yearly contract basis for a project to prepare geo-
logical maps of the islands of the western Pacific.
Gardner received the Department of the Interior's Distinguished Service Award
in 1952. That same year, she served as president of the Paleontological Society.
She also was a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists
and the Geological Society of America.
Garmire, Elsa (Meints)
b. 1939
Physicist, Electrical Engineer
Education: B.A., physics, Radcliffe College, 1961; Ph.D., physics, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1965
Professional Experience: research fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
1965-1966; research scientist, Electronics Research Center, National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA), 1965-1966; senior research fellow, electrical
engineering and applied physics, California Institute of Technology, 1966-1973;
senior research scientist, Center for Laser Studies, University of Southern
California, 1974-1978, professor, electrical engineering and physics, and director,
1975-1995; dean and professor, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth
College, 1995-1997, professor, engineering sciences, 1997-
Concurrent Positions: president and founder, Laser Images, Inc., 1971-1973;
visiting scientist, ITT Standard Telecom Labs, 1973-1974; visiting scientist,
Thomson CSF, France, 1974; consultant, The Aerospace Corporation, 1975-
1992; visiting professor, Sydney University, Australia, 1994-1995; visiting
professor, Telebras and University of Sao Paolo, Brazil, 1992; visiting professor,
electrical engineering and computer science, University of California, Berkeley,
2000-2001; Jefferson Science Fellow, U.S. Department of State, 2007-2008
Elsa Garmire has had a distinguished career in laser research since receiving her
doctorate in nonlinear optics under Charles H. Townes, who received the Nobel
Prize in Physics. The term "laser" is an acronym for light amplification by stimu-
lated emission of radiation; the term was coined about 1960. Her research is
focused on lasers, integrated optics, nonlinear optics, spectroscopy, and quantum
electronics. Throughout her career, she has been on the front lines of research
and innovations in the field of laser and optical studies. She holds 10 patents and
has been a delegate to several international symposiums on lasers and optics.
420 | Gast, Alice P.
Garmire has published more than 200 papers in scientific journals and has been
associate editor of both Optics Letters and Fiber and Integrated Optics.
Garmire was appointed a senior research scientist at the Center for Laser
Studies at the University of Southern California in 1974 and was soon promoted to
professor of electrical engineering and physics, associate director of the Center for
Laser Studies, and then director of the center. She was the first woman to be
appointed to the engineering faculty at the University of Southern California and,
in 1995, she became the dean of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth
College, the first woman dean of engineering in an Ivy League school. Garmire's
expertise and reputation are reflected in the number of visiting scholarships and con-
sultancies she has held outside of academia and around the world.
Garmire was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in
1989 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1996. She is a fellow
of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Physical
Society, the Optical Society of America (director-at-large, 1983-1986; president,
1995), and the Society of Women Engineers, which honored her with an Achieve-
ment Award in 1994. Her service to professional and scientific boards has been
extensive and includes membership on the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board
(1985-1989) and the Presidential Medal of Science Selection Committee (1996-
1998), as well as chairing the National Academy Committee to Assess Techno-
logical Literacy (2002-2006); most recently, she has been named a Councilor to
the National Academy of Engineering (2002-2008).
Further Resources
Dartmouth College. Faculty website, http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/faculty/regular/
elsagarmire .html .
Gast, Alice P.
b. 1958
Chemical Engineer
Education: B.S., chemical engineering, University of Southern California, 1980;
M.A., chemical engineering, Princeton University, 1981, Ph.D., chemical engi-
neering, 1984
Professional Experience: assistant professor, chemical engineering, Stanford
University, 1985-1990, associate professor, chemical engineering and chemistry
(by courtesy), 1991-1995, professor, chemical engineering and chemistry
Gast, Alice P. | 42 1
(by courtesy), 1995-2001; vice
president, research, and associate
provost, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), 2001-2006, and
Robert T. Haslam Professor of
Chemical Engineering, 2001-2006;
president, Lehigh University, Penn-
sylvania, 2006-
Alice P. Gast is a chemical engineer
who is currently the president of
Lehigh University in Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, the first female president
in that institution's history. She previ-
ously taught chemical engineering
and chemistry at Stanford University
and at MIT, where her research inter-
ests included the physics of complex
fluids, colloidal suspensions, and
micelles and emulsions, and she has
been acknowledged for her commit-
ment to engineering education. Gast
received her doctorate in chemical
engineering from Princeton University
in 1984 and spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow at the Ecole Superieure de Physique
et de Chimie Industrielles in Paris, where she returned as a visiting professor years
later. She has been an invited lecturer at numerous universities and was an affiliated
faculty at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (1994-2002). She has sat
on committees and advisory boards for the National Research Council Committee
for Science, Technology, and the Law; the National Research Council Committee
on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy; the National Council for Science and
the Environment; the Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Com-
mittee; and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute.
Gast was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2001 and is a fel-
low of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the
Advancement of Science, International Council for Science, and Canadian Insti-
tute for Advanced Research. She is also a member of the American Chemical
Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Physical Society,
International Polymer Colloids Group, and Materials Research Society. Among
her awards and honors are the National Academy of Science Award for Initiative
Chemical engineer and President of Lehigh
University, Alice P. Gast, 2008. (Courtesy of
Lehigh University)
422 | Gayle, Helene Doris
in Research (1992), Allan P. Colburn Award of the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers (1992), Alexander von Humboldt Award (1998), and American Chemi-
cal Society Award in Colloid and Surface Chemistry (2006). She is married to
Bradley J. Askins, a computer scientist who also teaches at Lehigh.
Further Resources
Lehigh University. "Office of the President: Alice P. Gast." http://www3.lehigh.edu/
president/default. asp.
Gayle, Helene Doris
b. 1955
Pediatrician, Epidemiologist
Education: B.A., psychology, Barnard College, 1976; M.D., University of
Pennsylvania, 1981; M.S., public health, Johns Hopkins University, 1981
Professional Experience: resident, Children's Hospital Medical Center,
Washington, D.C., 1981-1984; resident, Epidemic Intelligence program, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1984-1986, medical epidemiologist
and coordinator, Division of HIV/AIDS, 1984-1995; medical researcher, AIDS Divi-
sion, U.S. Agency for International Development, 1992-1995; director, National
Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC, 1995-2001; director, HIV, TB, and
Reproductive Health Program, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2001-2006;
Assistant Surgeon General and Rear Admiral, U.S. Public Health Service, 2001-;
president and CEO, CARE USA, 2006-
Helene Gayle is a renowned epidemiologist of infectious diseases such as acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and
tuberculosis. She has worked with international organizations on issues of disease
prevention and control. Gayle majored in psychology as an undergraduate before
attending medical school, and after hearing a noted researcher speak about small-
pox eradication, she became interested in public health. She began her career in
the 1980s, when AIDS was reaching epidemic proportions. At the CDC, she con-
centrated on the effect of AIDS on children, adolescents, and their families, both
in the United States and worldwide, and she found that the African American com-
munity, especially black women, were at especially high risk for contracting HIV.
Without an available vaccine, she focused her attention on educating the popula-
tions of both the United States and Africa on ways to prevent HIV infection, the
virus that causes AIDS. By the late 1990s, HIV/AIDS had gained more public
Geiringer (Von Mises), Hilda | 423
American pediatrician, epidemiologist, and President of the International AIDS Society,
Helene Gayle speaks in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2005. (AP/Wide World Photos)
attention and research funding, but Gayle was among those who warned against a
premature sense that the threat of the virus had been lessened.
Gayle has received numerous awards, such as the U.S. Public Health Service
achievement medal. She has been a guest lecturer to numerous universities and
organizations and a consultant to international health organizations such as WHO,
UNICEF, the World Bank, and UNAID. She was the editor of Global Mobilization
for HIV Prevention: A Blueprint for Action (2002).
Further Resources
CARE USA. "Helene D. Gayle: President and CEO." http://www.care.org/about/bio
gayle. asp.
Geiringer (Von Mises), Hilda
1893 1973
Mathematician
Education: Ph.D., mathematics, University of Vienna, 1917
424 | Geiringer (Von Mises), Hilda
Professional Experience: editorial assistant, Fortschritte der Mathematik
(Advances in Mathematics), 1919-1920; assistant, Institute of Applied Mathematics,
University of Berlin, 1921-1927, lecturer, 1927-1933, professor emeritus, 1956—
1973; research associate, Institute of Mechanics, University of Brussels, 1933—
1934; professor, mathematics, University of Istanbul, 1934-1939; lecturer, Bryn
Mawr College, 1939-1944; professor and chair, mathematics department, Wheaton
College, Massachusetts, 1944-1959; research fellow, mathematics, Harvard
University, 1955-1959
Concurrent Positions: instructor, mechanics/engineering science, Brown
University, Rhode Island, 1942; research fellow, mathematics, Harvard University,
1954-1973
Hilda Geiringer was a mathematician who worked on statistics and probability
theory, and developed the fundamental Geiringer equations for plane plastic dis-
tortions. Her parents helped support her financially while she studied mathematics
for a Ph.D. at the University of Vienna. At the Institute of Applied Mathematics at
Berlin, she worked as an assistant to renowned mathematician Richard Von Mises,
who would later become her second husband. After receiving her doctorate from
the University of Vienna in 1917, she was on the staff of a review journal for three
years. It was unusual for a woman mathematician to find a teaching position in the
1920s in Germany, but she was appointed an assistant at the University of Berlin
in 1921 and a member of the staff starting in 1927. Once Hitler came to power,
however, Jews were prohibited from employment in universities (among other
positions), and she was forced to flee Germany in 1933 with her child along with
other Jewish professionals. She went to Brussels, where she found a position at
the Institute of Mechanics, and then followed Von Mises on to the University of
Istanbul. Much of her early work was published while in Turkey, where she
became interested in mathematical applications for the new theories of genetics.
In this work, she was an unacknowledged pioneer and precursor to the fields of
genetic mapping, bioinformatics, and genetic engineering.
In 1939, she came to the United States with an appointment as a lecturer at Bryn
Mawr College. In 1943, she married Richard Von Mises, who now had a faculty
position at Harvard. Geiringer relocated to Massachusetts to be near Von Mises
and to take a permanent position as professor and chair of the mathematics
department at Wheaton College. The position at Wheaton included heavy teaching
and administrative duties, and Geiringer continued to apply for a research position
at other universities. Having escaped from Germany because of persecution against
Jews, she now faced discrimination against women at the higher research institu-
tions. To a professor at Princeton University, she wrote, "I hope there will be better
Geller, Margaret Joan | 425
conditions for the next generations of women. ... In the meantime, one has to go on
as well as possible." After Von Mises's death in 1953, she continued to teach at
Wheaton until retiring in 1959, but also spent several years as a research fellow at
Harvard, editing Von Mises's work for publication and conducting her own research.
She published new editions of his books, including her supplementary addition of
new material, including Probability, Statistics, and Truth (1957) and Mathematical
Theory of Probability and Statistics (1964).
Geiringer became a renowned mathematician with an international reputation.
She became a friend and correspondent with Albert Einstein. She was named pro-
fessor emerita by University of Berlin in 1956, more than 20 years after she fled
Germany. She received an honorary degree from Wheaton in 1960, and in 1967,
the University of Vienna made a special presentation on the occasion of the fiftieth
anniversary of her graduation. She was elected a fellow of the American Academy
of Arts and Sciences. Twice-married, she used the name Geiringer professionally,
although in some sources she is identified as Hilda Von Mises or under her first
married name, Hilda Pollaczek.
Further Resources
Agnes Scott College. "Hilda Geiringer von Mises." Biographies of Women Mathematicians.
http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/mises.htm.
Geller, Margaret Joan
b. 1947
Astrophysicist, Cosmologist, Astronomer
Education: B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1970; M.A., Princeton Uni-
versity, 1972, Ph.D., Physics, 1975
Professional Experience: National Science Foundation predoctoral fellow,
Princeton University, 1970-1973; postdoctoral fellow, Center for Astrophysics,
1974-1976; research fellow, Harvard College Observatory, 1976-1978, research
associate, 1978-1980; lecturer, Harvard University, 1977-1980, assistant profes-
sor, 1980-1983; astronomer, Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory,
1983-1991, senior astronomer, 1991-
Concurrent Positions: senior visiting fellow, Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge
University, 1978-1980
426 | Geller, Margaret Joan
Margaret Geller is one of the foremost
cosmologists of the twentieth century.
Cosmology is the branch of astronomy
that deals with the general structure
and evolution of the universe; since
the 1980s, she has worked on surveys
of the distribution of galaxies in the
universe. She and her team constructed
three-dimensional maps that revealed,
for the first time, that galaxies such as
the Earth's own Milky Way are
arranged in very large patterns resem-
bling soapsuds. In the nearby universe,
thin walls marked by thousands of gal-
axies surround vast dark regions in
which there are very few galaxies. In
1989, Geller and her collaborator, John
Huchra of Harvard, discovered "the
Great Wall," a huge arc of galaxies
spanning the area the scientists sur-
veyed. The wall is a chain of galaxies on the order of 500 million by 200 million by
15 million light-years in extent; this is the largest coherent structure yet seen in the
universe.
Geller was inspired by the sciences when, as a child, she accompanied her
father, a graduate student in crystallography, to his x-ray lab. She received a
National Science Foundation fellowship while pursuing her master's, and went
on to become only the second woman to earn a doctorate in physics from Prince-
ton. While visiting the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge University, she
decided to examine the large-scale structure of the universe, of which little was
known. She joined forces with Huchra, who specialized in using telescopes to
gather the necessary data for these explorations, to complement her theoretical,
analytical view. She was only the second woman astronomer to receive tenure
at Harvard; the first was Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. In addition to Geller's scien-
tific publications, she has prepared two films for the general public. The video
Where the Galaxies Are (1991), which premiered at the National Air and Space
Museum, is a general description of her work; the film So Many Galaxies . . . So
Little Time (1992) provides insights into the lives and work of scientists and their
students. She was also interviewed for the television program "Mysteries of Deep
Space" in the NOVA series on public television in 1997.
Astrophysicist, astronomer, and cosmologist
Margaret Joan Geller, 1993. (Roger
Ressmeyer/Corbis)
Gerry, Eloise B. | 427
Geller was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1992. In 1990, she
received a prestigious five-year MacArthur "genius grant." Other awards included
the Newcomb-Cleveland Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
(1990) and the Helen Sawyer Hogg Prize of the Royal Astronomical Society of
Canada (1993), named for the woman who cataloged variable stars in globular
clusters. In 1997, Gellar won a Library Lion award from the New York Public
Library, and in 2002, she received the ADION Medal from Nice Observatory in
France. She has published widely in scientific journals and has been on the edito-
rial review board for Science since 1991. She is a fellow of the American Physical
Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, International
Astronomical Union, and American Astronomical Society.
Further Resources
Harvard University. Faculty website, http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~mjg/.
Gerry, Eloise B.
1885 1970
Botanist
Education: A.B., Radcliffe College, 1908, A.M., 1909; M.S., Smith College,
1909-1910; Ph.D., plant physiology, University of Wisconsin, 1921
Professional Experience: expert, Forest Products Laboratory, U.S. Forest
Service, 1910-1911, microscopist, 1911-1928, senior microscopist, 1928-1947,
technologist, Forest Products, 1947-1955
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, forest products, University of Wisconsin,
1911-1955
Eloise Gerry was an international expert on the properties of forest woods. She
was the first woman appointed to the professional staff of the U.S. Forest Service
at Madison, Wisconsin and one of the first women to specialize in forest products
research. After receiving her master's degree from Smith College, she joined the
staff of the newly opened Forest Products Laboratory, where she spent her entire
career. She joined the department as a wood microscopist and was ultimately pro-
moted to forest products technologist. She had developed a highly specialized
method for cutting wood specimens and preparing photomicrographs, but when
she arrived at the new laboratory, the equipment she needed was not yet available.
The botany department at the University of Wisconsin temporarily provided space
428 | Giblett, Eloise Rosalie
and the equipment for her work. Her first project for the U.S. Forest Service was to
collect wood samples from throughout the United States. After the samples were
collected and analyzed, she moved to other research projects. Her first paper was
published in 1914 on tyloses, the plugging of wood cells that restricts the move-
ment of liquid. In 1916, over the objections of lab administrators, she took her
microtome and microscope to Mississippi and Florida to gather and analyze core
samples from living trees for a project on naval stores. As a result of this research,
she became a national expert in naval stores and wrote a book, Naval Stores
Handbook (1935).
During World War II, Gerry worked on projects of selecting wood suitable for
packing supplies to ship to the armed services in a variety of climates all over
the world. After the war, her research involved foreign woods, on which she pre-
pared 56 reports in the Foreign Wood Series of the Forest Products Laboratory.
She published more than 120 papers in technical and trade journals, in FPL publi-
cations as well as those of the Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture. She was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, and was a member of the American Chemical Society, the American
Forestry Association, the Society of American Foresters, the Forest History Soci-
ety, and the International Association of Wood Anatomists.
Giblett, Eloise Rosalie
1921 2009
Hematologist, Geneticist
Education: student, Mills College, 1939-1940; B.S., University of Washington,
1942, M.S., microbiology, 1947, M.D., 1951
Professional Experience: intern and resident, University of Washington,
1951-1952, postdoctoral fellow, 1953-1955, clinical associate, School of Medi-
cine, 1955-1957, clinical instructor to associate professor, 1957-1967, research
professor, medicine, 1967-1987; associate director, Puget Sound Blood Center,
1967-1979, executive director, 1979-1987, emerita
Concurrent Positions: postdoctoral fellow, Medical School, University of Lon-
don, 1953-1955
Eloise Giblett discovered that an inadequate supply of two specific enzymes causes
inherited deficiencies in the body's immune system and led the research on gene
therapy to treat these deficiencies. She also discovered a wide range of new genetic
Gibson, Eleanor Jack | 429
markers, including blood groups and serum proteins, and did important research in
blood group antibodies. Giblett published more than 200 papers and textbook chap-
ters on various aspects of inherited characteristics, particularly those in human blood.
These include iron kinetics, red-cell destruction owing to isoantibodies, detection of
variants in blood group antigen, serum protein, red-cell enzyme genetic systems, and
changes in red-cell antigens associated with marrow stress. She is the author of the
book Genetic Markers in Human Blood (1969).
After college, Giblett joined the Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency
Services (WAVES), the women's branch of the U.S. Navy at the time, as a medical
technician. She then used funds from the GI Bill to attend medical school, receiv-
ing a master's in microbiology and then an M.D. degree, specializing in hematol-
ogy and human genetics. She has participated on many significant committees and
commissions as a member of the National Institutes of Health Genetics Study Sec-
tion; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Research Review Committee; the
National Blood Resources Committee; and the Food and Drug Administration
Toxicology Advisory Committee. In the 1960s, she was associate editor of the
journals Transfusion and American Journal of Human Genetics. In addition to
teaching at the University of Washington, she served for 20 years as the director
of the Puget Sound Blood Center. In 2004, she was the keynote speaker at the Cen-
ter's sixtieth-anniversary celebration.
Giblett was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1980 and received
the Emily Cooley Award (1975), the Karl Landsteiner Award (1976), and the
Philip Levine Award (1978). She was a member of the American Society of Hem-
atology, American Society of Human Genetics (president, 1973), American Asso-
ciation of Immunologists, and Association of American Physicians.
Gibson, Eleanor Jack
1910 2002
Psychologist
Education: A.B., Smith College, 1931, A.M., 1933; Ph.D., psychology, Yale Uni-
versity, 1938
Professional Experience: assistant, psychology, Smith College, 1931-1933,
instructor, 1933-1940, assistant professor, 1940-1949; research associate, Cornell
University, 1949-1966, professor, psychology, 1966-1980
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
1973; University of California, Davis, 1978; University of Pennsylvania, 1984;
430 | Gilbreth, Lillian E. Moller
University of South Carolina, 1987; University of Connecticut, 1988; Emory
University, 1988-1990; Center for Advanced Behavioral Studies, University of
Minnesota; Salk Institute
Eleanor Gibson was recognized as an expert in the psychology of learning and
was most well-known for her studies of perception in young children. In the late
1950s, she designed a "visual cliff" experiment to study depth perception in
infants and toddlers. The experiment involved placing the child on a wooden table
with a large plate of glass attached, and encouraging them to crawl off the "edge"
of the table onto the glass, which most of the children would not do. Gibson
repeated her experiment with kittens and other animals, and concluded that our
sense of depth prevents falls and injuries. In 1961, she co-authored (with her col-
league Richard D. Walk) the book A Comparative and Analytical Study of Visual
Depth Perception. Their work received media attention (it was reported in Life
magazine) and was reprinted in psychology textbooks.
Gibson began her teaching career at Smith College where, after receiving her
Ph.D. from Yale, she was promoted to assistant professor. While still a graduate stu-
dent, she married another psychologist, James Gibson, with whom she often collabo-
rated. But she faced discrimination as a woman and as a married woman when it
came to her career. At Yale, she was denied use of the laboratories and libraries as
well as admission to some seminars, and some of her work was published under a
lab director's name. When James Gibson moved to Cornell, Eleanor was unable to
secure a faculty position there and worked as his research associate until 1966, when
the rules about hiring married couples changed and she was appointed professor of
psychology. Before and even after her retirement, she held numerous research posi-
tions and visiting professorships at other institutions. In 1982, she was invited to
China to mentor psychologists there on her methods and research.
Gibson was the author or co-author of five books, including her memoir, Perceiv-
ing the Affordances: A Portrait of Two Psychologists, published in 2001. She was
elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1971. She was a member of the
Society of Experimental Psychologists and the American Psychological Association
(APA), receiving an APA award in 1968 and a G. Stanley Hall Award in 1970.
Gilbreth, Lillian E. Moller
1878 1972
Industrial Psychologist, Engineer
Education: B. Litt, University of California, Berkeley, 1900, M.A., 1902; Ph.D.,
psychology, Brown University, 1915
Gilbreth, Lillian E. Moller | 431
Professional Experience: co-owner, Gilbreth, Inc., 1904-1924; consultant,
Gilbreth Research Associates, 1924-1972
Concurrent Positions: visiting lecturer, Purdue University, 1924-1935, professor
of management, 1935-1948; chair, department of personnel relations, Newark
College of Engineering, 1941-1943; professor of management, University of
Wisconsin, 1955
Lillian Gilbreth was one of the founders of the discipline of modern scientific
management and efficiency and a pioneer in the field of industrial psychology.
Her 1914 book, The Psychology of Management, was a groundbreaking work
on the health of industrial workers and had an enormous impact on the develop-
ment of business practices in the twentieth century. Soon after graduating from
college, she married Frank Gilbreth, a builder with an interest in inventing
equipment and techniques for improving efficiency. Her concern for the human
needs of workers complemented his interests in industrial efficiency, and they
both altered their career paths in order to work together at their own consulting
firm. She had intended to study literature but focused her doctoral studies on
psychology instead, earning her Ph.D. in 1915 after already publishing her first
book, and in the midst of working with her husband and bearing 12 children
in 17 years. The large Gilbreth family were themselves an experiment in organi-
zation and efficiency, using their home as a model for their studies. They trained
management professionals in addition to lecturing in schools of engineering and
business, consulting for industrial firms, and writing for both professional and
popular magazines. The Gilbreths were the forerunners of the science of time
and motion analysis, and Lillian Gilbreth's contribution to the field was an
appreciation of the human element in applying time and motion studies.
After Frank Gilbreth died in 1924, Lillian still had children to raise, and started
a new consulting firm, Gilbreth Research Associates. She counted numerous
retailers among her clients, including Johnson & Johnson, Macy's, and Sears &
Roebuck. She was hired as a guest lecturer at Purdue University, a position that
Frank Gilbreth had held, and later received a regular faculty appointment as the
first female professor of engineering at Purdue. She began an intensive study of
applying modern business methods in the home. Together, the Gilbreths had co-
authored Fatigue Study: The Elimination of Humanity's Greatest Unnecessary
Waste (1916) and Applied Motion Study (1917). Her two other major publications
included The Home-Maker and Her Job (1927) and Management in the Home
(1954), as well as numerous articles in such popular magazines as Good House-
keeping and Better Homes and Gardens. She did significant research on people
with disabilities 50 years before the American Disabilities Act, developing a
432 | Gill, Jocelyn Ruth
model kitchen for the handicapped at the Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at
New York University Medical Center and discussing special equipment and rou-
tines for housework in Normal Lives for the Disabled (1944). Among her innova-
tions was the idea for opening trashcans by stepping on a handle, an invention
now widely used in the home.
Gilbreth has the honor of being the first woman elected to National Academy of
Engineering (1965). In 1921, she was named an honorary member of the Society
of Industrial Engineers, which did not admit women to membership. In 1966,
she received the Hoover Medal of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and
in 1987, Purdue established a distinguished professorship of engineering in her
name. The Society of Women Engineers has also established a fellowship in her
memory. The humorous reminiscences of the Gilbreth family were recorded by
Frank Gilbreth, Jr., and Ernestine G. Carey in Cheaper by the Dozen (1948; later
a motion picture) and Belles on Their Toes (1950).
Further Resources
Wood, Michael C. and John C. Wood, eds. 2003. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth: Critical
Evaluations in Business and Management. New York: Routledge.
Lancaster, Jane. 2004. Making Time: Lillian Moller Gilbreth A Life Beyond "Cheaper By
the Dozen." Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press.
Gill, Jocelyn Ruth
1916 1984
Astronomer
Education: A.B., Wellesley College, 1938; S.M., astronomy and astrophysics,
University of Chicago, 1941; Ph.D., astronomy, Yale University, 1959
Professional Experience: laboratory assistant and instructor, astronomy, Mount
Holyoke College, 1940-1942; staff member, radiation laboratory, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), 1942-1945; instructor to assistant professor,
astronomy, Smith College, 1945-1952; instructor, University of California exten-
sion, 1946-1948; assistant professor, Mount Holyoke, 1952-1957; associate pro-
fessor, mathematics and astronomy, Arizona State College, 1959-1960; research
assistant, astronomy, Yale University, 1960-1961; staff scientist, astronomy and
astrophysics, Office of Space Science and Applications, National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA), 1961-1963, chief of in-flight science, Manned
Gleitman, Lila R. | 433
Space Science Program Office, 1963-1966, staff scientist, Manned Flight Experi-
ment Office, 1966-1968, program scientist, 1968-1984
Jocelyn Gill conducted research involving motion of Neptune's satellite (Triton),
celestial mechanics, and numerical analysis of satellite orbits. She held prominent
positions in NASA's manned space flight program. After receiving her master's
degree, Gill was employed as a laboratory assistant and instructor of astronomy
at Mount Holyoke. The beginning of World War II opened up many new industries
and research positions for women. The radiation laboratory at MIT hired many
women to continue the work that men formerly had performed. After working at
MIT, Gill taught astronomy at several schools while continuing work on her doc-
torate at Yale. She had several other assignments until she received an appoint-
ment with NASA in 1961 with the Office of Space Science and Applications in
the Washington, D.C., area. After the former Soviet Union launched Sputnik, there
was a crash program to catch up to and surpass the Russian space program. Again
the U.S. program opened up many positions for women scientists with expertise in
astronomy and astrophysics, as there simply were not enough men trained in these
fields. She was chief of in-flight science from 1963 to 1966 and participated in a
solar eclipse flight in 1963. She also worked on the Gemini Science program.
Gill received the Federal Women's Award in 1966 representing NASA. She was
elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and
was also a member of the American Astronomical Society and the American
Association of Variable Star Observers.
Gleitman, Lila R.
b. 1929
Psychologist
Education: B.A., literature, Antioch College, 1952; M.A., linguistics, University
of Pennsylvania, 1962, Ph.D., 1967
Professional Experience: senior scientist, Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric
Institute, Philadelphia, 1965-1968; assistant professor, linguistics, Swarthmore Col-
lege, 1968-1971; William T. Carter Professor of Education, University of Pennsylva-
nia, 1972-1979, professor, psychology, 1981-2001 (Steven and Marcia Roth
Professor of Psychology, 1989-1994), and professor, linguistics, 1992-2001, emerita
Concurrent Positions: Alfred P. Sloan Cognitive Science Fellow, linguistics
and philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1978; Alfred P. Sloan
434 | Gleitman, Lila R.
Cognitive Science Fellow, School of Social Science, University of California,
Irvine, 1979; Vera T. Brittain Fellow, Somerville College, Oxford Univer-
sity, England, 1985; co-founder and co-director, Institute for Cognitive Science,
University of Pennsylvania, 1991-2001; visiting faculty, Cognitive Science
Institute (RUCCS) Rutgers University, 2000-; visiting scientist, SISSA,
Trieste, 2001-2008
Lila Gleitman is a world-renowned psychologist who specializes in psycholinguis-
tics and language acquisition, including representation of the sound wave, syntax,
and construction of the lexicon. She has pioneered the field of linguistics theory in
cognitive science, specifically focusing on developmental linguistics and child-
ren's language acquisition. She received her doctorate from the University of
Pennsylvania and taught at Swarthmore College before returning to University of
Pennsylvania to teach in the departments of education, psychology, and linguis-
tics. She taught at Pennsylvania for 30 years, as did her husband, fellow psycholo-
gist Henry Gleitman. The two often collaborated and Gleitman's work has been
supported by research grants from the National Science Foundation and National
Institutes of Health. She has been an invited lecturer at numerous universities in
the United States and abroad. She has authored dozens of articles and book
chapters, and edited or co-edited several textbooks, including Language and Expe-
rience: Evidence from the Blind Child (1985) and Invitation to Cognitive Science,
Volume I: Language (1996). Two volumes of essays by colleagues have been
published in her and her husband's honor.
Gleitman was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2000 and,
since her retirement, has served on NAS advisory committees. She received
honorary doctorates from the University of Chicago (2005) and the University
of Pennsylvania (2008). Among her more recent awards and honors are a
Women in Science Award from the New York Academy of Sciences (2002), a
Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of the American Psychological
Association (2003), and the John McGovern Award in the Behavioral Sciences
from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2003).
She is a fellow or member of the AAAS, Society of Experimental Psychologists,
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cognitive Science Society, Linguistic
Society of America (president, 1993), Society for Philosophy and Psychology
(president, 2006-2007), and Language Development Society (president, 2006-).
Further Resources
University of Pennsylvania. Faculty website, http://www.psych.upenn.edu/people/
gleitman.
Glusker, Jenny (Pickworth) | 435
Glusker, Jenny (Pickworth)
b. 1931
Crystallographer, Cancer Researcher
Education: B.A., Somerville College, Oxford University, 1953, M.A. and
D. Phil., chemistry, 1957
Professional Experience: research fellow, x-ray crystallography, California Insti-
tute of Technology, 1955-1956; research associate, Institute for Cancer Research
(later Fox Chase Cancer Center), Philadelphia, 1956-1966, director, 1967-1979,
senior member, 1979-2003
Concurrent Positions: research associate professor, University of Pennsylvania,
1969-1979, adjunct professor, biochemistry and biophysics, 1980-
Jenny Glusker is renowned for her work in x-ray crystallography and is a leading
authority on chemical carcinogenesis based on the structure determinations of
various carcinogens. She has performed calculations on simple aromatic hydrocar-
bons that act as models for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and she has studied
many antitumor agents that inhibit chemical carcinogenesis. X-ray crystallo-
graphic data are powerful tools, for they provide a three-dimensional structure,
the absolute configuration, and the preferred conformations of a sample. While a
student at Somerville College, she worked with Dorothy Hodgkin, contributing
to research on the structure of vitamin B 12 - Hodgkin went on to receive the Nobel
Prize in Chemistry in 1964.
Both of Glusker's parents were physicians, and her mother was a member of the
first class of women students in the medical school at Glasgow University during
World War I. She encouraged both of her daughters to combine marriage with a
career. Jenny Pickworth met her future husband while studying in England, and the
two went to the United States in 1955. When they married, each had a postdoctoral
appointment at the California Institute of Technology, where Jenny was a member
of Linus Pauling's research team. The couple then faced the problem of finding jobs
at the same location. They succeeded in finding positions in Philadelphia, where she
joined the Institute for Cancer Research, later named the Fox Chase Cancer Center.
When she joined the center, the director not only encouraged married women to work,
but allowed Glusker to work part-time while her children were young. When her
youngest child was just two years old, the director of the institute died, and Glusker
was offered and accepted the position. She retired from the laboratory in 2003.
Glusker has published more than 100 scientific articles, edited numerous books,
and published two books: Crystal Structure Analysis: A Primer (1972; 2nd ed.,
436 | Goeppert-Mayer, Maria
1985) and Crystal Structure Analysis for Chemists and Biologists (1994). She is
the editor of Acta Crystallographica and serves on the editorial boards of several
other journals. She has been very active in promoting the careers of many young
researchers either through her teaching at the university or supervision of graduate
students at the institute. Among the awards she has received are the Garvan Medal
of the American Chemical Society (1979) and the Fankuchen Award of the American
Crystallographic Association (1995). She is a member of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, American Crystallographic Association (president,
1979), American Chemical Society, American Society of Biological Chemists, and
Biophysical Society.
Further Resources
Fox Chase Cancer Center. Biography. http://dunbrack.fccc.edu/GluskerSymposium/
Bio.php.
Fox Chase Cancer Center. Staff website, http://www.fccc.edu/research/pid/glusker/.
Goeppert-Mayer, Maria
1906 1972
Physicist
Education: Ph.D., physics, University of Gottingen, 1930
Professional Experience: research assistant, physics, Johns Hopkins University,
1931-1939; lecturer, Columbia University, 1939-1946; senior physicist, Argonne
National Laboratory, 1946-1960; professor, School of Science and Engineering,
University of California, San Diego, 1960-1972
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, Sarah Lawrence College, 1941-1942, 1945;
volunteer professor, Fermi Institute of Nuclear Studies, University of Chicago,
1946-1959
Maria Goeppert-Mayer was a nuclear physicist involved in the development of the
atomic fission bomb and a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for
her work on the structure of atomic nuclei. She received her doctorate in 1930
from the University of Gottingen, which attracted many theoretical physicists of
the era, but had few women faculty. In Gottingen, she met American chemistry
student Joseph Mayer, and the two married in 1930. She came to the United States
when her husband accepted a faculty position at Johns Hopkins, but due to anti-
nepotism rules at that time, she was not able to secure a faculty position and
Goeppert-Mayer, Maria | 437
worked as a research assistant and
even translator for another professor
until the couple moved to Columbia
University in New York, where she
was a lecturer in chemistry. It was in
New York that she med Enrico Fermi,
another Nobel Prize-winning physi-
cist who was working on nuclear fis-
sion and radioactivity, research
projects of increasing interest to the
U.S. government. She joined Fermi's
research team in an unpaid position
and in 1942 began to work on top-
secret bomb research as part of the
Manhattan Project. As the United
States had entered World War II,
there was a shortage of male scien-
tists, and many women were hired
for the project. She was ambivalent
about even her small contribution to
work on the bomb, but even after the
war she made visits to continue work
on its development at Los Alamos,
New Mexico.
After the war, she was offered an associate professorship in physics at Fermi's
new Institute of Nuclear Studies at the University Chicago, and was also a senior
physicist at Argonne National Laboratory studying the nuclei of certain elements.
It was through this research that she developed her shell model for electron move-
ment around the nucleus, the subject of her 1949 joint publication with J. Hans D.
Jensen, which led to their sharing of the Nobel Prize in 1963. Despite this work,
and building a prominent reputation as a nuclear physicist beginning in the
1940s, it was not until 1959 that she began to earn a full professor's salary at
Chicago. In 1960, both she and her husband were recruited for faculty positions
at the University of California, San Diego.
Goeppert-Mayer was elected to the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences (1950)
and National Academy of Sciences (1956). She was a member of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Physical Society, which presents
the Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award to a woman physicist each year. She
co-authored two books: Statistical Mechanics (1940, with Joseph Mayer) and
Elementary Theory of Nuclear Shell Structure (1955, with J. Hans D. Jensen).
Maria Goeppert-Mayer was co-recipient of the
1963 Nobel Prize in Physics for her work on
atomic nuclei. (Nobel Foundation)
438 | Goldberg, Adele
Further Resources
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Opfell, Olga S. 1986. The Lady Laureates: Women Who Have Won the Nobel Prize.
Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.
Goldberg, Adele
b. 1945
Computer Scientist, Information Technologist
Education: B.A., mathematics, University of Michigan; M.S. and Ph.D., information
science, University of Chicago, 1973
Professional Experience: researcher, educational technology, Stanford Univer-
sity; research scientist, Xerox Corporation, Palo Alto Research Center (PARC),
1973-1988; founder, president, and CEO, ParcPlace Systems, 1988-1992, chair,
board of directors, 1992-1996; independent researcher, computer science,
1996-; co-founder, Neometron, 1997-
Adele Goldberg is one of the few women whose contributions to the development
of the personal computer in the 1970s is generally acknowledged. With advanced
degrees in information technology, she was teaching at Stanford University when
Alan Kay, a computer programmer at Xerox Corporation's prestigious think tank,
the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), contacted her about developing a program
he called Smalltalk, intended to improve productivity and communication through
a simple programming language. Goldberg wrote up demonstrations and tests for
the software. Xerox already had an "object-oriented" computer called Star that
used icons, windows, and the mouse, but had let it languish in the lab, and compet-
itors brought those ideas to the market. Smalltalk had many of the same features,
but Goldberg persuaded Xerox to allow her and her partners to form a subsidiary
to market Smalltalk, and in 1988, she and Kay formed ParcPlace Systems. Under-
standing the importance of user interaction, and with her contacts in the education
community, she and Kay brought the program into public schools to have children
and teachers use it to develop class projects.
Smalltalk was easier and faster to learn than other programming languages,
such as C++ or COBOL, and designed to be used with both mainframes and per-
sonal computers. The applications were limitless: business processes, games, edu-
cational interactions, document publishing, and manufacturing control. ParcPlace
Goldhaber, Gertrude Scharff | 439
Systems went public in 1994, and Goldberg resigned as chair of the board soon
after. She became an independent researcher and consultant on computer science
courses and multimedia software applications for science education. In 1997, she
co-founded Neometron, a company creating networking and virtual community
computer products for businesses and educational institutions.
Goldberg has published articles and several books: Smalltalk-80: The Interac-
tive Programming Environment (1984), Smalltalk-80; The Language and Its
Implementation (1983), and Succeeding with Objects: Decision Frameworks for
Project Management (1995). She was awarded the Association for Computer
Machinery's Software Systems Award (1987) jointly with several colleagues.
She is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (and one of the
few women presidents of that organization, serving from 1984 to 1986) and the
American Federation of Information Processing Societies. In 1990, she won the
Lifetime Achievement Award from PC Magazine.
Further Resources
"Neometron, Inc." http://www.neometron.com.
Goldhaber, Gertrude Scharff
1911 1 998
Physicist
Education: Ph.D., physics, University of Munich, 1935
Professional Experience: research associate, physics, Imperial College, Univer-
sity of London, 1935-1939; research physicist, University of Illinois, Urbana,
1939-1948, special research assistant professor, physics, 1948-1950; consultant,
Brookhaven National Laboratory, 1948-1950, associate physicist to physicist,
1950-1962, senior physicist, 1962-1979
Concurrent Positions: consultant, Argonne National Laboratory, 1946-1950; con-
sultant, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 1953-1979; adjunct professor, Cornell
University, 1980-1982; adjunct professor, Johns Hopkins University, 1982
Gertrude Goldhaber had a long and influential career in nuclear physics with
significant contributions to research on spontaneous fission neutrons and the iden-
tification of beta-rays with atomic electrons. She was involved at Brookhaven
440 | Goldman-Rakic, Patricia
National Laboratory in both theoretical and experimental work to determine the
detailed properties of nuclear energy levels and magnetic moments. After receiv-
ing a doctorate in physics from the University of Munich in 1935, soon after Hitler
came to power, she was able to leave Germany for a position as a research associ-
ate in physics at Imperial College, University of London, where she remained for
five years. Both of her parents remained in Germany and were killed in the
Holocaust. Moving to the United States with her husband, physicist Maurice
Goldhaber, in 1939, she was a research physicist studying nuclear physics at the Uni-
versity of Illinois from 1939 to 1950. Both she and her husband were appointed to
the staff at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York in 1950, and she achieved
the rank of senior physicist, working at that level from 1962 to 1979. Even after her
formal retirement, she continued her research under grants with other colleagues
from various institutions and also served as an independent consultant. Undoubtedly
inspired by the work and success of their parents, both of her children went on to
receive doctorates in theoretical physics.
Goldhaber was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1972. She held
several prestigious national appointments, including as a member (1959-1964) and
chair (1969-1971) of the National Research Council (NRC) advisory panel on the
nuclear data project. At the NRC, she also worked on issues related to women in
science. She was a member of the board of trustees, Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory (1972-1977), member of the research advisory committee for the
National Science Foundation (1972-1974), and member of the nominating com-
mittee for the Presidential Medal of Science (1977-1979). She was elected a fel-
low of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the
American Physical Society.
Further Resources
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Goldman-Rakic, Patricia
1937 2003
Neurobiologist
Education: B.A., psychology, Vassar College, 1959; Ph.D., psychology, Univer-
sity of California, Los Angeles, 1963
Professional Experience: U.S. Public Health Service postdoctoral fellow, psy-
chiatry, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),
Goldman-Rakic, Patricia | 441
1963-1964; postdoctoral trainee, psychiatry, New York University, 1964-1965;
research associate, American Museum of Natural History, 1964-1965; staff
fellow, neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, Maryland, 1965—
1968, research physiologist, 1978, chief, developmental neurobiology, 1978-1979;
professor, neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, 1979-2003
Concurrent Positions: visiting scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), 1974-1975; professor (joint appointments), neurology, psychiatry, and
psychology, Yale University School of Medicine, 1991-1996
Patricia Goldman-Rakic was a neuroscientist whose pioneering research in the
early 1970s provided the first biological map of the structure of the brain's frontal
lobe area. Her work as a neurobiologist combined multidisciplinary methods and
approaches from neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, biology, and biochemistry
to understand memory, behavior, and the effect of drugs on the brain. Her work
provided insight and implications for further research into mental disorders and
diseases such as schizophrenia, depression, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease,
Alzheimer's, and memory loss. A professor of neuroscience at Yale University
Medical School, her research using trained rhesus monkeys (whose brains are
most similar to humans) was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH) for 20 years (1980-2000).
Goldman attended Vassar College and earned a doctorate in psychology from
UCLA in 1963. She held postdoctoral and staff positions at the UCLA Brain
Research Institute, New York University, and spent 14 years at NIMH, where she
rose to chief of developmental neurobiology before joining the faculty at Yale in
1979. In the early 1970s, she met Pasko Rakic, a developmental biologist then at
Harvard Medical School also working on primate brain development. In 1977,
the two were married and Pasko Rakic was recruited as head of neuroanatomy at
Yale. Goldman-Rakic made a decision to leave her senior-level job as a scientist
at NIMH and accept an academic position at Yale, where the two collaborated
on their research and founded and co-edited the neuroscience journal Cerebral
Cortex. Unfortunately, Patricia Goldman-Rakic 's career and life were cut short
when she was struck by a car and killed in 2003 at the age of 66.
Goldman-Rakic was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1990 and
was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American
Psychological Association. Her numerous awards and honors included the Alden
Spencer Award from Columbia University (1982), Krieg Cortical Discoverer
Award of the Cajal Club (1989), Fyssen Foundation Prize in Neuroscience
(1990), Lieber Prize of the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia
and Depression (1991), Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Award (1993),
Karl Lashley Award of the American Philosophical Society (1996), and Gerard
442 | Goldring, Winifred
Prize of the Society for Neuroscience (2002). In 2000, she was awarded an honor-
ary doctorate from Utrecht University, Netherlands. She was a member of the
National Advisory Council of the National Institute on Aging, was on the Board
of Governors of the Weizmann Institute, and served as president of the Society
for Neuroscience (1989-1990).
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
"Patricia Goldman-Rakic: 1937 2003." Oxford Journals. Cerebral Cortex. http://www
.oxfordjournals.org/our journals/cercor/memoriam.html.
Goldring, Winifred
1888 1971
Paleontologist
Education: A.B., Wellesley College, 1909, A.M., 1912; student, Teachers School
of Science (affiliated with the Boston Society of Natural History), 1909-1911;
Harvard University, 1910-1911; Columbia University, 1913; Johns Hopkins
University, 1921
Professional Experience: assistant, geology and geography, Wellesley College,
1909-1912; instructor, Teacher's School of Science, Boston, 1912-1914;
expert, New York State Museum, 1914-1915, assistant to associate paleontologist,
1915-1925, paleobotanist, 1925-1939, State Paleontologist, 1939-1950
Winifred Goldring was one of the earliest professional female paleontologists and
was recognized for her expertise by being appointed state paleontologist of New
York. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Wellesley and began
her career as a teacher at Wellesley before going on to work as a resident expert
and then paleontologist at the New York State Museum. Her father had been an
orchid grower, and her primary research was actually in paleobotany, with the
study of sea lilies from the middle of the Paleozoic era. This was conducted at a
time when there was a great deal of interest in paleobotany, and her collection
was recognized worldwide. She prepared numerous handbooks, but her
most important monograph was The Devonian Crinoids of the State of New York
(1923), a study of the fossils and geology of the New York area of 345 to 395 mil-
lion years ago. This was the subject of one of her most successful museum
Goldwasser, Shafrira | 443
displays. She went on to publish numerous other books and articles, many of
which helped popularize geology for the general public, including Handbook of
Paleontology for Beginners and Amateurs; Part 1, The Fossils (1929) and Part 2,
The Formations (1931). Her handbooks and exhibitions were widely copied
and considered models for teaching. For example, her "Guide to the Geology
of John Boyd Thacher Park" (1933) was a case study well-suited to college
courses. In 1939, she was officially appointed state paleontologist, achieving some
fame as the first woman to hold the post. She held this position until her retirement
in 1950.
Goldring continued her education with postgraduate courses at several univer-
sities and received honorary degrees from Russell Sage College (1937) and from
Smith College (1957). She was the first woman elected president of the Paleonto-
logical Society in 1949 and was also a fellow and one-time vice president of the
Geological Society of America. She was also a member of the American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science, the New York Academy of Sciences, and the
American Geophysical Union. The Association for Women Geoscientists presents
its annual Winifred Goldring Award to a female undergraduate or graduate student
planning to pursue a career in paleontology.
Goldwasser, Shafrira
b. 1958
Computer Scientist, Electrical Engineer
Education: B.S., mathematics, Carnegie Mellon University, 1979; M.S., com-
puter science, University of California, Berkeley, 1981, Ph.D., computer science,
1983
Professional Experience: professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), 1983-1997, RSA Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science, 1997-
Concurrent Positions: professor, mathematical sciences, Weizmann Institute of
Science, Israel
Shafrira "Shaft" Goldwasser is an electrical engineer and computer scientist
known for her work in complexity theory, computational number theory, probabil-
ity and randomness, cryptography, and zero-knowledge proofs. These are math-
ematical models and theories used in the creation of secure computer networks
and systems, including the transmission of secure information over the Internet.
444 | Good, Mary (Lowe)
She studied mathematics as an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon University and
received her doctorate in computer science from the University of California,
Berkeley. She has been affiliated with MIT since 1983, except for a brief tenure
at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel in the early 1990s. At MIT, she
teaches electrical engineering and computer science, and is affiliated with MIT's
Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).
Goldwasser was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2004 and the
National Academy of Engineering in 2005. She is a fellow of the American Acad-
emy of Arts and Sciences and the International Association for Cryptologic
Research (IACR). She received the Presidential Young Investigator Award from
the National Science Foundation (NSF) (1987) and an NSF Faculty Award for
Women (1991), as well as the Grace Murray Hopper Award of the Association for
Computing Machinery (1996), RSA Prize for Mathematics (1998), and Levenson
Prize for Mathematics, and she has been awarded the Godel Prize in theoretical
computer science twice (1993 and 2001).
Further Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence
Laboratory. Faculty website, http://www.csail.mit.edu/user/733.
Good, Mary (Lowe)
b. 1931
Inorganic Chemist, Radiation Chemist
Education: B.S., Arkansas State Teachers College (now University of Central
Arkansas), 1950; M.S., University of Arkansas, 1953, Ph.D., inorganic chemistry
and radiation chemistry, 1955
Professional Experience: instructor to assistant professor, chemistry, Louisiana
State University, Baton Rouge, 1954-1958; associate professor to professor,
chemistry, Louisiana State University, New Orleans, 1958-1980; vice president
and director of research, UOP, Inc., 1980-1985; director of research, Signal
Research Center/AlliedSignal, Inc., 1985-1986, president, engineering materials
research, 1986-1988; senior vice president, technology, AlliedSignal Research
and Technology Laboratory, 1988-1993; Undersecretary for Technology, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 1993-1997; professor and dean, Donaghey College
of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Arkansas, Little
Rock, 1997-
Good, Mary (Lowe) | 445
Mary L. Good was one of the first chemistry researchers to apply Mossbauer spec-
troscopy to basic chemical research, namely, the solution of solid-state chemistry
problems. Her early work in solvent extraction of metal complexes was focused
on describing the chemical and physical properties of chemical species in an
organic solvent, and her significant work in this area demonstrated that detailed
chemical and structural information could be obtained for systems containing
ruthenium. She also worked on the chemical evaluation of antifouling coatings,
which are used to remove barnacles from ships in the U.S. Navy and the maritime
industry.
Good has achieved prominence for her research and teaching in academia and
her administrative capabilities in industry and the federal government. She taught
chemistry and was director of the radiochemistry laboratory at Louisiana State
University (LSU) at Baton Rouge before joining the chemistry faculty at the new
branch of LSU in New Orleans, where her husband, Bill Good, taught physics.
In 1980, she made a career change into private industry as a researcher. In 1993,
she was appointed by President Clinton as Undersecretary for Technology for the
U.S. Department of Commerce. In this position, she was head of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Technology Information
Service. She also oversaw the clean-car initiative between the "Big Three" auto
manufacturers and the government to develop a car that is capable of operating
at 82 miles per gallon. She returned to teaching in 1997 and helped found the
College of Information Science and Systems Engineering at the University of
Arkansas. She is the author of Integrated Laboratory Sequence (1970) and
Biotechnology and Materials Science: Chemistry for the Future (1988).
Good has received more than 20 honorary degrees and was appointed to the
National Science Board in 1980 and again in 1986. She was elected to member-
ship in the National Academy of Engineering in 1987. She served on the Presi-
dent's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology 1991, a group that guides
and shapes U.S. scientific policy. She has been president of the Zonta International
Foundation, part of a multinational organization dedicated to improving the status
of women by encouraging high ethical standards in business and supporting
women in science studies. She received the Garvan Medal of the American
Chemical Society (ACS) (1973) and was chair and later president of the ACS
(1987). Good also received the Parsons Award of the ACS (1991), the first woman
to receive this recognition for outstanding public service by an ACS member, and
was named scientist of the year by Industrial Research & Development in 1982. In
1992, she received a Distinguished Public Service Award from the National
Science Foundation (NSF), and in 2004, she received the Vannevar Bush Award
of the NSF.
446 | Goodenough, Florence Laura
Further Resources
University of Arkansas, Little Rock. "George W. Donaghey College of Engineering and
Information Technology, Dean's Office." http://technologize.ualr.edu/7page id=6.
Goodenough, Florence Laura
1886 1959
Psychologist
Education: B.Pd., pedagogy, Pennsylvania State Normal School, Millersville,
1908; B.S., Columbia University, 1920, A.M., 1921; Ph.D., psychology, Stanford
University, 1924
Professional Experience: public school teacher, 1908-1921; research assistant,
gifted children survey, Stanford University, 1921-1924; psychologist, Minneapo-
lis Child Guidance Clinic, 1924-1925; assistant professor, Institute of Child
Welfare, University of Minnesota, 1925-1931, professor, 1931-1947, emerita,
1947-1959
Florence Goodenough was a researcher of human psychological development,
mental tests, general psychological experimentation, and free-word association.
She made important contributions to the development of tools for the measure-
ment and interpretation of intelligence in children. She is best known for the crea-
tion of the Draw-A-Man (or Draw-A-Person, "DAP") Test. In the DAP test (later
known as the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test), the psychologist asks a child to
draw several figures and then interprets the drawings for assessment of various
emotional and cognitive issues and skills. In addition to her numerous scientific
papers and articles, she authored or co-authored several books, including Genetic
Studies of Genius (1925), Measurement of Intelligence by Drawings (1926), Hand-
book of Child Psychology (1931), Mental Testing: Its History, Principles, and
Applications (1949), and Exceptional Children (1956).
Goodenough taught school for more than 10 years while she pursued her under-
graduate college degrees. At Columbia University, she worked with Leta Holling-
worth and, moving from the East Coast to California to earn her doctorate at
Stanford, she studied under pioneer educational psychologist and eugenicist Lewis
Terman, who created the Stanford-Binet IQ test. Goodenough was able to partici-
pate in innovative studies of IQ and mental measurements being conducted under
Terman in the 1920s. She joined the faculty of the Institute for Child Welfare at the
University of Minnesota, where she experimented with several methods of
Gordon (Moore), Kate | 447
measuring mental ability, including the Minnesota Preschool Scale, which was
subsequently widely used. In her research and writing, she stressed that IQ is not
constant and may be influenced by environmental factors, and that children should
not be labeled at an early age. She urged the study of the total life span at a time
when most studies of intelligence stopped after adolescence.
Goodenough was elected president of the National Counsel of Women Psychol-
ogists in 1942 and president of the Society for Research in Child Development
in 1947.
Gordon (Moore), Kate
1878 1963
Psychologist
Education: Ph.B., University of Chicago, 1900, Ph.D., 1903
Professional Experience: instructor, philosophy, Mount Holyoke College,
1904-1905, associate professor, psychology, 1905-1906; instructor, educational
psychology, Teachers' College, Columbia University, 1906-1907; associate profes-
sor, psychology, Bryn Mawr College, 1912-1916; assistant to associate professor,
psychology and education, Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1916-1921; lecturer,
psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1921-1922, associate professor,
1923-1934, professor, 1934-1948
Kate Gordon was among the first generation of American women psychologists,
and her research focused on the areas of educational psychology, memory, atten-
tion, imagination, and the aesthetics of color. She published on the topic of our
ability to remember experiences, both good and bad, disagreeing with Freud's
theory that we forget or repress difficult or negative experiences. Her interest in
memory led to her work as a consultant on educational and ability testing, a popu-
lar topic for psychologists of the 1920s and 1930s. Gordon differed from others in
her field, however, due to her interdisciplinary interest in how memory and imagi-
nation influence aesthetic tastes in art and music, for example. After she received
her doctorate from the University of Chicago, Gordon moved frequently from
one appointment to another, teaching in psychology, education, and philosophy
at Mount Holyoke, Columbia, Bryn Mawr, and Carnegie Institute of Technology.
She also lectured on gender differences, and in 1905 promoted the co-education
of men and women in an essay considering "Wherein Should the Education of a
Woman Differ from That of a Man." Gordon argued that "it would seem to me
both frivolous and morally wrong for a school or college to spend time, money
448 | Gordon, Ruth Evelyn
and intelligence in devising different systems of training for the two sexes, while
so many, and those so real, problems in education are waiting for solution." In
the 1920s, she was a consultant to the California State Board of Control on mental
testing in the schools. Around the same time, she accepted a lectureship in psy-
chology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she became
a full professor in 1934.
Gordon was a member of several scientific societies, including the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Associ-
ation, the American Philosophical Association, and the Western Psychological
Association, for which she served a term as president. She married late in life, at
age 65, to education professor and one of the founders of UCLA, Ernest Carroll
Moore, and after that time was known by her husband's last name.
Further Resources
University of California. "Kate Gordon Moore, Psychology: Los Angeles." http://content
.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docld=hb338nblj4&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=div00014&toc
.depth=l&toc.id=&brand=oac.
Gordon, Ruth Evelyn
1910 2003
Bacteriologist
Education: B.A., chemistry, Cornell University, 1932, M.S., 1933, Ph.D.,
bacteriology, 1934
Professional Experience: instructor, New York Veterinary College, Cornell Uni-
versity, 1934-1938; assistant bacteriologist, Division of Soil Microbiology, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, 1939-1942, bacteriologist, 1950-1951; Army Medical
Center, 1943-1945; bacteriologist and curator, American Type Culture Collection,
1946-1951; associate research specialist, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment
Station, 1951-1954; associate professor, Waksman Institute of Microbiology,
Rutgers University, 1954-1971, professor, microbiology, 1971-1981; visiting
investigator, American Type Culture Collection, 1981-2003
Ruth Gordon was a well-known bacteriologist and taxonomist for the American
Type Culture Collection. After high school, she received a fellowship to attend
Cornell University, where she received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a
master's degree and then doctorate in bacteriology. She first was employed as an
instructor at the New York Veterinary College at Cornell University studying cattle
Graham, Frances (Keesler) | 449
and soil bacteria, the taxonomy of aerobic spore-forming bacteria, and streptomy-
cetes, which became her area of expertise. This led to a varied career of employment
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), an army medical center, an agri-
cultural experiment station, and in academia. At the USDA, she was a bacteriologist
of soil microbiology and, in 1946, published a study of the genus Bacillus that went
through subsequent updated editions.
During World War II, she was employed at the U.S. Army Medical Center
studying bacterial meningitis and, after the war, accepted a position as a bacteri-
ologist at the American Type Culture Collection, being promoted to curator in
1947. She became an associate research specialist at the New Jersey Agricultural
Experiment Station, then moved to the faculty of new Waksman Institute of
Microbiology at Rutgers, where she oversaw the collection of bacteria and was
promoted to full professor in 1971. After her formal retirement in 1981, she
returned to the American Type Culture Collection as a visiting investigator, over-
seeing further development and recording of the bacterial collection. The bacteria
genus, Gordona (of family Gordoniaceae) is named after her.
Gordon received the J. Roger Porter Award from the U.S. Federation for Culture
Collections (1983) and the Alice Evans Award of the American Society for Microbi-
ology (1992). She had an international reputation and was Honorary President of the
International Symposium on the Biology of Actinomycetes held in Venezuela (1974)
and again in Germany (1979). She was a member of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, the Tissue Culture Association, the Canadian Society
of Microbiologists, and the U.S. Federation for Culture Collections.
Further Resources
"In Memoriam: Ruth Evelyn Gordon (1910-2003)," United States Federation for Culture
Collections (USFCC). Newsletter. 32(2). (2003). http://www.usfcc.us/newsPdfs/
USFCC322.pdf.
Graham, Frances (Keesler)
b. 1918
Psychophysiologist
Education: B.A., Pennsylvania State University, 1938; Ph.D., psychology, Yale
University, 1942
Professional Experience: assistant and instructor, medical psychology, Washing-
ton University, St. Louis, 1941-1948, research associate, 1953-1957; instructor,
450 | Graham, Frances (Keesler)
psychology, Barnard College, 1948-1951; independent researcher, 1951-1957;
research associate, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1957-1964, associate pro-
fessor to professor, pediatrics, 1964-1980, professor, psychology, 1969-1986;
research professor, psychology, University of Delaware, 1986-retired
Concurrent Positions: psychologist and acting director, St. Louis Psychiatric
Clinic, 1942-1944
Frances Graham is known for her research on the psychology of attention and the
use of physiological measurement in the study of cognition and perception.
A leading developmental psychologist, she has advanced psychological knowledge
of the first months of life and been instrumental in developing measures and analy-
ses for this field. As an undergraduate at Pennsylvania State University, she was a
mathematics major until a required course in psychology steered her in another
direction. In her graduate program at Yale, she first explored child clinical work.
After her marriage in 1941, she moved to St. Louis, where she held positions in
a city clinic and at Washington University. She negotiated working half a day per
week for research and developed a memory-for-designs test for brain damage that
is still used today. While her husband, David Graham, was at Cornell Medical Col-
lege from 1948 to 1951, Graham taught at Barnard College. When they returned to
the St. Louis area, she decided to be a self-supporting research investigator. She
obtained grants to study the consequences of low blood oxygenation during the
first postnatal hour, which eventually played a pivotal role in prenatal risk
research.
In 1957, the Grahams moved to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where
she received an appointment as a research associate in pediatrics. In 1964, when
she received a National Institute of Mental Health Research Scientist Award, she
also became a tenured associate professor. She was promoted to professor of pedi-
atrics in 1968 and received a joint appointment in psychology in 1969. Since the
Research Scientist Award paid her salary, she was able to teach and at the same
time explore the electronics equipment available for research. She discovered that
an unexpected stimulus change results in a slower cardiac rate, and other research
efforts centered on the blink reflex of the human eye. In 1986, the Grahams moved
to the University of Delaware, where Frances received a full-time appointment
in psychology. Her research there has centered on cardiac orienting and reflex
modulation.
Graham has received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Scientific
Contribution of the Society for Psychophysiological Research (1981) and the
Distinguished Alumna Award from Pennsylvania State University (1983). She
was the Hilldale Research Professor at the University of Wisconsin and was
named a William James fellow of the American Psychological Society in 1990.
Graham, Norma | 451
She was a consultant to both the National Institute of Neurological Disease and
Blindness (1958-1970) and the President's Commission on Ethics in Medicine
and Biomedical and Behavioral Research (1979-1981). She received the Wilbur
L. Cross Medal of Yale University (1992) and the Gold Medal for Lifetime
Achievement from the American Psychological Association (1995).
Graham was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1988 and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
She is a member of the Society for Psychophysiological Research (president,
1974), Society for Research in Child Development (president, 1975-1977),
American Psychological Association, Federation of Behavior Psychological and
Cognitive Sciences, Acoustical Society of America, International Society for
Developmental Psychobiology, and Society of Experimental Psychologists.
Further Resources
O'Connell, Agnes N. and Nancy Felipe Russo, eds. 1988. Models of Achievement:
Reflections of Eminent Women in Psychology. Vol. 2. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Graham, Norma
b. 1944
Psychologist
Education: B.S., mathematics, Stanford University, 1966; Ph.D., psychology,
University of Pennsylvania, 1970
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, visual neuroscience, Rockefeller
University, 1970-1972; assistant professor, psychology, Columbia University,
1972-1976, associate professor, 1976-1982, professor, 1982-, chair, 2007-
Norma Graham is a psychologist who studies visual behavior and perception, in
particular texture-segregation, pattern recognition, multiple channels of spatial
frequency, and light and contrast adaptations. Graham studied mathematics at
Stanford University and went on to receive her Ph.D. in psychology from the
University of Pennsylvania. After completing her doctorate in 1970, she held a
postdoctoral fellowship in visual neuroscience at the Rockefeller University. She
joined the faculty in psychology at Columbia University in New York in 1972,
where she has remained for her entire career. Working closely and co-publishing
with her Columbia colleague, research scientist Sabina Wolfson, Graham
uses mathematical or computational models to understand behavioral and
452 | Graham, Susan Lois
neurophysiological responses to visual stimuli and change. Her textbook, Visual
Pattern Analyzers (1989; paperback ed., 2001), synthesizes the work of many
researchers for students of vision and perception across disciplines in the fields
of psychophysics, neuroscience, ophthalmology and optics, and cognitive and
experimental psychology. Graham has also been on the editorial boards of Journal
of Vision and Spatial Vision.
Graham was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1998 and is a fel-
low of the Optical Society of America, American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
Society of Experimental Psychologists, and American Psychological Association.
She was the recipient of a Cattell Sabbatical Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship
(1979-1980).
Further Resources
Columbia University. Faculty website, http://www.columbia.edu/~nvgl/index.html.
Graham, Susan Lois
b. 1942
Computer Scientist
Education: B.A., mathematics, Harvard University, 1964; M.S., computer science,
Stanford University, 1966, Ph.D., computer science, 1971
Professional Experience: associate research scientist and adjunct assistant pro-
fessor, computer science, Courant Institute of Mathematical Science, New York
University, 1969-1971; assistant to associate professor, electrical engineering
and computer science, University of California, Berkeley, 1971-1981, professor,
1981-
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, IBM Canada Laboratory, 1988-1992; visiting
professor, Computer Science Department, Stanford University, 1981, lecturer,
1993
Susan Graham is known for her expertise in programming language design and
implementation, syntax error recovery, parsing, and code generation and optimiza-
tion. Her primary research projects have involved programming languages for
very large systems and networks. This work involves compiler transformations
for high-performance computing, developing languages and interactive software,
detecting faults in software, orchestrating interactions among parallel computa-
tions, and the design and implementation of practical data breakpoints. She has
Grandin, Temple | 453
consulted with IBM training programmers in setting up or repairing computer net-
works when program glitches disrupt service. Her expertise has also been sought
by government agencies, including an appointment to the President's Committee
on the National Medal of Science (1994-1996), which recommends the persons
to receive the medal, and the President's Information Technology Advisory Com-
mittee. She served on the National Science Foundation (NSF) advisory committee
on Computer and Computation Research (1987-1992); served as advisor for the
NSF program for science and technology centers (1987-1991); was a member of
the National Research Council's committee on physical science, mathematics,
and applications (1992-1995); and was co-chair of the National Research Coun-
cil's study on the Future of Supercomputing. Several universities have sought her
expertise in evaluating their science curricula, and she was a member of the visit-
ing committee for applied sciences at Harvard University (1995) and of the visit-
ing committee for engineering and applied science at the California Institute of
Technology (1994).
Graham was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in
1993. She was honored with the Special Interest Group on Programming Lan-
guages (SIGPLAN) Career Programming Language Achievement Award (2000)
and the Distinguished Service Award (2006), both from the Association for
Computing Machinery (ACM). She was founding editor of ACM's Transactions
on Programming Languages and Systems (1978-1992) and also served as editor
of Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery (1975-1979).
She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Further Resources
University of California, Berkeley. Faculty website, http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/
Faculty /Homepages/graham-s. html.
Grandin, Temple
b. 1947
Animal Scientist
Education: B.A., psychology, Franklin Pierce College, 1970; M.S., animal sci-
ence, Arizona State University, 1975; Ph.D., animal science, University of Illinois,
Urbana, 1989
454 | Grandin, Temple
Professional Experience: livestock editor, Arizona Farmer Ranchman, 1973-
1978; equipment designer, Corral Industries, Phoenix, Arizona, 1974-1975;
founder and consultant, Grandin Livestock Systems, 1975-; lecturer to professor,
animal sciences, Colorado State University, 1990-
Concurrent Positions: chair, handling committee, Livestock Conservation Institute,
Madison, Wisconsin, 1976-1995
Temple Grandin is an animal scientist who specializes in designing equipment for
handling livestock on farms, in feedlots, and in slaughtering facilities. Grandin
was diagnosed with autism as a child, and eventually her curiosity about her own
condition and sensory issues led to her scientific inquiries into animal behavior.
As a teenager, she visited her aunt's farm and noticed that the workers were using
a "squeeze chute" to keep cattle calm while inoculating them. Grandin persuaded
her aunt to let her try the chute, and at home built her own model chute from card-
board and plywood. As an autistic person she did not like close contact with
others, including being hugged or embraced, or even shaking hands. However,
Grandin found that the chute relaxed her and gave her a sense of security that
human contact could not. In college, a psychologist doubted her theory, but she
persuaded 40 students to try the chute, and 25 found it relaxing.
The experience with the squeeze chute led to her career in designing more
humane equipment and facilities to keep livestock safe and minimize their stress.
In the 1990s, Grandin began consulting for the fast-food industry, which was under
attack from animal-rights groups about inhumane farming practices. She visited
feedlots and slaughterhouses, and created the idea of a circular or curved chute
to guide cattle through the process rather than the standard straight shoots. The
sides of the chutes were six feet high and the walls so thick that the cattle would
not be disturbed by the sights and sounds of the workers or the equipment. Compa-
nies that implemented her design, such as McDonald's, reported that the cattle
were calmer and hesitated less as they moved through the chutes, and therefore
overall efficiency improved. Many of Grandin's guidelines for humane slaughter
have been adopted industrywide. In her 2005 book Animals in Translation: Using
the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior, Grandin explains that she
identifies with animals because, as an autistic person, she has difficulty under-
standing emotions or reading body language in others and her emotions are more
directly tied to her physical surroundings. Some have wondered why she works
so closely with the meat industry rather than promoting vegetarianism, but Gran-
din's only goal is for humans to treat animals with respect: "We owe them a decent
life and a decent death, and their lives should be as low-stress as possible."
Grandin has become not only a public spokesperson for animal rights, but also a
role model in her efforts to raise public awareness about the unique experiences
Grandin, Temple | 455
Women and Autism
In 201 3, the next update of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disor-
ders (DSM V), the guidebook used by mental-health practitioners, will include
changes to the definition and diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome and autism.
Autism was first included in the DSM in 1 952, but since that time, the definition
has been revised as new medical research and social conditions have expanded
the diagnosis to include a range of "spectrum" disorders. Although changes to
the DSM are always controversial, researchers are proposing to simplify diagno-
sis and treatment of a range of behavioral issues that are overwhelmingly diag-
nosed in boys. Some practitioners and advocates have begun to question
whether girls with autism might go undiagnosed because of a gendered view of
certain behaviors. For example, girls might be expected to have stronger imagina-
tions or be more socially withdrawn, and thus potential early signs of autism might
be ignored. In 2010, HBO aired a full-length dramatized film about the life of ani-
mal scientist Temple Grandin, perhaps the most famous adult woman with autism.
While her own early connection with animals was not seen as unusual behavior
for a young girl, Grandin warns that autism changes over time and an early child-
hood diagnosis need not seal a child's fate.
and talents of autistic persons. She has written about her own life and experiences
as an autistic person in two autobiographies: Emergence: Labeled Autistic (1986)
and Thinking in Pictures and Other Reports from My Life with Autism (1993).
And she has co-authored books specifically for autistic people, such as Developing
Talents: Careers for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning
Autism (2004; co-authored with Kate Duffy) and Unwritten Rules of Social
Relationships (2005; co-authored with Sean Barron). Neurologist Oliver Sacks's
bestselling book An Anthropologist on Mars (1995) includes information on
Grandin's work.
Grandin has, paradoxically, become a hero of both the meat industry and
animal-rights organizations. Among her numerous honors are the Industry Innova-
tor Award from Meat Marketing and Technology Magazine (1994, 2001, 2002),
American Veterinary Medical Association's Human Award (1999), American
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Animals Founders Award (1999), Joseph
Wood Kruth Medal from the Humane Society (2001), and President's Award from
the National Institute of Animal Agriculture (2004). She is a member of the
Autism Society of America, American Society of Animal Science, American Soci-
ety of Agricultural Engineers, and Animal Welfare Committee of the American
Meat Institute.
456 | Granville, Evelyn (Boyd)
Further Resources
'Temple Grandin, Ph.D." http://www.templegrandin.com/. Colorado State University.
Faculty website, http://lamar.colostate.edu/~grandin/
Granville, Evelyn (Boyd)
b. 1924
Mathematician, Computer Scientist
Education: B.A., Smith College, 1945; M.A., mathematics and physics, Yale Uni-
versity, 1946, Ph.D., mathematics, 1949
Professional Experience: research assistant, New York University Institute of
Mathematics and Mechanics, 1949-1950; associate professor, mathematics, Fisk
University, 1950-1952; mathematician, U.S. National Bureau of Standards, 1952—
1953; applied mathematician, Diamond Ordnance Fuze Laboratory, U.S. Army,
1953-1956; mathematician, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM),
1956-1960; researcher, Space Technology Laboratories, 1960-1963; research
specialist, North American Aviation Space and Information Systems Division,
1963-1967; associate professor to professor, mathematics, California State Univer-
sity, Los Angeles, 1967-1984; professor, mathematics, Texas College, Tyler (later
University of Texas, Tyler), 1985-1988, chair and visiting professor, 1990-1997
Evelyn Granville is a mathematician who contributed to the Vanguard and
Mercury space programs in analyzing orbits and computing rocket trajectories.
In her various industry and government positions, she consulted for ordnance engi-
neers and scientists, analyzing the mathematical problems that arose in the devel-
opment of missile fuses, and worked on the formulation of orbit computations and
computer procedures for space probes. She was a consultant in numerical analysis
and a programmer for the IBM 650 and 704 computers before joining U.S. Space
Technology Laboratories to participate in research studies on the methods of orbit
computation; she became a research specialist for the Apollo Engineering Depart-
ment in celestial mechanics, trajectory and orbit computation, numerical analysis,
and digital computer techniques at North American Aviation's Space and Informa-
tion Systems Division.
Granville was only the second African American woman to receive a doctorate in
mathematics. She grew up in segregated Washington, D.C, and originally planned to
teach high school mathematics and science. She won a partial scholarship to Smith
College, and worked summers for the National Bureau of Standards during World
War II, when there was an unusual number of job opportunities for women. By the
Grasselli (Brown), Jeanette | 457
time she received her doctorate in 1949, however, it was difficult for a woman and an
African American to find a position at a university, even though she had a degree
from a top university. She taught briefly at Fisk University before moving into
government and industry positions for several years, and returned to academia to
teach for 30 years in California and Texas.
Granville found that too many students were ill-prepared for higher-level math-
ematics. She was inspired to improve math education at all levels, teaching in a sup-
plementary school mathematics program and directing an afterschool mathematics
enrichment for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Her commitment to
mathematics education included writing a textbook, Theory and Application of
Mathematics for Teachers (1975), that has had extensive use. She has been active
in educational commissions at the state and national levels and is a member of the
American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America. In
1999, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and in 2000, she
received the Wilbur Cross Medal from Yale University. She is listed in some sources
as "Evelyn Collins" or as "Evelyn Boyd."
Further Resources
Agnes Scott College. "Evelyn Boyd Granville." Biographies of Women Mathematicians.
http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/granvill.htm.
Murray, Margaret Anne Marie. 2000. Women Becoming Mathematicians: Creating an
Identity in Post World War II America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Grasselli (Brown), Jeanette
b. 1928
Analytical Chemist, Spectroscopist
Education: B.S., chemistry, Ohio University, 1950; M.S., chemistry, Case
Western Reserve University, 1958
Professional Experience: chemist and infrared spectroscopist, Research and
Development, BP America, Inc. (formerly Standard Oil of Ohio, or Sohio),
1950-1956, project leader, absorption spectroscopy group, 1956-1970, supervi-
sor, molecular spectroscopy, 1970-1981, director, analytical science laboratory,
1981-1983, director, technical support, 1983-1985, director, corporate research
and environmental and analytical science, 1985-1989; distinguished visiting
professor and director, research enhancement, Ohio University, 1989-1995
Jeanette Grasselli developed new problem-solving techniques in analytical
chemistry that solve real-life problems such as identification of contaminants in
458 | Grasselli (Brown), Jeanette
gasoline, analyzing the structure of new plastics, and analyzing pollution problems
in the environment. During her career, she was responsible for developing many
innovative applications for molecular spectroscopy; these applications are now at
the forefront of industrial practice. Although spectrometry had been used since
the late nineteenth century, it was not until World War II that electronics were
developed to make the instrumentation that was necessary to solve complex prob-
lems. Spectroscopy is an analytical technique to measure the interaction of
electromagnetic radiation with matter. The methods are nondestructive and require
only small amounts of sample, thus providing data at the atomic and molecular
levels. The instruments are used in solving problems in academia, government,
industry, and the environment. She is the author of The Analytical Approach
(1983) and co-editor of Atlas of Spectral Data and Physical Constants of Organic
Compounds (2nd ed., 1975) and Practical Spectroscopy Series, Vols. 1-3, Infrared
and Raman (1977).
After graduating from Ohio University with a chemistry degree, she joined BP
of America (formerly Standard Oil of Ohio), where she was put in charge of a
new instrument called an infrared spectrometer and a project to analyze World
War II German airplane fuel formulations to see how the Germans were able to
obtain such long flight ranges for their planes. She became one of the foremost
contributors of the century to infrared and Raman spectrometry, and also used
nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to a lesser extent. She even consulted
with the coroner's office in Cleveland, Ohio, to analyze unknown samples at crime
scenes, as forensic analytical methods are the same as the analytical methods used
in industrial laboratories. She found she needed to know more about physical
and organic chemistry for her work and enrolled as a part-time student at Case
Western Reserve University to earn a master's degree. She worked through the
ranks at BP to become the first woman director of corporate research and, when
she retired in 1989, she held the highest administrative position of any woman at
that company.
Grasselli received the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society (ACS)
(1986), the Distinguished Service Award of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy
(1985), and the Fisher Award in Analytical Chemistry of the ACS (1993). She was
named to Ohio Women's Hall of Fame (1989) and was the first woman inducted
into the Ohio Sciences and Technology Hall of Fame (1991). She has served on
the National Science Foundation Advisory Committee for Analytical Chemistry
(1982-1984), the Energy Research Advisory Board of the U.S. Department of
Energy (1987-1989), the visiting committee of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (1988-1991), the Smithsonian Institution's exhibition advisory
board (1990-1994), and the U.S. National Committee of the International Union
of Pure and Applied Chemistry (chair, 1992-1995). She has been active in
Graybiel, Ann Martin | 459
promoting careers for women as a member of the International Women's Forum
and National Research Council's Committee on Women in Science and Engineer-
ing (1995). She is a member of the American Chemical Society, Society for
Applied Spectroscopy (president, 1970), Coblentz Society, Federation of Analyti-
cal Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies, and American Association for the
Advancement of Science. In 1987, she remarried, to BP colleague Glenn Brown,
and is identified in some sources as Jeanette Grasselli-Brown.
Graybiel, Ann Martin
b. 1942
Neuroscientist
Education: B.A., Harvard, 1964; Woodrow Wilson Fellow, biology, Tufts Univer-
sity, 1965-1966; Ph.D., psychology and brain science, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 1971
Professional Experience: research associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), 1971-1973, assistant professor, psychology, 1973-1976, associate professor,
1976-1980, professor, neuroanatomy, Department of Psychology, 1980-1983, pro-
fessor, neuroscience, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, 1983-, Walter
A. Rosenblith Professor of Neuroscience, 1994-2008, Investigator, McGovern
Institute for Brain Research, MIT, 2001-, Institute Professor, 2008-
Concurrent Positions: head, Course in Neuroscience, and professor, Health
Sciences and Technology (HST), Harvard Medical School, 1986-1988; affiliate,
Picower Center for Learning and Memory, MIT, 2001-
Ann Graybiel is a neuroscientist renowned for her work on the basal ganglia, the
area of the brain that controls motor skills and movement, and is affected by dis-
eases such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and neuropsychiatric
behavioral disorders such as Tourette's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disor-
ders, depression, and addiction. Graybiel's research depends on a variety of meth-
ods to analyze neural pathways through this area, and her work combines the
disciplines of neuroanatomy, genetics, and psychiatry.
Graybiel studied biology and chemistry at Harvard and at Tufts University, and
received her doctorate in psychology and brain science from MIT in 1971. She
continued on as a research associate at MIT and joined the faculty in psychology
in 1973. In 1994, she was named Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Neuroscience
in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. In 2001, she was appointed
Neuroscientist Ann Graybiel receiving the National Medal of Science from President George
W. Bush, 2002. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Investigator at the McGovern Institute and was named Institute Professor in 2008.
She has been an invited lecturer at national and international institutions and has
served on numerous scientific advisory boards, including for the Max Planck Insti-
tute for Psychiatry, Germany; Tourette Syndrome Association; United Parkinson's
Disease Foundation National Institute of Mental Health; National Advisory Men-
tal Health Council; Hereditary Disease Foundation; Alzheimer Research Forum;
Stockholm Brain Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; and many others. She has served
on the editorial board of several journals related to neuroscience, mental health,
and brain disorders.
Greene, Laura | 461
Graybiel was honored with the National Medal of Science in 2001. She was
elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1988 and the Institute
of Medicine in 1994. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences, American Academy of Neurology, and American College of Neuropsy-
chopharmacology, and an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Medicine,
Spain. She served as president of the International Basal Ganglia Society
(1997-1998). Among her numerous other honors and awards are a Charles Judson
Herrick Award of the American Association of Anatomists (1978), Javits Neuro-
science Investigator Awards of the National Institutes of Health (1988 and 1995),
an Outstanding Women in Neuroscience Award from Brown University (2001), a
James R. Killian, Jr., Faculty Achievement Award from MIT (2002), the Robert
S. Dow Neuroscience Award (2002), the MERIT Award of the National Institutes
of Health (2004), the Prix Plasticite Neuronale from the IPSEN Foundation
(2005), a NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award (2007), the C. David Marsden
Lectureship Award, Movement Disorder Society (2008), and the Vanderbilt Prize
in Biomedical Science (2008). She was also named a Woman Leader of Parkinson's
Science by the Parkinson's Disease Foundation (2004) and Harold S. Diamond
Professor by the National Parkinson Foundation (2006). She has received honorary
doctorates from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York (2003), Tufts
University (2005), Hebrew University, Jerusalem (2007), and Queens University,
Belfast (2007).
Further Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Graybiel Laboratory." http://web.mit.edu/bcs/
graybiel-lab/index.html.
Greene, Laura
b. 1952
Physicist
Education: B.S., physics, Ohio State University, 1974, M.S. physics, 1978; M.S.,
experimental physics, Cornell University, 1980, Ph.D., physics, 1984
Professional Experience: technical staff member, Physics Division, Hughes Aircraft
Company, California, 1974-1975; postdoctoral technical staff member, Bell Labs
(Bellcore), New Jersey, 1983-1984, technical staff member, Bellcore, 1985-1992;
professor, physics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1992-2000, Swanlund
Professor of Physics, 2000-
462 | Greene, Laura
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, Centre National de Recherche Scientifi-
que (CNRS), Orsay, France, summer 2004
Laura Greene is an experimental physicist whose research focuses on highly
correlated electron systems and materials, especially high-temperature supercon-
ductors and metallic superconducting devices. She uses a technique called tun-
neling spectroscopy to analyze how electrons are transported across
superconducting interfaces. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in
physics from Ohio State University and went on to Cornell University to earn
another master's degree and her doctorate in 1984. She worked in industry, for
Bell Laboratories (later Bellcore), and joined the faculty of the University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1992. In 2000, she was named Swanlund Profes-
sor of Physics. She has served on numerous academic and government commit-
tees and advisory boards, including the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory
Committee of the U.S. Department of Energy and as founding member of the
Los Alamos Institute for Complex and Adaptive Materials. She has consulted
with the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy on gender
equity in the sciences and has been active in educational efforts to encourage
students in scientific careers. She is the author or co-author of more than 140
scientific papers and has been an invited lecturer at institutions both nationally
and internationally.
Greene was elected to the National Academy of Science in 2006 and is a
fellow of the American Physical Society, American Association for the
Advancement of Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Insti-
tute of Physics (UK). She is also a member of the American Association of
Physics Teachers, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP),
Materials Research Society, and American Chemical Society. Her awards and
honors include an Award of Excellence from Bellcore (1989), Maria Goeppert-
Mayer Award of the American Physical Society (1994), and the E. O. Lawrence
Award for Materials Research from the U.S. Department of Energy (1999). In
2001, she was selected for a Women in Science profile by Women in Technology
International (WITI).
Further Resources
University of Illinois. Faculty website, http://physics.illinois.edu/people/profile.asp
?lhgreene.
Women in Technology International. "Laura Greene: Swanlund Professor of Physics Uni-
versity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign." http://www.witi.com/center/witimuseum/
womeninsciencet/2001/060901.shtml.
Greer, Sandra Charlene | 463
Greer, Sandra Charlene
b. 1945
Physical Chemist
Education: B.S., chemistry, Furman University, 1966; M.S., physical chemistry,
University of Chicago, 1968, Ph.D., chemical physics, 1969
Professional Experience: research chemist, National Bureau of Standards,
Maryland, 1969-1978; associate professor, chemistry, University of Maryland,
1978-1983, professor, chemistry and biochemistry, 1983-2008, professor, chemistry
and biomolecular engineering, 1995-2008, emerita; provost, dean of faculty, and
professor, chemistry and physics, Mills College, 2008-
Concurrent Positions: Professeur Invitee, Universite de Paris-Sud, Orsay, France,
1990
Sandra Greer is a physical chemist known for her research in experimental thermo-
dynamics of phase transitions and critical phenomena of fluid mixtures. Thermody-
namics is the science concerned with the relations between heat and mechanical
energy or work, and the conversion of
one into the other. Her major interest
is critical phenomena, which is a phase
change in which two forms of matter
that are very different gradually grow
more alike because of temperature
and pressure variation. As a child, her
parents purchased chemistry sets and
a microscope to encourage her interest
in science. She received her under-
graduate degree in chemistry with a
minor in mathematics from Furman
University, a small liberal-arts school
in South Carolina. She was accepted
to graduate study at the University of
Chicago, where she received both her
master's degree and a doctorate. She
married another chemistry graduate
student during college, and they both
secured positions at the National
Bureau of Standards, where she Physical chemist Sandra Greer. (Courtesy of
worked in the heat division. Mills College)
464 | Greibach, Sheila Adele
In 1978, Greer left industry to join academia, where she has had a distin-
guished career as both a faculty member and administrator. She joined the faculty
of the University of Maryland as an associate professor in the Department of
Chemistry. She was promoted to professor in 1983 and served as department chair
from 1990 to 1993. In 1995, she secured a joint appointment in the school of
engineering. Her work has been supported by funding from the National Institutes
of Health, National Science Foundation, and the Petroleum Research Fund. In
2008, she became provost of Mills College, a liberal-arts college for women in
California.
Greer has served as a member, program officer, and advisor for national science
programs and university committees focused on science education and career
issues for women in science. She has received numerous teaching and research
awards from her own university as well as the American Chemical Society's
Garvan Medal (2004). Greer is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a
member of the American Chemical Society, American Association for the
Advancement of Science, Association of Women in Science, and American Insti-
tute of Chemical Engineers.
Further Resources
Mills College. "Office of the Provost." http://www.mills.edu/administration/provosts
office/provost bio.php.
Greibach, Sheila Adele
b. 1939
Computer Scientist, Mathematician
Education: B.A., linguistics and applied mathematics, Radcliffe College, 1960,
M.A., 1962; Ph.D., applied mathematics, Harvard University, 1963
Professional Experience: lecturer, applied mathematics, Harvard University, 1963—
1965; assistant to associate professor, computer science, University of California,
Los Angeles (UCLA), 1969-1972, professor, 1972-
Sheila Greibach is known for her research in several areas of theoretical
computer science, especially automata theory and formal languages, and the
programming term "Greibach normal form" (GNF) is named after her. While at
Harvard, she worked on a project in mathematical linguistics and automatic trans-
lation. Automata in the elementary sense are things that are capable of acting
Greibach, Sheila Adele | 465
automatically without outside inter-
ference. Greibach thus works at the
most basic level of computer science,
and the impact of her work is not
always obvious to the average pro-
grammer. Her theoretical research
benefits individuals involved in
developing fundamental concepts
and philosophies that must precede
the evolution of subsequent tech-
niques. She works in areas that ben-
efit those people who are involved in
transform analysis, transform-
centered design, transaction analysis,
and various exploratory problem-
solving methodologies that are used
by designers of systems. The effects
of automata theory and formal-
language research are normally not
felt by programmers until the results finally influence such matters as efficiency
of compilation, the relationship of structured design to structured programming
techniques, and the use of incrementation.
Her interest in science began in childhood, and her father, the inventor Emil
Greibach, held more than 20 patents. After receiving her undergraduate and
master's degrees from Radcliffe College, she attended graduate school at Harvard
University. She was both a lecturer and an assistant professor at Harvard before join-
ing the faculty at UCLA, where she advanced through the ranks to professor and vice
chair of computer science. She served as a consultant to the Rand Corporation and
System Development Corporation between 1964 and 1970.
By the early 1980s Greibach was identified as one of the pioneer women in
computer sciences. She has published more than 50 technical papers and the book
Theory of Program Structures: Schemes, Semantics, Verification (1975). She is a
member of the American Mathematical Society, Association for Computing
Machinery, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Society for
Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
Computer scientist and mathematician, Sheila
Greibach. (Courtesy of UCLA Media
Relations)
Further Resources
University of California, Los Angeles. Faculty website, http://www.cs.ucla.edu/csd/
people/faculty pages/greibach.html.
466 | Greider, Carol W.
Greider, Carol W.
b. 1961
Molecular Biologist
Education: B.A., biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1983; Ph.D.,
molecular biology, University of California, Berkeley, 1987
Professional Experience: fellow, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York,
1988-1990, assistant investigator, 1990-1992, associate investigator, 1992-1994,
investigator, 1994-1997; associate professor, molecular biology and genetics,
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1997-1999, professor, 1999-2003,
acting director, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, 2002-2003, profes-
sor, oncology, 2001-, Daniel Nathans Professor and Director, Department of
Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine,
2003-
Carol Greider is a molecular biologist whose work has contributed to cancer
research and who, at the age of only 48, shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology
or Medicine with her former advisor Elizabeth Blackburn and colleague Jack
Szostak. Greider is a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, but in the
early 1980s, she studied with Blackburn at the University of California, Berkeley,
where the researchers discovered the enzyme telomerase, the ends of chromo-
somes that serve an important function in protecting genetic material from the
effects of aging and mutations. Their findings have had an enormous impact on
the direction and focus of cancer research, aging, and stem-cell research on
genetic diseases.
Greider's father was a physics professor at the University of California, Davis.
She decided to study at Santa Barbara, where she originally planned on studying
marine biology but became intrigued by a laboratory class in biochemistry. She
received her undergraduate degree in 1983 and returned north to Berkeley to study
molecular biology with cell biologist Elizabeth Blackburn. Blackburn's team had
been working on telomeres in yeast and put Greider to work on the project of
searching for an unknown enzyme responsible for their growth and structure. In
December 1984, Greider discovered the pattern and activity she had been search-
ing for in a telomere-synthesizing enzyme. The experiment was repeated and con-
firmed the following year, and Greider and Blackburn published the results of their
discovery of "telomerase." Greider received her doctorate in 1987 and went on to a
postdoctoral fellowship at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Long Island, New
York, where she spent the next 10 years as an independent investigator with
Greider, Carol W. | 467
funding from the National Institutes
of Health. In 1997, she joined the
faculty at Johns Hopkins School of
Medicine and extended her research
to mammalian (including human)
cells.
Greider was named a member of
the National Academy of Sciences in
2003. She is also an elected fellow
of the American Academy of Micro-
biology, American Association for
the Advancement of Science, and
American Academy of Arts and Sci-
ences. Among her numerous other
honors before receiving the 2009
Nobel Prize, she was awarded a Ger-
trude Elion Cancer Research Award
from the American Association for
Cancer Research (1994), Glenn
Foundation Award of the American
Society for Cell Biology (1995),
Cornelius Rhoads Award of the
American Association for Cancer
Research (1996), Schering-Plough Scientific Achievement Award of the American
Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (1997), Gairdner Foundation
Award (1998), Rosenstiel Award in Basic Medical Research (1999), Richard
Lounsbery Award of the National Academy of Science (2003), Lila Gruber Cancer
Research Award (2006), Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (2006,
shared with future Nobel co-recipients Blackburn and Szostak), and Wiley Prize
in Biomedical Sciences (2006, shared with Blackburn).
Molecular biologist Carol Greider was co-
recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology
or Medicine. (The Nobel Foundation. Photo:
Ulla Montan)
Further Resources
Nuzzo, Regina. 2005. "Biography of Carol W. Greider." Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences. 102(23): 8077 8079. (7 June 2005). http://www.pnas.org/cgi/
content/full/ 1 02/23/8077 .
Johns Hopkins University. Faculty website, http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/pharmacology/
research/greider.html.
"Carol W. Greider: Interview." http://nobelprize.org/nobel prizes/medicine/laureates/
2009/greider-interview.html.
468 | Griffin, Diane Edmund
Griffin, Diane Edmund
b. 1940
Microbiologist
Education: B.A., biology, Augustana College, Illinois, 1962; M.D., Stanford
University, 1968, Ph.D., immunology, 1970
Professional Experience: medical intern and resident, Stanford University Hospital,
1968-1970; postdoctoral fellow, virology and infectious diseases, Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine, 1970-1973, assistant professor, medicine and
neurology, 1973-1979, associate professor, 1979-1986, professor, medicine and
neurology, 1986-, professor and chair, molecular microbiology and immunology,
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 1994-
Concurrent Positions: investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1975-
1982; founding director, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, 2001-2008
Diane Griffin is a microbiologist who is an expert on the effects of infectious viruses
on the brain and nervous system. Her primary contribution to public health has been
research to support new vaccine development for diseases such as measles. She has
conducted research on how the measles virus, while not necessarily life-
threatening in itself, can suppress immune responses and infect neurons in the brain
and spinal cord, thereby increasing susceptibility to other diseases, such as encepha-
litis, pneumonia, malaria, and even HIV. She conducted medical field research in
Zambia, Africa, and has researched the genetic component of susceptibility to these
types of diseases. Her hope is for a measles vaccine that can be introduced to youn-
ger infants in both the United States and particularly in developing countries, where
measles and HIV pose major widespread public-health concerns.
Griffin showed an early interest in science and chose to attend Augustana Col-
lege in Rock Island, Illinois, where her father, an oil company geologist, had
attended and later taught. She went on to graduate school in a combined Ph.D./
M.D. program at Stanford University, and completed her medical internship and
one-year residency at Stanford Hospital. The experience helped her decide to focus
on research rather than on clinical practice. She followed her husband to Johns
Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, where she found a position
as a postdoctoral fellow in immunology and virology, and began studying the Sind-
bis virus, an alphavirus that causes encephalitis in mice, and the effect of infection
on the central nervous system. She joined the faculty in medicine and neurology
in 1973, receiving tenure six years later and then advancing to full professor in
1986. In 1994, she became chair of the Department of Molecular Biology and
Gross, Carol A. (Polinsky) | 469
Immunology at the Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health.
In 2001, an anonymous donor contrib-
uted funding to establish a malaria
research institute at Johns Hopkins,
with Griffin as founding director.
Most of Griffin's research has been
funded by the National Institutes of
Health (NIH), and she has been a
member of the NIH Virology Section,
as well as the National Multiple Scle-
rosis Society Research Advisory
Committee, U.S. -Japan Viral Dis-
eases Panel, and the Boards of Scien-
tific Counselors for the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious ,, „. , _ .„.
aj Microbiologist Diane Edmund Griffin.
Diseases (NIAID) and National Insti- (Courtesy of Johns Hopkins)
tute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke (NINDS). She has served on
the editorial boards of major scientific journals in her field, including Virology,
Microbial Pathogenesis, Intervirology, Virus Research, and Journal of Virology.
Griffin was elected to both the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of
Medicine in 2004. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and a member of the Ameri-
can Association of Immunologists, American Society for Clinical Investigation, Inter-
urban Clinical Club (president, 1993), American Society for Virology (president,
1999-2000), and American Society of Microbiology (president, 2006-2007). She
received the International Society for Neuro Virology Pioneer in Neuro Virology Award
(2009) and has been inducted into Maryland Women's Hall of Fame (2009).
Further Resources
Johns Hopkins University. Faculty website. http://faculty.jhsph.edu/?F=Diane&L=Griffin.
Gross, Carol A. (Polinsky)
b. 1941
Bacteriologist
Education: B.S., Cornell University, 1962; M.S., Brooklyn College, 1965; Ph.D.,
bacteriology, University of Oregon, 1968
470 | Gross, Elizabeth Louise
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, University of Oregon, 1969-1973;
project associate, University of Wisconsin, 1973-1976; assistant to associate sci-
entist, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Wisconsin,
1976-1981, assistant professor to professor, bacteriology, 1981-1992; professor,
stomatology and microbiology, University of California, San Francisco, 1993—
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, Department of Chemistry, Nanjing
University, China, 1985
Carol Gross is a noted bacteriologist who studies the production of cell proteins in
response to heat. When cells are subjected to high temperatures, nearly all begin to
produce large quantities of certain proteins, and these are characterized by their abil-
ity to grow and thrive at what is ordinarily a lethal temperature. She is looking at the
function that these proteins serve and the precise nature of how they operate. Another
project is the structure and function of RNA polymerase, an enzyme that binds com-
pounds in and transcribes DNA, thus regulating how DNA interacts with the cell. As
a project associate at the University of Wisconsin studying RNA, she developed an
interest in cancer research and moved to the university's McArdle Laboratory for
Cancer Research. She later taught in the Department of Bacteriology before moving
to the University of California, San Francisco in 1993. Her doctoral thesis was on the
subject of E. coli bacteria, and her lab continues to study and publish on the topic.
Gross was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1992
and has received numerous honors. In 1985, she became a member of the scientific
advisory committee of the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Research Fund,
a prestigious funder of research. She was named editor of the Journal of Bacteriology
in 1990 and became a member of the editorial board of Genes and Development the
same year. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Further Resources
University of California, San Francisco. Faculty website, http://www.ucsf.edu/gross/.
Gross, Elizabeth Louise
1940 2007
Biochemist
Education: B.A., biophysics, University of California, Los Angeles, 1961; Ph.D.,
biophysics, University of California, Berkeley, 1967
Guthrie, Mary Jane | 471
Professional Experience: research associate, C. F. Kettering Research Laboratory,
1967-1968; assistant professor to professor, biochemistry, Ohio State University,
1968-2006
Elizabeth Gross is credited with inventing photovoltaic cells that use living organ-
isms — "living batteries," as they are popularly called. Her research interests
included biophysical and biochemical studies of chloroplast membrane proteins
including plastocyanin and the pigment-protein complexes, biological solar
energy, and chloroplast solar batteries. The photovoltaic effect is a phenomenon
in which the incidence of light or other electromagnetic radiation upon the junc-
tion of two materials induces the generation of electromotive force. In simple
terms, a photovoltaic cell converts sunlight directly into electricity. Gross pro-
duced 2,000 microvolts of power at 4% to 5% efficiencies by devising a way to
use a cheap carbon electrode instead of platinum in the chloroplast solar battery.
A chloroplast is a plastid containing chlorophyll, and a plastid is a small, double-
membrane organelle of plant cells and certain protists occurring in several forms
as the chloroplast and containing ribosomes, prokaryotic DNA, and often pigment.
In other words, she sought a way to harness the plant world's use of photosynthesis
as a "green solar battery." In the 1980s, there was great interest in photovoltaic
cells by major companies, and in addition to using them in space vehicles and
satellites, there was scientific and popular interest in reducing pollution and pre-
serving fossil-fuel resources through substituting solar-powered cars, solar heat,
and other uses for solar energy.
Gross was a professor of biochemistry at Ohio State University for nearly
40 years and served for many years as director of the program in biophysics. Her
research was published widely in scientific journals. In 1989, she was honored
with an Outstanding Women in Science Award from the Association for Women
in Science in Central Ohio. She was a member of the Biophysical Society, American
Society of Biological Chemists, American Society of Plant Physiologists,
American Chemical Society, and International Solar Energy Society.
Guthrie, Mary Jane
1895 1975
Zoologist, Cytologist
Education: A.B., University of Missouri, 1916, A.M., 1918; Ph.D., Bryn Mawr
College, 1922
472 | Guttman, Helene Augusta (Nathan)
Professional Experience: demonstrator, biology, Bryn Mawr College, 1918—
1920, instructor, 1920-1921; assistant professor, zoology, University of Missouri,
1922-1926, associate professor, 1927-1937, professor, 1937-1950; professor,
biology, Wayne State University, 1950-1960; research associate, Detroit Institute
for Cancer Research, 1951-1960
Mary Guthrie was a zoologist who specialized in the cytology (or cell biology) of
the female reproductive system and endocrine glands. After completing under-
graduate and master's degrees at the University of Missouri, near her hometown,
she went to Bryn Mawr to study with zoologist Florence Peebles. Guthrie taught
at Bryn Mawr while working on her doctorate, then returned to Missouri, where
she was appointed assistant professor; among her colleagues at Missouri were
plant geneticist Barbara McClintock, with whom Guthrie occasionally co-
taught courses in genetics and cytology. Guthrie rose through the ranks to full pro-
fessor before leaving the institution in 1950 for a position at Wayne State Univer-
sity. During this time, she was also an affiliated research associate at the Detroit
Institute for Cancer Research, but retired from both positions in 1960. Her
research at the institute focused on ovarian cancer. She created in vitro ovaries to
understand how tumors began. Although she was a noted scientist, she sometimes
had difficulty obtaining funding. An official at the Rockefeller Foundation once
explained to her that, although women were not officially excluded from their fel-
lowship program, as a woman scientist she would need to submit additional mate-
rials to support her grant application. She co-authored three textbooks with other
zoologists: Textbook of General Zoology (1938, with Winterton Conway Curtis),
General Zoology (1957, with John Anderson) and Laboratory Directions in
General Zoology (1958, also with Anderson).
Guthrie was professionally active as a member of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, American Society of Naturalists, American Society
of Zoologists, American Association of Anatomists, Genetics Society, American
Society of Mammalogists, and Tissue Culture Association. She was also a member
of the editorial board of the Journal of Morphology (1944-1947).
Guttman, Helene Augusta (Nathan)
b. 1930
Microbiologist, Biochemist
Education: B.A., Brooklyn College, 1951; M.A., Harvard University, 1955; M.A.,
Columbia University, 1958; Ph.D., bacteriology, Rutgers University, 1960
Guttman, Helene Augusta (Nathan) | 473
Professional Experience: research technician, immunology, Public Health
Research Institute, New York City, 1951-1952; assistant microbiologist, Haskins
Labs, 1952-1956, research associate, 1956-1959, staff member, 1959-1964;
research associate, Goucher College, 1960-1962; assistant to associate professor,
biochemistry and cell physiology, University College and Graduate School of Arts
and Sciences, New York University, 1962-1967; associate professor to professor,
biological sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago Circle, 1967-1975, professor,
microbiology, College of Medicine, 1969-1975, faculty associate, urban systems
laboratory, College of Engineering, 1974-1975, associate director of research,
1975; expert, Office of the Director, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 1975-
1977, research resources coordinator, Office of Program Planning and Evaluation,
1977-1979; deputy director, science advisory board, U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency, 1979-1980; program coordinator, Science Education Coordinating
Office, Science and Education Directorate, U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), 1980-1983, associate director, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research
Center, 1983-1989, animal care coordinator, National Program Staff, Agricultural
Research Service, 1989-; founder and counselor, Sound Balance
Helene Guttman is known for her work in nutritional biochemistry, microbiology,
and the mind-body connection in healing. Her research interests have included
behavioral biochemistry; control of inducible syntheses; isolation and purification
of bioactive natural products; nutrition biochemistry; and drug mode of action at
the cellular level. After receiving her undergraduate degree from Brooklyn
College, she worked for the Public Health Research Institute and Haskins Labs
before receiving one master's degree from Harvard and a second from Columbia.
She received her doctorate from Rutgers in 1960 and was a research associate at
Goucher College before joining the faculty of New York University. She moved
to the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle, where she also held a joint professor-
ship in the College of Medicine.
Guttman left academia in 1975 to work at the Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
of the National Institutes of Health, and then moved to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. She joined the USDA in the Science and Education Director-
ate, was appointed associate director of the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research
Center, and then moved to the position of animal care coordinator of the Agricul-
tural Research Service. Her office was in charge of issuing government bulletins
and papers about animal care, a high-profile topic due to the increased activities
of animal-rights groups concerned about animal experimentation in research,
humane livestock practices, and the health and environmental costs of vegetarian-
ism. During Guttman's tenure, some animal-rights groups began using aggressive
tactics such as invading laboratories and destroying equipment. She is the author
474 | Guttman, Helene Augusta (Nathan)
of Experiments in Cellular Biodynamics (1972) and editor of Science and
Animals: Addressing Contemporary Issues (1989).
Guttman left the USDA to begin her own counseling service, Sound Balance,
focused on combining physical, psychological, and spiritual approaches to healing.
She has been active on issues concerning women and women scientists such as
chairing the Professional Opportunities for Women Commission of the American
Institute of Chemists (1974-1978) and serving on the advisory board of Creative
Women (starting in 1970). She has also served as a member of the Status of Women
Microbiologists Commission (1980-1985) and was a member of the education com-
mittee of the Illinois Commission on the Status of Women (1974-1975). She is a fel-
low of the American Institute of Chemists, American Academy of Microbiology,
New York Academy of Sciences, and American Association for the Advancement
of Science. She is a member of the American Society for Microbiology, American
Society of Biological Chemists, American Society for Cell Biology, and American
Society of Clinical Nutrition.
Further Resources
Sound Balance, http://www.soundbalance.net/.
H
Haas, Mary Rosamond
1910 1996
Linguist, Anthropologist
Education: B.A., Earlham College, 1930; Ph.D., linguistics, Yale University,
1935
Professional Experience: researcher, Yale University, 1936-1938; committee
member, American native languages, American Council of Learned Societies,
1938-1941, committee member and research fellow, modern Oriental languages,
1941-1946; lecturer, Siamese, University of California, Berkeley, 1943-1947, as-
sistant professor to professor, languages and linguistics, 1947-1977
Mary Haas was a leader in anthropological linguistics due to her work on Native
American languages as well as her pioneering research on the relationship of eth-
nology and sociology to language. The latter included men's and women's speech,
word taboos, word games, kinship vocabulary, and language contact. In the 1940s,
during World War II, she responded to the national need for expertise on languages
of the Far East and published several grammars and dictionaries of Thai and
Burmese (previously called Siamese). She joined the faculty at the University of
California, Berkeley in 1947, and returned to her interests in Native American
linguistics. She was instrumental in founding the Survey of California Indian
Languages at Berkeley in 1953, a program that trains graduate student field
researchers and maintains archives on native languages. She also founded the
Language Lab at Berkeley (now the Berkeley Linguistic Center), which provides
resources for foreign-language students as well as housing a sound archive of
recordings of Native American languages. Without Haas's efforts, many languages
and dialects might have been lost entirely to history.
Haas's first fieldwork was with the Nitinat tribe of British Columbia. For her
doctoral research, she went to Louisiana to work with the lone surviving speaker
of Tunica. She later published a grammar, a dictionary, and a text collection of
the Tunica language. Her research launched her career as the principal authority
on the languages of the native southeastern United States, including Natchez and
Muskogean families, and she later studied many other North American linguis-
tic families. Her work provided solid corroboration of studies conducted by
475
476 | Hahn, Dorothy Anna
anthropologists, archaeologists, and ethnologists. After her official retirement in
1977, she was sought as a guest lecturer and visiting professor at universities
worldwide. In addition to her books on the Thai language, Haas published The
Prehistory of Languages (1969), still read by graduate students of historical lin-
guistics, and Language, Culture, and History (1978), as well as numerous scien-
tific papers.
Haas was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1978.
She received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the Berkeley Cita-
tion of the University of California, Berkeley (1977) and the Wilbur Cross Medal
of Yale University (1977). In 1986, she was honored at the Haas Festival
Conference on Native American Linguistics held at the University of California,
Santa Cruz. In Honor of Mary Haas (1988) is a collection of papers presented by
colleagues and former students at the conference. Her bequest to Berkeley helped
establish the Mary R. Haas Memorial Fund to support linguistics students. She was
a member of the Linguistics Society of America (president, 1963), American
Anthropological Association, American Oriental Society, and American Academy
of Arts and Sciences.
Further Resources
"Mary Rosamond Haas, Linguistics: Berkeley." http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view7docId
=hb0z09n6nn&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=div00028&toc.depth=l&toc.id.
Hahn, Dorothy Anna
1876 1950
Chemist
Education: A.B., chemistry and biology, Bryn Mawr College, 1899; University of
Leipzig, 1906-1907; Ph.D., Yale University, 1916
Professional Experience: professor, chemistry, Pennsylvania College for Women
(Chatham College), 1899-1906; professor, biology, Kindergarten College,
Pittsburgh, 1904-1906; instructor, Mount Holyoke College, 1908-1914, associate
professor, 1914-1918, professor, 1918-1941
Dorothy Hahn was recognized for her research on the synthesis of hydantoins,
such as vitamin B. The research required the application of both skillful organic
chemical technique and the newly developed methods of ultraviolet spectropho-
tometry. She became actively interested in industrial chemistry, specifically coal-
tar products, an interest that not only contributed to her awareness of important
Hamerstrom, Frances (Flint) | 477
new developments but made it possible for Mount Holyoke to obtain needed facili-
ties and scholarships. During her long tenure at Mount Holyoke, she (along with
colleagues such as physical chemist Emma Perry Carr) helped establish a first-
rate chemistry department by encouraging undergraduate research and launching
their female students into graduate study in the sciences.
Hahn obtained her education over a long period and in a number of laboratories,
training at Bryn Mawr, Leipzig, and Yale at intervals over 17 years. As with many
female scientists of the early twentieth century, she found it difficult to find a uni-
versity position. She began her career teaching at colleges in Pennsylvania before
spending a year abroad in Germany, studying organic chemistry at the University
of Leipzig. She returned to further study at her alma mater, Bryn Mawr, and began
teaching at Mount Holyoke before completing her doctorate at Yale in 1916. Soon
after receiving the Ph.D., she was promoted to full professor at Mount Holyoke,
where she remained until her retirement in 1941.
In addition to publishing numerous papers in scientific journals, especially for
the Journal of the American Chemical Society, she also collaborated on several
books, including A Dictionary of Chemical Solubilities, Inorganic (1921, with
Arthur Comey), and a translation and enlargement of Ferdinand Henrich's Theo-
ries of Organic Chemistry (1922, with Treat B. Johnson). She was a member of
the American Chemical Society and the Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft.
Further Resources
Shmurak, Carole B. and Bonnie S. Handler. 1992. " 'Castle of Science': Mount Holyoke
College and the Preparation of Women in Chemistry, 1837 1941." History of Educa-
tion Quarterly. 32(3): 315 342.
Hamerstrom, Frances (Flint)
1907 1998
Wildlife Biologist, Ornithologist
Education: student, Smith College, 1926-1928; B.S., biology, Iowa State Univer-
sity, 1935; M.S., wildlife biology, University of Wisconsin, 1940
Professional Experience: staff, Edwin S. George Reserve, Pinckney, Michigan,
1940-1943 and 1946-1949; game biologist, Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources, 1949-1972; director, Raptor Research Foundation, 1976-1979;
adjunct professor and research associate, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point,
1982-1998
478 | Hamerstrom, Frances (Flint)
Frances Hamerstrom was an internationally known wildlife biologist, one of the
few women to pursue this profession, whose research focused on ecology and
behavior of raptors and hunting ethics and habits. Even before completing her
undergraduate degree, she studied birds at the Game Conservation Institute in
New Jersey (1931-1932). She attended Smith College before transferring to Iowa
State University, where she studied pheasants, quail, and birds of prey. She went
on to graduate study at the University of Wisconsin, where she studied the habitat
of the greater prairie chicken with famed naturalist Aldo Leopold. She later
received an honorary doctorate from Carroll College in Wisconsin in 1961. After
receiving her master's degree, she worked as a game biologist for the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources for more than 20 years. She served as director
of the Raptor Research Foundation for three years and then joined the faculty of
the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point as an adjunct professor beginning in
1982. Her work supported conservation and species-preservation efforts.
In addition to her own original research and publications, Hamerstrom also used
her language skills to review foreign-language books on ornithology for an American
audience. Her 1986 book Harrier, Hawk of the Marshes was the culmination of sev-
eral decades worth of observation and research. In addition to her scientific papers
on the golden eagle and the prairie chicken, she wrote magazine articles on nature
study and several autobiographical works on her life and work, such as Strictly for
the Chickens (1980), Birding with a Purpose (1984), Is She Coming Too?: Memoirs
of a Lady Hunter (1989), and My Double Life: Memoirs of a Naturalist (1994). She
also published two children's books: Walk When the Moon Is Full (1975) and The
Adventure of the Stone Man (1977).
Her husband, Frederick Nathan Hamerstrom, Jr., was also a naturalist and orni-
thologist, and the two collaborated on publications and shared awards from the Wild-
life Society (1940) for their publication The Great Horned Owl and Its Prey in the
North-Central States, and the National Wildlife Federation Conservationist of the
Year Award (1970). Frances Hamerstrom later received another Wildlife Society
award (1957) for A Guide to Prairie Chicken Management. She also received the
Joseelyn Van Tyne Award of the American Ornithologists Union (1960), Chapman
Award of the American Museum of Natural History (1964), Silver Passenger Pigeon
Award from the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology (1966), Distinguished Service
Award from the National Wildlife Federation (1970), Silver Acorn Award from
Citzens Natural Resources Association (1972), a research award from the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources (1973), and the Golden Passenger Pigeon Award
(1973). She was elected a fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union and was a
member of the Wilson Ornithological Society, Wisconsin Society for Ornithology
(president, 1960-1961), Wisconsin Peregrine Society, American Society of
Mammalogists, Citizens Natural Resources Association, Raptor Research
Hamilton, Alice | 479
Foundation, North American Falconers Association, and Wisconsin Academy of Sci-
ence, Arts and Letters. She was also a member of international organizations such as
the British Ornithologists Union, British Falconry Club, Deutsche Falkenorden, and
Deutsche Ornithologen Gesellschaft.
Further Resources
Bildstein, Keith L. 1999. "In Memoriam: Frances Hamerstrom, 1907 1998." The Auk:
Journal of the American Ornithologists' Union. 116(4): 1122 1124. http://
elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/vll6n04/pll22-pl 124.pdf.
Hamilton, Alice
1869 1970
Industrial Toxicologist
Education: M.D., University of Michigan, 1893, A.M., 1910
Professional Experience: professor, pathology, Woman's Medical College of
Chicago, 1897-1902; assistant pathologist, McCormick Institute for Infectious
Diseases, 1902-1909; special investigator, Occupational Poisons, U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics, 1911-1921; assistant professor, Department of Industrial Medi-
cine, Harvard Medical School, 1919-1935
Alice Hamilton was a pioneer in the science of industrial toxicology and an author-
ity on hazardous industries and occupational diseases. She worked in both industry
and government positions, including as a consultant to the Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics. She was the first female faculty member at Harvard Medical School, and
when she joined the faculty as an assistant professor of industrial medicine in
1919, she insisted on a half-time appointment so she could continue to pursue
her research. She retired from Harvard in 1935 but was a crusader for industrial
safety and health legislation well into her eighties, serving for a time as a medical
consultant to the U.S. Division of Labor Standards.
Hamilton obtained her M.D. at the University of Michigan in 1893 and went to
pursue postgraduate studies and complete internships at several other institutions.
After interning in Minneapolis and Boston, she decided to specialize in bacteriol-
ogy and pathology. She went to Germany for further training at the University of
Leipzig, University of Munich, and University of Frankfurt in 1 896, and returned
for postgraduate studies and research at Johns Hopkins University. She received
her first appointment as professor of pathology at the Woman's Medical College
of Chicago in 1897. When this school closed in 1902, she moved to the newly
480 | Hamilton, Margaret
opened McCormick Institute for Infectious Diseases. She studied briefly at the Pas-
teur Institute in Paris to prepare for her work at McCormick. Through her contacts
with people at the Hull House settlement founded by social reformers in Chicago,
she found that many immigrant workers had been permanently debilitated by the
fumes they inhaled on the job in steel mills, factories, and foundries. This was the
foundation for her campaign to establish the occupational disease commission in
Illinois in 1910, the first of its kind in the United States. She fought for workers'
rights to healthcare and compensation due to industrial accidents and was also
involved in a campaign against the hazards of leaded gasoline for automobiles.
Hamilton's books, Industrial Poisons in the United States (1925) and Industrial
Toxicology (1934), are considered classic works that eventually led to the passage
of workers' compensation laws. She also published an autobiography, Exploring
the Dangerous Trades (1943; reprinted in 1985). She was a member of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Medical Association, and
the American Public Health Association, and, between 1924 and 1930, the only
female member of the League of Nations Health Committee. In 1947, she received
the Lasker Award. Her contributions to public health have been acknowledged post-
humously with the naming of the Alice Hamilton Laboratory at the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health, an annual Alice Hamilton Award by the Institute,
and a U.S. Postal Service commemorative stamp.
Further Resources
Sicherman, Barbara, ed. 2003. Alice Hamilton: A Life in Letters. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Hamilton, Margaret
b. 1936
Computer Scientist, Systems Engineer
Education: student, University of Michigan, 1955; B.A., mathematics, Earlham
College, 1958
Professional Experience: school teacher, 1959; programmer, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), 1960; Philco-Ford Sage Project and Air Force
Cambridge Research Laboratory, 1961-1963; programmer, Draper Laboratory,
MIT, 1963-1965, supervisor and director, Software Engineering Division, 1965-
1977; founder and CEO, Higher Order, Inc., 1978-; founder and CEO, Hamilton
Technologies, Inc. (HTI), 1986-
Hamilton, Margaret | 481
Margaret Hamilton is known as one of the chief systems analysts on the Apollo
spacecraft project. She was assistant director of software engineering at Draper
Laboratory of MIT when the onboard computers and guidance instruments for
all the manned moon missions were designed. She said that as one of the first pro-
grammers hired, she became acquainted with all phases of the project and assisted
other personnel with problem solving. At the peak of the Apollo project, she
supervised about 100 engineers, mathematicians, programmers, and technical
writers. She oversaw two separate subgroups — one for the onboard computer in
the command module, the other for the computer in the lunar excursion module
(LEM). The programs her group devised were very complex. Before each Apollo
mission, she had to anticipate all possible eventualities and program the two com-
puters to be ready for them. The computers had to process and respond to input
from Mission Control, spacecraft instruments such as radar, and the astronauts.
One of Hamilton's programs established the order in which the computer must
do the various jobs it was asked to do at once. The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) eventually took over the Apollo project, and MIT's role
was greatly reduced. Hamilton's other projects at MIT included overseeing a bio-
medical bedside computer, a new computer language and compiler, security sys-
tems, control systems for aircraft, a data-management system for the Department
of Transportation, air traffic control instrumentation, the space shuttle, the
unmanned Mars landing, and Skylab.
After receiving her undergraduate degree in mathematics, she married and
taught math and French in public school while her husband completed college.
After the couple moved to Boston, Hamilton planned to enroll in graduate school,
but obtained a job at MIT as a programmer for a professor doing meteorological
prediction and statistical long-range weather forecasting. She then worked for
Philco-Ford's Sage Project, a radar defense system that tracked unknown aircraft.
At the same time, she did general programming for satellite tracking at the Air
Force Cambridge Research Laboratory. She returned to MIT in 1963 to do pro-
gramming for another meteorology professor, which led to the opportunity to work
on the Apollo project. In 1977, she founded a computer company to develop indus-
trial systems, Higher Order, Inc., with a former colleague. The software they
developed was designed to catch mistakes, such as a missing step in a manufactur-
ing process, before they happen, a systems design model known as Development
Before the Fact (DBTF), which became the specialty for programs and software
developed in her next company, Hamilton Technologies, Inc., founded in 1986.
Hamilton received the Augusta Lovelace Award from the Association for
Women in Computing (1986) and the NASA Exceptional Space Act Award
(2003) for her innovations. This honor included NASA's largest cash award ever
given to an individual.
482 | Hammel, Heidi
Further Resources
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Logic Design. 'About Margaret
Hamilton." http://klabs.org/home page/hamilton.htm.
Hamilton Technologies, Inc. http://www.htius.com/.
Hammel, Heidi
b. I960
Astronomer
Education: B.S., earth and planetary science, Massachusetts Institute of Technol-
ogy, 1982; Ph.D., physics and astronomy, University of Hawaii, 1988
Professional Experience: team member, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) Voyager Imaging Science Team, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, California, 1989; principal research scientist, earth, atmospheric and plan-
etary sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1990-1998; senior
research scientist, Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado, 1999-, co-director,
Research Branch, 2003-
Concurrent Positions: team leader, NASA Hubble Space Visible/New-UV Imag-
ing Team, 1994
Heidi Hammel was part of the scientific team that oversaw the Voyager encounter
with Neptune in 1989. That work, in turn, resulted in the assignment to be the team
leader for the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Collision with Jupiter in 1994. Hammel
worked with the Hubble Space Telescope Team to study the comet's impact on
Jupiter's atmosphere. During the television coverage of the Shoemaker-Levy 9
event, she showed the ability to explain the phenomena enthusiastically in lan-
guage the general public could understand. Her facility with the media led to her
1997 appearance on a Discovery Channel television documentary on the Hubble
Space Telescope. In 1996, the International Astronomical Union named asteroid
3530 "Hammel" in her honor. In 1999, she joined the Space Science Institute in
Boulder, Colorado, where she continues to research Neptune and Uranus. She is
also involved as a research scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope, which
is scheduled to launch by 2013.
As a child, Hammel received a toy telescope and had her first experiences of sky
watching. She also regularly visited the planetarium in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,
where the family lived. She excelled in math, and a teacher encouraged her to apply
to MIT, where she became interested in a career in astronomy and received her
Hammel, Heidi | 483
Astronomer Heidi Hammel. (AP/Wide World
Photos)
undergraduate degree in earth and
planetary science. She enrolled in
graduate school at the University of
Hawaii at Manoa because that school
had the largest and best telescopes
for the subject she was studying. Her
dissertation was on the clouds and
structure of Neptune. She is the sub-
ject of a 2006 book by Fred Bortz,
Beyond Jupiter: The Story of Plan-
etary Astronomer Heidi Hammel, part
of a "Women's Adventures in Sci-
ence" juvenile series for National
Academies Press. She is currently
involved in a collaboration with
author Noreen Grice on a book project
entitled "Touch the Solar System,"
which will combine Braille and textured images to bring space telescope photos
to blind readers.
Hammel has received numerous awards and honors, including the NASA
Group Achievement Award for Voyager Science Investigation (1990), the
Vladimir Karapetoff Award from MIT in recognition of her contributions to
science and education (1994), and the Klumpke-Roberts Award of the Astronomi-
cal Society of the Pacific (1995), named for Dorothea Klumpke-Roberts, an
American woman who worked for the Paris Observatory between 1887 and
1901 and was renowned for her work in charting and cataloging stars. Hammel
has also received the 1996 Harold C. Urey Prize of the American Astronomical
Society (AAS) (1996), the Public Understanding of Science Award of the Explor-
atorium (1998), and the Carl Sagan Medal of the AAS (2002). In 2002, she was
named one of the "50 Most Important Women in Science" by Discover magazine.
She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and
a member of the American Astronomical Society and of the Board of Directors of
the Planetary Society (2005-).
Further Resources
Planetary Society. "Heidi Hammel." http://www.planetary.org/about/heidi hammel
.html.
Space Science Institute. "Heidi B. Hammel: Senior Research Scientist." http://
www.spacescience.org/about ssi/staff/hammel.html.
484 | Harris, Jean Louise
Harris, Jean Louise
1931 2001
Physician
Education: B.S., Virginia Union University, 1951; M.D., Medical College of
Virginia, 1955
Professional Experience: intern, Medical College of Virginia, 1955-1956, resi-
dent, internal medicine, 1956-1957, fellow, 1957-1958; fellow, Strong Memorial
Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Rochester, 1958-1960; instructor,
medicine, College of Medicine, Howard University, 1960-1968, assistant profes-
sor, community health practice, 1969-1972; professor, Virginia Commonwealth
University, 1973-1979, clinical professor, family practice, 1978; secretary of
human resources, Commonwealth of Virginia, 1978-1982; president and chief
executive officer, Ramsey Foundation, 1988-1992; senior associate director,
medical affairs, University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinic, 1992-1998; mayor,
Eden Prairie, Minnesota, 1999-2001
Concurrent Positions: research associate, Walter Reed Army Institute
of Research, 1960-1963; private practice, internal medicine and allergies,
1964-1971; chief, Bureau of Resources Development, District of Columbia
Department of Health, 1967-1969; director, Center for Community Health Con-
sultants, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1969-1977; assistant
clinical professor, community medicine, Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical
School, Los Angeles, 1970-1972; executive director, National Medical Associa-
tion Foundation, 1970-1973; vice president of state marketing programs, Control
Data Corporation, 1982-1984, vice president of state government affairs,
1984-1986, vice president of business development, 1986-1988
Jean L. Harris was a specialist in internal medicine and an allergist who held high-
level positions in academia, state government, federal government, private indus-
try, and professional associations. She was the first African American to be admit-
ted to the Medical College of Virginia (now part of Virginia Commonwealth
University), where she also became the first full-time black faculty member. She
went on to become the first woman and first African American to be named to
the cabinet of a Virginia governor when she was named Secretary of Human
Resources in 1978. In the last years of her life, she served as mayor of her home-
town in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Harris had numerous appointments in the federal government, such as research
associate at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and director of the Center
for Community Health Consultants of the Department of Health, Education, and
Harris, Mary (Styles) | 485
Welfare. She was executive director of the National Medical Association Founda-
tion as well as working in private practice as a physician of internal medicine and
allergist. She also had high-level appointments to committees, such as being a
member of the recombinant DNA advisory committee of the National Institutes
of Health (1979-1982), vice chairman of the National Commission on Alcoholism
and Alcohol-Related Diseases (1980-1981), member of the President's Private
Sector Initiative Task Force (1981-1982), member of the Defense Advisory Com-
mission on Women in the Service (1985-1988), and member of the Advisory
Council on Sickle Cell of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (1975-
1979). In 1993, Virginia Commonwealth University established the Jean L. Harris
Scholars Program for medical school students, and in 2002, the state of Virginia
passed a resolution to honor her career and contributions.
Harris was a fellow of the Royal Society of Health and a member of the Institute
of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of
Medical Administrators, and the American Public Health Association.
Further Resources
Virginia Senate Joint Resolution No. 233. (2002). http://legl.state.va.us/cgi-bin/
legp524.exe?021+ful+SJ233ER.
Harris, Mary (Styles)
b. 1949
Geneticist, Epidemiologist
Education: B.A., Lincoln University, 1971; Ph.D., genetics, Cornell University,
1975
Professional Experience: fellow, National Cancer Institute, New Jersey College
of Medicine and Dentistry (now Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), 1975-
1977; instructor, genetics, School of Medicine, Morehouse College, 1978-1986;
president and consultant, Harris & Associates Ltd., 1986-; CEO, BioTechnical
Communications, 1987—
Concurrent Positions: research associate, tumor virology, Rutgers Medical
School, 1975-1977; executive director, Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia, Inc.,
1977-1979; National Science Foundation Residency, 1979-1980; scientist in res-
idence, television station WGTV, University of Georgia, 1979-1980; assistant
director, science and public policy, Atlanta University, 1980-1981; instructor,
Human Genetics, Emory University, 1982; director, Genetic Service, Georgia
Department of Human Resources, 1982-1985
486 | Harris, Mary (Styles)
Mary Harris is a geneticist who has made a professional commitment to connect-
ing research in the biological sciences to healthcare literacy among minorities. Her
website, JourneyToWellness.com, is an online health magazine and portal for her
weekly call-in radio program on African American health issues and healthcare
literacy. Early in her career, she focused on genetic testing of children in her
capacity as executive director of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia and state
director of genetics service in Georgia. Sickle-cell anemia, which occurs primarily
among Africans or persons of African descent, is a chronic hereditary blood dis-
ease that can be identified through genetic testing. In 1979, she employed an
unusual technique for educating the public by using a National Science Founda-
tion grant to work with broadcasters to produce a series of television documentary
programs on the relationship between science and medicine.
Harris was encouraged to enter the medical field by her physician father. When
she entered high school in 1963, she was among the first blacks to attend an inte-
grated school. She volunteered at a local black-owned medical laboratory nights
and weekends; in exchange, the staff showed her how to use the equipment and
how to do routine biological tests. She was one of the first women to enter Lincoln
University in Pennsylvania, and colleagues of her father arranged, through a
minority recruitment program, to reserve a place for her at the University of
Miami Medical School. By then, however, she had decided to concentrate on
research rather than become a physician and she accepted instead a Ford Founda-
tion fellowship to study molecular genetics. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell
University in 1975.
In 1986, Harris moved to California, where she founded her own firm, Harris &
Associates, to consult for companies that were engaged in genetic engineering.
She received a grant from the National Cancer Institute to produce a new series
of television programs on the particular health problems of African Americans,
and created another company, BioTechnical Communications, to produce audio-
visual educational materials on a broad range of healthcare issues encountered
by women and minorities. She produced an award-winning documentary about
African American women and breast cancer, To My Sisters . . . A Gift for Life,
which has been widely distributed. Harris has produced numerous radio shows
with funding from the National Institutes of Health, including those focused on
issues of the social disparities of diseases such as cancer, obesity, and HIV/ AIDS.
In addition to her radio and television work, Harris has consulted for a variety of
educational, research, and government organizations, and has published widely
in health and science journals.
Harris has received numerous awards for her work in the media and public
health, and her work has been funded and supported by numerous medical schools
as well as the National Cancer Institute, National Medical Association, American
Harrison, Anna Jane | 487
Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Johnson & Johnson Family of
Companies, National Rural Health Association, American Diabetes Association,
and Arthritis Foundation.
Further Resources
Journey to Wellness, http://www.journeytowellness.com/.
Harrison, Anna Jane
1912 1998
Chemist
Education: A.B., University of Missouri, 1933, M.A., 1937, Ph.D., physical
chemistry, 1940
Professional Experience: instructor, chemistry, Newcomb College, Tulane
University, 1940-1942, assistant professor, 1942-1945; assistant to associate
professor, Mount Holyoke College, 1945-1950, professor, 1950-1979
Anna Harrison was a distinguished
organic chemist who was elected the
first woman president of the Ameri-
can Chemical Society in 1978. Her
area of research was vacuum ultravio-
let spectroscopy. She received her
doctorate in physical chemistry from
the University of Missouri and taught
several years at Tulane before accept-
ing a faculty position at Mount Holy-
oke, where she rose through the ranks
to become full professor by 1950. She
also worked briefly during World War
II on a project on toxic smoke for the
National Defense Council. Although
chemistry was an increasingly popu-
lar area of study for women in the
first half of the twentieth century,
many female chemists were employ-
ed in industry or in home economics
departments, and few held full
Chemist Anna Harrison was the first woman
president of the American Chemical Society
in 1978. (Bettmann/Corbis)
488 | Harrison, Faye Venetia
professorships or department head positions as Harrison eventually did. After her
retirement, she co-authored (with Mount Holyoke colleague Edwin Weaver) a
textbook for nonmajors entitled, Chemistry: A Search to Understand (1989).
Harrison was active in professional organizations and committees. She served
on committees of the National Research Council, was a member of the National
Science Board (1972-1978), and was a fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science (president, 1983-1984). She received the Frank For-
est Award of the American Ceramic Society (1949), the Citation of Merit of the
University of Missouri College of Arts and Sciences (1960), the College Chemis-
try Teaching Award of the Manufacturing Chemists Association (1969), the
American Chemical Society's James Flack Norris Award of Outstanding Achieve-
ment in the Teaching of Chemistry (1977), and the Chemical Education Award of
the American Chemical Society (1982).
Further Resources
Mount Holyoke. "Anna Jane Harrison, Chemical Education Leader and First Woman
President of the American Chemical Society, Dies at 85." http://www.mtholyoke.edu/
offices/comm/press/releases/annaharrison.shtml.
Harrison, Faye Venetia
b. 1951
Anthropologist
Education: B.A., Brown University, 1974; M.A., Stanford University, 1977, Ph.D.,
anthropology, 1982
Professional Experience: assistant professor, anthropology, University of
Louisville, 1983-1989; associate professor, anthropology, University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, 1989-1997; professor, anthropology and graduate director, women's stud-
ies, University of South Carolina, Columbia, 1997-1999; professor, anthropology,
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1999-2004; professor, African American studies
and anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, 2004-2005, director, African
American studies, 2007-
Concurrent Positions: fellow, Social Science Research Institute, University of
Tennessee, Knoxville, 1991-1992; chair, Commission on Anthropology of
Women, International Union of Anthropologists and Ethnological Sciences,
1993-; adjunct associate professor, anthropology, State University of New York,
Harrison, Faye Venetia | 489
Binghamton, 1996-1998; adjunct professor, Graduate College, Union Institute
and University, 2002-
Faye Harrison is an anthropologist whose research focuses on how people of African
descent both shape and are shaped by their cultural environments. She has studied
people from the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa who have immigrated to
the United States, natives of the West Indies who immigrated to London, West Indian
families who live in the West Indies, and the oral histories of her own ancestors who
lived in North Carolina and Virginia. Harrison became interested in different cultures
as a child when she discovered a closetful of old National Geographic magazines. In
high school, she studied Spanish, Portuguese, and French, and received a scholarship
to travel to Puerto Rico with a group of other language students.
She received a full university scholarship to study anthropology at Brown and
completed an independent research project on the attitudes and opinions of
American descendents of people from the Cape Verde Islands who had retained
their original language of Portuguese. She later studied West Indians in England
and in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica. She became intrigued by the informal eco-
nomic system among such communities, where members bought and sold material
goods among themselves and also provided goods and services to the larger com-
munity on an informal or casual basis. She returned to Kingston each summer for a
number of years after receiving her doctorate to detect trends in the everyday life
of the slums and discovered that by the late 1980s and early 1990s, these local
economies had been influenced by gangs and drug smuggling.
In addition to her scientific papers, Harrison has edited Black Folks in Cities
Here and There (1988) and Decolonizing Anthropology: Moving Further toward
an Anthropology for Liberation (1991). She has also been an associate editor of
Urban Anthropology since 1992 and a consulting editor for Women and Aging since
1990. She has been active in civil rights efforts, such as the Kentucky Rainbow
Coalition, Black Women Organized for Power (1984-1986), and Alliance Against
Women's Oppression (1988-1989). She is a member of the Association of Black
Anthropologists (president, 1989-1991) and chair of the International Union of
Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences since 1993. In 2004, she was awarded
the Society for the Anthropology of North America's (SANA) Prize for Distin-
guished Contributions to the Critical Study of North America and, in 2007, was
honored by the Southern Anthropological Society with the Zora Neale Hurston
Award for Mentoring, Service, and Scholarship.
Further Resources
University of Florida. Faculty website, http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/fayeharr/.
490 | Harrison-Ross, Phyllis Ann
Harrison-Ross, Phyllis Ann
b. 1936
Pediatrician, Psychiatrist
Education: B.S., Albion College, 1956; M.D., Wayne State University College of
Medicine, 1959
Professional Experience: instructor, pediatrics, Cornell Medical School,
1961-1962; fellow, adult psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
1964-1966, instructor, pediatrics and psychology, 1966-1968; assistant professor
to professor, clinical psychiatry, New York Medical College, 1968-, emerita
Concurrent Positions: fellowship, adult psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medi-
cine, 1964-1966; director and chief, psychiatry, Metropolitan Hospital Community
Mental Health Center, 1973-1999; member, psychiatry, Medical Review Board, New
York State Commission of Corrections, 1976-2008, commissioner and chair, 2008-
Phyllis Harrison-Ross is a psychiatrist who pioneered the rehabilitation of children
who are considered severely developmentally disabled, emotionally disturbed, or
physically disabled. Beginning in the late 1960s, she helped to develop the first pro-
grams in physical and mental therapy for the young. Previously, there had not been
any school programs for such children, who either remained at home or were institu-
tionalized. She helped to develop programs for learning environments that were then
duplicated in the public schools. Harrison-Ross practiced psychiatry in Spanish
Harlem and found that poverty was responsible for many of the problems faced by
children, such as mental illness, learning disabilities, alcoholism, or living with the
effects of child abuse. In her practice, children up to five years of age were treated
for phobias that ranged from an inability to speak or a refusal to eat to the dread of
walking downstairs. Harrison-Ross has been a prominent public figure in New York,
hosting a parent-education television series in the 1970s and, later, co-hosting a radio
talk show. She has also worked on mental health and recovery issues for survivors
of disasters such as the World Trade Center attacks in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina
in 2005.
Harrison-Ross has been a professor of medicine and psychiatry at several
institutions, including New York Medical College. For 20 years, she was direc-
tor and chief of psychiatry at Metropolitan Hospital Community Mental Health
Center, and since the 1970s, she has been appointed by several governors to
sit on the Medical Review Board of the New York State Commission of Correc-
tions, serving as chair of the Commission since 2008. She has received several
awards, including the Leadership in Medicine Award of the Susan Smith
McKinney Stewart Medical Society (1978), Award of Merit of the Public Health
Hart, Helen | 491
Association of New York City (1980), and Solomon Carter Fuller Award of the
American Psychiatric Association (2004). She is a Distinguished Life Member
of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of Black Psychiatrists
of America (president, 1976-1978).
Hart, Helen
1900 1971
Plant Pathologist
Education: student, Lawrence College, 1918-1920; B.A., botany, University of
Minnesota, 1922, A.M., 1924, Ph.D., plant pathology, 1929
Professional Experience: instructor, plant pathology, University of Minnesota,
1924-1933, assistant to associate professor, 1933-1947, professor, 1947-1966
Concurrent Positions: agent, division of cereal crops and diseases, U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, 1923-1933; associate editor, Phytopathology, 1938-1940,
editor-in-chief, 1944-1951
Helen Hart was a leader among the group of investigators in a department famous
for its research on stem rust of cereals at the University of Minnesota. Her research
areas were disease resistance in crop plants, cereal rusts, and stem rust of wheat.
She was involved in efforts to track and prevent outbreaks of wheat stem rust
across the Great Plains, which had a devastating economic impact on farmers,
and on the development of rust-resistant varieties of plant in Minnesota. Hart's
work and that of her advisees at the University of Minnesota (where she spent
her entire career) represents an important and enduring contribution to the study
of stem rust of wheat and the challenge of understanding and exploiting pathogen
specialization and resistance among cultivated plants.
Hart was interested in science as early as high school, but by the time she com-
pleted her undergraduate degree in botany, she was discouraged by male profes-
sors from pursuing a career in science due to limited employment opportunities
for women. She persisted and was admitted to graduate school and a position as
lab assistant. After receiving her master's degree, she began teaching at the Uni-
versity of Minnesota while holding a joint appointment at the division of cereal
crops and diseases of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry
for over a decade. She continued to teach at the University of Minnesota at the
level of instructor while she completed her doctorate, and then was appointed to
a faculty position beginning in 1933.
Hart was very active professionally, serving as associate editor and then editor-
in-chief of Phytopathology, the principal scientific journal of the American
492 | Harvey, Ethel Browne
Phytopathological Society. She was the first female president of the American
Phytopathological Society, serving from 1955 to 1956; there was not another
woman president of that organization for another 30 years. She received the Elvin
C. Stakman Award (named for her mentor at the University of Minnesota) for her
work on cereal disease in 1963. In 1965, she was elected a fellow of the American
Phytopathological Society, and she was a fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science. She also was a member of the American Society of
Plant Physiologists.
Further Resources
Gegenhuber, Kurt. "Helen Hart: The First Woman President of the American Phytopatho-
logical Society." http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/Hart/.
Harvey, Ethel Browne
1885 1965
Cell Biologist
Education: A.B., Goucher College, 1906; A.M., Columbia University, 1907,
Ph.D., zoology, 1913
Professional Experience: private school instructor, science, 1908-1911; assis-
tant, biology, Princeton University, 1912-1913; private school instructor, biology,
1913-1914; Sarah Berliner fellow, University of California, 1914-1915; assistant
in histology, medical college, Cornell University, 1915-1916; instructor, biology,
Washington Square College, New York University, 1928-1931; investigator, biol-
ogy department, Princeton University, 1931-1959; Marine Biological Laboratory,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1959-1965
Concurrent Positions: researcher, Oceanographic Institute, Monaco, 1920-1921;
Naples Zoological Station, 1925-1926, 1933-1934, 1937
Ethel Harvey revised the theory of cell division when she showed that cells of
sea urchin eggs could divide after their nuclei had been removed. The popular
press of the 1930s picked up the story and announced that she had "created life
without parents." After she received her doctorate, she spent several years at the
University of California and at Cornell in research. Although her husband,
Edmund Newton Harvey, was also a biologist who specialized in biolumines-
cence, they worked independently of each other. She continued her research
part-time while her children were young, and in 1928, she taught biology at
New York University. Starting in 1931 and spanning most of her career,
Haschemeyer, Audrey E. V. | 493
she was an independent investigator in the biology department at Princeton. She
never was appointed to a full faculty position at the university. The only support
she received for her work was office space at Princeton and a share of her hus-
band's workspace at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Her internationally
recognized work was unfunded with the exception of one grant in 1937 from the
American Philosophical Society. She spent several periods on research at the
prestigious Naples Zoological Station between 1925 and 1937.
Harvey published nearly 100 scientific papers and one book, The American
Arbacia and Other Sea Urchins (1956), still a standard reference for sea urchin
embryologists. In 1950, she was the second woman to be named a trustee of the
Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory. She received numerous awards and
honors, including an honorary degree from Goucher College in 1956. She was
elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and was a member of the American Society of Naturalists and the American
Society of Zoologists. Some early sources refer to her as "Mrs. E. Newton
Harvey."
Haschemeyer, Audrey E. V.
b. 1936
Biochemist, Environmental Physiologist
Education: B.S., University of Illinois, 1957; Ph.D., physical chemistry, Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley, 1961
Professional Experience: research associate, biology, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 1961-1964; assistant biologist, Massachusetts General Hospital,
1965-1969; associate professor, biological science, Hunter College, 1969-1974,
professor, biology and biochemistry, 1974-, chair, Department of Biological Sci-
ence, 1980-
Concurrent Positions: associate, Harvard Medical School, 1967-1969; graduate
faculty, City University of New York, 1969-; chief scientist, research vessel Alpha
Helix, Caribbean-Pacific, 1978; project director, U.S. Antarctic Research
Program, 1978-; chief scientist, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, Ross Sea,
1981; member of corporation, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts, 1969-
Audrey Haschemeyer is known for her research on fish in Antarctica for the purpose
of learning how temperature changes affect some of the complex life processes
494 | Hatfield, Elaine Catherine
in humans. Under a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation in the
1970s, she studied how fish make specific protein molecules, and measured how
long the fish required to produce the protein molecules at various temperatures.
Unfortunately, North American fish go into a hibernation state at about 10 degrees
Celsius, but she learned that fish in McMurdo Sound do not seem affected by low
temperatures. She and her team were able to identify the antifreeze protein in the
fish and learned that about half of all the protein in the blood of Antarctic fish is this
special protein. The fish have a triggering mechanism that turns off the antifreeze
protein in warm weather and turns it on in cold weather. While trying to secure
funding for a trip to Antarctica, she took a job in 1978 as the chief scientist aboard
the Alpha Helix, a research ship operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanogra-
phy, and studied tropical fish in the Galapagos Islands.
Haschemeyer was one of the first American women scientists to conduct
research in Antarctica. Previously, the only travel and living accommodations for
Americans were under the control of the U.S. Navy, and it was only after women
scientists from other countries were on-site that the Navy lifted their restrictions
against women. In 1981, she was named Outstanding Woman Scientist by
the New York Association of Women in Science (AWIS). She is a fellow of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the
American Physiological Society, American Society of Biological Chemists, and
Biophysics Society.
Further Resources
Land, Barbara. 1981. The New Explorers: Women in Antarctica. New York: Dodd,
Mead.
Hatfield, Elaine Catherine
b. 1937
Psychologist
Education: B.A., University of Michigan, 1959; Ph.D., psychology, Stanford Uni-
versity, 1963
Professional Experience: assistant to associate professor, sociology and psychol-
ogy, University of Minnesota, 1963-1966; associate professor, psychology, Uni-
versity of Rochester, 1966-1967; associate professor to professor, sociology and
psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1967-1981; professor, psychol-
ogy, University of Hawaii, Manoa, 1981-
Hatfield, Elaine Catherine | 495
Concurrent Positions: research associate, Wisconsin Family Studies Institute,
1980-1981; family therapist, King Kalakua Center, 1982-
Elaine Hatfield is a psychologist known for her research and writings on love,
sex, and family life. She has examined a wide range of topics, including some
cross-cultural studies of the preferences of men and women in marital partners
in the United States, Russia, and Japan, and college students' dating patterns in
the three countries. Within the family structure, she has looked at marital equality
over the life span of the couple and problems faced by families of developmen-
tally disabled children. She is the co-author of several general psychology texts,
such as Interpersonal Attraction (1969; 2nd ed., 1978), Human Sexual Behavior
(1974), and Introduction to Psychology (1979). However, her book A New Look
at Love (1978) brought her popular attention, and the American Psychological
Association named her the recipient of their National Media Award in 1979 for
this publication.
In 1987, Mirror, Mirror: The Importance of Looks in Everyday Life struck a
chord with many people who were concerned about contemporary society's
emphasis on good looks over integrity and performance. Hatfield begins with
defining good looks from culture to culture and ends with discussing the pros
and cons of look-improvement campaigns. In Western culture, the experiences of
the good-looking and the homely differ greatly, and she showed how looks
affect sex, marriage, self-image, personality, and social skills. She authored or
co-authored several other books, including Psychology of Emotion (1992),
Love, Sex, and Intimacy: Their Psychology, Biology, and History (1993), Emo-
tional Contagion (1994), and Love
and Sex (1996). Love, Sex, and Inti-
macy was an updated version of the
1978 book A New Look at Love, in
which Hatfield and her co-author
approached the study of relationships
from multiple perspectives. They dis-
cussed not only heterosexual dating
and marital relationships, but also
other types of close relationships such
as homosexual ones.
Hatfield has received the Distin-
guished Scientist Award of the Soci-
ety for Scientific Study of Sex
(1994), the award of the Society of
Experimental Social Psychology
Psychologist Elaine Hatfield. (Courtesy of
Elaine Hatfield)
496 | Hawkes, Kristen
(1993), and the Alfred Kinsey Award for research into human sexuality (1998).
She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Society for the
Psychological Study of Social Issues, and the American Sociological Association.
She is a member of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology and of the
American Association of Sex Educators and Counselors. In some sources, she is
listed as Elaine Walster.
Further Resources
"Elaine Hatfield, Ph.D." http://www.elainehatfield.com/.
University of Hawaii. Faculty website, http://socialsciences.people.hawaii.edu/faculty/?
dept=psy&faculty=elaineh@hawaii.edu.
O'Connell, Agnes N. and Nancy Felipe Russo, eds. 2001. Models of Achievement: Reflec-
tions of Eminent Women in Psychology. Vol. 3. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Hawkes, Kristen
b. 1944
Anthropologist
Education: B.A., sociology and anthropology, Iowa State University, 1968; M.A.,
anthropology, University of Washington, 1970, Ph.D., anthropology, 1976
Professional Experience: instructor, Highline Community College, 1970;
instructor, anthropology, University of Utah, 1973-1976, assistant to associate
professor, 1976-1987, professor, 1987-2001, Distinguished Professor, Depart-
ment of Anthropology, University of Utah, 2001-
Concurrent Positions: fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sci-
ences, Stanford University, 2002-2003; collaborative scientist, Division of
Psychobiology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 2005-
Kristen Hawkes is a physical anthropologist whose areas of specialization include
human evolution, behavioral ecology, life cycles, and sociobiology. She developed
"the grandmother hypothesis," an evolutionary explanation for menopause in
female humans. Hawkes suggests that infertility in older females confers an evolu-
tionary advantage for the group, in that these women are able to invest more time
and attention in raising their own children as well as those of younger women, who
also face greater health risks in pregnancy and childbirth. In other words, meno-
pause, or an end to childbearing, allows women to focus their maternal resources
on a smaller number of children and grandchildren, ensuring the survival and
Hay, Elizabeth Dexter | 497
education of the next generations, and also preserves group resources (such as
food) for a smaller group of younger childbearing women. In her research for over
two decades on sex, aging, and life histories among modern hunter-gatherer soci-
eties in South America and Africa, Hawkes also found that grandmothers were
more important in securing food for young children than males through hunting
activities. Her most recent work involves the study of aging and fertility in chim-
panzees for further insights into human evolution.
Hawkes earned degrees from Iowa State University before attending graduate
school at the University of Washington, where she earned a master's degree in
1970 and a Ph.D. in 1976. She has taught anthropology at the University of Utah
throughout her career, and served as chair of the department between 1996 and
2002. She has published numerous articles, encyclopedia entries, and book chap-
ters, and served as editor on Human Evolution for the Oxford Encyclopedia of
Evolution (2002). Her work on "The Grandmother Effect" was published in
Nature in 2004.
Hawkes was elected to the National Academy of Science in 2002 and is a fellow
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Hawkes has been an invited lec-
turer and advisory member for institutions in the United States and abroad and
has received numerous grants for her work from the National Institutes of Health
and National Science Foundation. In 2002, she was awarded the prestigious Rose-
nblatt Prize from the University of Utah, which included a $40,000 faculty grant
for excellence in interdisciplinary and international scholarship.
Further Resources
University of Utah. Faculty website, http://www.anthro.utah.edu/faculty/kristen
-hawkes.html.
Hay, Elizabeth Dexter
1927 2007
Embryologist, Cell Biologist, Anatomist
Education: B.A., Smith College, 1948; M.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1952
Professional Experience: intern, University Hospital, Johns Hopkins University,
1952-1953, instructor to assistant professor, anatomy, School of Medi-
cine, 1953-1957; assistant professor, Medical College of Cornell University,
1957-1960; assistant professor, Harvard Medical School, 1960-1964, associate
498 | Hay, Elizabeth Dexter
professor to professor, embryology, 1964-2005, chair, department of anatomy,
1975-1993, professor, cell biology, 1993-2005
Elizabeth Hay was a cell biologist, embryologist, and anatomist whose research on
cellular mechanisms aids in the understanding of the metastasis of cancer cells,
birth defects, and childhood diseases. Hay and Jean-Paul Revel published a series
of papers on their technique of localizing metabolic activities in cells. They
demonstrated DNA synthesis in the nucleolus long before the widespread accep-
tance of the idea that the nucleolus even contained DNA. In 1969, they published
a monograph on the structure of the developing avian cornea that has become a
classic in the field, and since that time, Hay has concentrated on studies of eye tis-
sues and the functions of collagen and other extracellular matrix molecules.
As an undergraduate, Hay spent her summers working at the Marine Biological
Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on limb regeneration. She went to medi-
cal school at Johns Hopkins, where she was classmates with Mary Ellen Avery.
Hay's research concentrated on salamanders and their ability to grow new limbs,
and later, on the faculty at Johns Hopkins, she was one of the first researchers to use
an electron microscope in the study of biological structure. In 1957, she moved to
Cornell to conduct research with Don Fawcett, one of the foremost electron micro-
scopists. When Fawcett moved to Harvard Medical School, Hay began teaching in
the same department and continued her studies of limb regeneration. She was the first
woman to chair an academic department at Harvard Medical School at a time when
there were very few women even on the faculty.
Hay is the author of Regeneration (1966) and Fine Structure of the Developing
Avian Cornea (1969), and editor of Macro-molecules Regulating Growth and
Development (1974) and Cell Biology of Extracellular Matrix (1981; 2nd ed.,
1991). She was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1984.
She received the Distinguished Achievement Award of the New York Hospital-
Cornell Medical Center Alumni Council (1985), the Alcon Award for Vision
Research (1988), the E. B. Wilson Award of the American Society for Cell Biol-
ogy (1989), the Excellence in Science Award of the Federation of American Soci-
eties for Experimental Biology (1990), and the Salute to Contemporary Women
Scientists Award of the New York Academy of Sciences (1991), and was the first
woman to receive the Society for Developmental Biology's Conklin Medal
(1997). She was also the first woman president of both the Society for Develop-
mental Biology (1973) and the American Society of Cell Biology (1976). She
was a member of the American Association of Anatomists (president, 1981-
1982), American Society of Zoologists (president, 1976-1977), the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the International Society of Developmental
Biology. Harvard Medical School established a fellowship in her name, and
Hazen, Elizabeth Lee | 499
in 2002, Harvard held a symposium on cell biology in honor of Hay's seventy-fifth
birthday.
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
National Institutes of Health. "Dr. Elizabeth Dexter Hay." Changing the Face of Medi-
cine: Celebrating America's Women Physicians. National Library of Medicine, http://
www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography 141 .html.
Hazen, Elizabeth Lee
1885 1975
Microbiologist
Education: B.S., Mississippi State College for Women, 1910; M.S., Columbia
University, 1917, Ph.D., microbiology, 1927
Professional Experience: high school science teacher, 1910-1916; U.S. Army
diagnostic laboratories, Alabama and New York, 1917-1926; instructor, College
of Physicians and Surgeons, 1927-1931; researcher, New York State Department
of Health, 1931-1960; guest investigator, Columbia University Mycology Labora-
tory, 1960-1973
Elizabeth Hazen was the co-discoverer of the antifungal antibiotic nystatin with
Rachel Brown Fuller. Hazen was 42 years old when she received her doctorate,
but she was recognized as an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of viral and
bacterial infections. She was teamed with Brown in 1931, and in 1948, they dis-
covered fungicidin, better known as "nystatin" (named for the New York State
Department of Health, where they were employed as researchers). The range of
uses for this antibiotic includes combating mold in human and animal food as well
as yeast infections of the vagina, intestine, skin, and mucous membranes. It was
also used to restore murals and manuscripts in Florence, Italy, following the
1966 flood. After they patented their discovery, they assigned the licensing fees
to a foundation to administer research grants under the Brown-Hazen Fund. Hazen
was co-author of the book Laboratory Identification of Pathogenic Fungi Simpli-
fied (1955). After she retired in 1960, she was invited as a guest investigator in
the Mycology Laboratory at Columbia.
Together with Rachel Brown, Hazen received the Squibb Award in Chemo-
therapy (1955), the Sara Benham Award of the Mycological Society of America,
500 | Hazlett, Olive Clio
Beatrix Potter
Best known for her beloved children's stories and charming animal illustrations,
English author Helen Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) was also a naturalist, conserva-
tionist, and mycologist (studier of fungi or mushrooms). She famously spent a privi-
leged but lonely childhood in London and at the family's country home befriending
small animals and painting watercolors. She began her career as a science illustra-
tor, read widely in the scientific literature of her day, and formed her own theories,
including observations on the symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae on
lichens, and on the antibiotic properties of some fungi. She created more than
200 drawings of fungi, and her paper on her experiments in germinating fungi
spores was presented to the Linnaean Society of London (although, as a woman,
Potter was not allowed to attend or present her own work). Potter thus gained some
recognition in England as a mycologist, but discouraged by her family and by Vic-
torian society from pursuing a scientific career, she took up writing and illustrating
children's stories instead. Potter, of course, achieved great success and financial
independence with The Tale of Peter Rabbit and subsequent volumes, which have
been translated into several languages. Committed to conservation, farming, and
animals, she eventually purchased nearly 4,000 acres, including Hill Top Farm,
which she willed to the National Trust for preservation after her death.
the Distinguished Service Award from the New York State Department of Health
(1968), and the first Chemical Pioneer Award of the American Institute of Chem-
ists (1975), and she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (1994).
Further Resources
Baldwin, Richard S. 1981. The Fungus Fighters: Two Women Scientists and Their Discov-
ery. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Hazlett, Olive Clio
1890 1974
Mathematician
Education: A.B., Radcliffe College, 1912; M.S., University of Chicago, 1913,
Ph.D., mathematics, 1915
Professional Experience: associate, mathematics, Bryn Mawr College, 1916-1918;
assistant to associate professor, Mount Holyoke College, 1918-1925; assistant to
associate professor, University of Illinois, 1925-1959
Healy, Bernadine Patricia | 501
Olive Hazlett was an outstanding mathematician in the area of linear algebra and
one of the most prolific American women working in mathematics before 1940.
After she received her doctorate from the University of Chicago, she was
employed for two years at Bryn Mawr. She accepted a position at Mount Holyoke
College, achieving tenure there, but then moved to the University of Illinois in
order to have the time and the library facilities to pursue her ideas. She was
awarded a two-year Guggenheim fellowship for the 1928-1929 academic year to
study in Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. In spite of her research and international
recognition as a mathematician, she never advanced beyond the level of associate
professor in her nearly 45-year career as an academic. This was a common occur-
rence in mathematics departments at this time, as women faculty usually taught
the introductory courses while men taught higher-level courses and advanced to
full professorships.
Hazlett was very active in professional societies during the 1920s and 1930s,
serving as associate editor of the Transactions of the American Mathematical Soci-
ety from 1923 to 1935 and as a member of the Council of the Society from 1926 to
1928. She was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science and was also a member of the American Mathematical Society and the
New York Academy of Sciences.
Further Resources
Agnes Scott College. "Olive Clio Hazlett." Biographies of Women Mathematicians, http://
www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/hazlett.htm.
Healy, Bernadine Patricia
b. 1944
Cardiologist, Health Administrator
Education: B.A., Vassar College, 1965; M.D., Harvard Medical School, 1970;
diplomate, American Board of Medical Examiners, American Board of Cardiol-
ogy, American Board of Internal Medicine
Professional Experience: medical intern, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1970-1971,
assistant resident, 1971-1972; staff fellow, pathology, National Heart, Blood, and
Lung Institute, 1972-1974; fellow, cardiovascular, Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine, 1974-1976, fellow, pathology, 1975-1976, assistant profes-
sor to professor, medicine and pathology, 1976-1984, assistant dean, postdoctoral
programs and faculty development, 1979-1984; deputy director, Office of Science
502 | Healy, Bernadine Patricia
and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, 1984-1985; chair,
Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 1985-1991, Senior Health and
Science Policy Advisor, 1994-; director, National Institutes of Health (NIH),
1991-1993; dean and professor, medicine, Ohio State University College of Medi-
cine and Public Health, 1995-1999; president, American Heart Association,
1998-1999; president, American Red Cross, 1999-2001; health editor and colum-
nist, U.S. News and World Report, 2003-
Concurrent Positions: member, visiting committee, Board of Overseers, Harvard
Medical School and School of Dental Medicine, 1985-1991; member, national
advisory board, Johns Hopkins Center for Hospital Finance and Management,
1987-1991; member, Board of Overseers, Harvard College, 1989-; trustee, Edison
BioTech Center, Cleveland, 1990-; vice chair, President's Council of Advisors on
Science and Technology, 1990-1991; member, Special Medical Advisory Group,
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 1990-1991; chair, Advisory Panel for Basic
Research, U.S. Office of Technical Assessment, 1990-1991
Bernadine Healy is a cardiologist and health administrator known for her research
in and advocacy of women's health issues. She was the first woman to head the
NIH, from 1991 to 1993, during which time she launched a long-term $625 million
study of 150,000 women known as the Women's Health Initiative. Probably one of
the most significant problems Healy highlighted was that most of the clinical tests
of medications were being conducted on adult males, even for medications
designed for women and children. She established the policy that the NIH would
fund only those clinical trials that included both women and men when the condi-
tion being studied affected both sexes. She fought to increase funding for a range
of conditions that affect women, such as breast cancer, depression, osteoporosis,
and AIDS. Later, as president of the American Heart Association, she emphasized
that heart disease was a major killer of women, even though it is often viewed as a
male disease and most research funding went to study heart disease only in men.
Healy joined the NIH at a time when the relationship between science and poli-
tics was heating up. Congress had banned fetal-tissue research, and Healy brought
on more controversy when she approved patent applications for 347 genes, hoping
to promote, rather than silence, international research and debate on gene therapy.
Healy's goal throughout her tenure at the NIH was to protect and promote ethical
scientific inquiry without political influence, even when it meant objecting to the
idea of a Congressional mandate to include women and minorities in clinical trials.
Healy preferred to raise awareness about the issue and for scientists to make their
trials more inclusive voluntarily, rather than have government "micromanage-
ment" of research trials. In 1999, Healy became head of the American Red Cross
and led the agency's response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. She
Helm, June | 503
organized the recovery work and created a national program and special funds to
attend to the financial and emotional needs of survivors and victims' families,
but resigned in late 2001. Since 2003, Healy has written a regular column, "On
Health," for U.S. News and World Report.
Healy is the author of Staying Strong and Healthy from 9 to 99 (1995), in which
she encourages women to take charge of their health. Her efforts have been hon-
ored by the American Heart Association, and she was named a Women's Health
Hero by American Health for Women magazine (1997) and Humanitarian of the
Year by the American Red Cross (1997; co-recipient with her husband, Floyd D.
Loops, also a cardiologist). She has received the Democracy in Action Award from
the League of Women Voters (1998), the Women Making History Award from the
National Museum of Women's History (1998), and the YWCA Women of
Achievement Award (1999). She is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the
National Academy of Sciences, American Federation for Clinical Research
(president, 1983-1984), American Medical Women's Association, and Associa-
tion of Women in Science.
Further Resources
National Institutes of Health. "Dr. Bernadine Healy." Changing the Face of Medicine: Cel-
ebrating America's Women Physicians. National Library of Medicine, http://
www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography 145.html.
Bernadine Healy, M.D. U.S. News and World Report, http://www.usnews.com/opinion/
bhealy/index.htm.
Helm, June
1924 2004
Anthropologist, Ethnologist
Education: student, University of Kansas City, 1941; Ph.B., University of
Chicago, 1944, M.A., 1950, Ph.D., anthropology, 1958
Professional Experience: lecturer, anthropology, Carleton University,
1949-1959; field officer, Northern Coordination and Research Center, Department
of Northern Affairs and Natural Resources, Canada, 1959-1960; assistant profes-
sor to professor, anthropology, University of Iowa, 1960-1999
Concurrent Positions: advisor, Indian Brotherhood for Northwest Territories,
Canada, 1974; consultant, Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, Canada, 1975—
1976
504 | Helm, June
June Helm was a sociocultural anthropologist known for her 50 years of ethno-
graphic research and accounts of the Dene Indians, the hunting and gathering
people of Canada's Northwest Territories. Her research contradicted that of
other anthropologists in the areas of territorial groups, ethnohistory, political
leadership, and sociocultural change, and her work offered a continuous and
detailed picture of a particular region by combining historical documents with
anthropological research. Her early research on the Dene was presented in her
doctoral thesis in 1958. Soon after, she began her work on the Dogrib, with
whom she worked for the next 25 years and in whose land-reclamation efforts
she was involved.
Helm married archaeologist Richard MacNeish in 1945 so she could accom-
pany him to Mexico for his dissertation fieldwork — it was common at the time
for researchers who planned to conduct joint fieldwork to marry. At the Univer-
sity of Chicago, she had completed a two-year Ph.B. general education program,
then moved to Canada with her husband, who worked for the National Museum
of Canada. Accompanying him on a fieldtrip to the Northwest Territories in
1950, Helm (now holding a master's degree) accepted a position to teach
English to children of the Slave Indians, a division of the Dene/Athabaskan peo-
ple, which gave her an entree to the community as an ethnologist and opened up
a career-long study for her. While completing her Ph.D., she also held a lecture-
ship at Carleton University but, after receiving her doctorate in 1958, the same
year the couple divorced, she accepted a position at the University of Iowa. At
Iowa, she helped establish a separate anthropology department and oversaw the
creation of the American Indian Native Studies program. She taught at Iowa
for nearly 40 years, continuing to meet with and advise students even after suf-
fering a stroke in 1989.
Helm published several books, including Lynx Point People: The Dynamics of a
Northern Athapaskan Band (1961) and Indians of the Subarctic (1976), Social
Contexts of American Ethnology, 1840-1984 (1985), Prophecy and Power among
the Dogrib Indians (1994), and The People ofDenendeh: Ethnohistory of the Indians
of Canada's Northwest Territories (2000). She also edited a volume on the
Subarctic for the Handbook of North American Indians, published by the Smithso-
nian (1981). She was a member of the Ethnological Society of America (president,
198 1-1983), a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and the American Anthropological Association (president, 1985-1987), and
elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1994). She was also hon-
ored for her teaching excellence at the University of Iowa with the Regents' Award
for Faculty Excellence (1995) and as the F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor
of Anthropology (1996-1999).
Herzenberg, Caroline Stuart (Littlejohn) | 505
Further Resources
Andrews, T. 2004. "June Helm (1924 2004)." ARCTIC. Journal of the Arctic Institute of
North America. 57(2): 220 222.
University of Iowa. "June Helm (1924 2004)." Reprinted from American Anthropological
Association, Anthropology News, 45(4): 28 29. http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/faculty/
memorials/helm.shtml.
Gacs, Ute et al. 1988. Women Anthropologists: Selected Biographies. Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press.
Herzenberg, Caroline Stuart (Littlejohn)
b. 1932
Physicist
Education: B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1953; M.S., University
of Chicago, 1955, Ph.D., physics, 1958
Professional Experience: research associate, nuclear physics, University of
Chicago, 1958-1959; research associate, Argonne National Laboratory, 1959-
1961; assistant professor, physics, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), 1961—
1967; research physicist to senior physicist, IIT Research Institute, 1967-1971;
consultant, 1971-1972; visiting associate professor, physics, University of Illinois
Medical Center, 1972-1974; consultant, 1974-1975; lecturer, physics, California
State University, Fresno, 1975-1976; physicist, Argonne National Laboratory,
1977-2001; consultant, 2001-
Caroline Herzenberg is a physicist known for her pioneering research on the
Mossbauer effect, for studying the first lunar samples returned to Earth from the
Apollo missions, and for developing analytic instruments for fossil-fuel studies.
In addition, she has publicized the accomplishments of women scientists and
worked to further the science careers of young women. She measured the products
of nuclear reactions between lithium isotopes and those of lithium, beryllium, and
boron. These studies pioneered some of the earliest heavy-ion work. As a postdoc-
toral fellow at the Argonne National Laboratory, her research focus shifted to
Mossbauer spectroscopy. She and several colleagues verified the existence of and
went on to do pioneering work on the Mossbauer effect (named in the 1950s after
Rudolph Mossbauer), which is the phenomenon whereby the atom in a crystal
undergoes no recoil when emitting a gamma ray, giving all the emitted energy to
the gamma ray and resulting in a sharply defined wavelength.
506 | Hewlett, Sylvia Ann
At the Illinois Institute of Technology, Herzenberg set up a Mossbauer-effect
research facility and began to explore geological applications of the effect. She
published the spectra of different rock types, noting the potential for using the
Mossbauer spectrometry technique to analyze rocks and minerals from lunar
and planetary surfaces. She submitted a proposal to the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) and was appointed a principal investigator
for analyzing the lunar samples from the Apollo missions. Since the Mossbauer
technique requires minute samples for nondestructive testing, it was an ideal
analytical technique. Her group clearly identified the presence of free metallic
iron and ilmenite, and verified the presence of other iron-containing minerals
in the lunar samples. Even with a lucrative grant from NASA, she was denied
tenure at IIT and moved on to other research positions and work as a consultant
before settling at the Argonne National Laboratory. At Argonne, she joined a
fossil-energy instrumentation program that focused on developing instrumenta-
tion for process control of a new generation of coal conversion and combustion
plants. She developed nuclear techniques for noninvasive measuring of the com-
position and flow rate of coal slurries and pulverized coal in pneumatic transport
pipes, studying applications for fossil-energy utilization, radioactive waste dis-
posal, technology for arms-control verification, and radiological emergency pre-
paredness. Since her retirement from Argonne in 2001, she has been an
independent consultant and speaker.
In 1989, she was the first scientist to be inducted into the Chicago Women's
Hall of Fame. In addition to her scientific publications, she published Women Sci-
entists from Antiquity to the Present (1986), a compendium of sources for informa-
tion about women scientists throughout history. She co-authored with Ruth H.
Howes Their Day in the Sun: Women of the Manhattan Project (1999), an over-
view of the many female physicists, chemists, mathematicians, and others who
worked on the World War II-era development of the atomic bomb. Herzenberg
is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the
American Physical Society. She is a member of the Association of Women in Sci-
ence (president, 1988-1990) and the Federation of American Scientists.
Hewlett, Sylvia Ann
b. 1946
Economist
Education: B.A., Cambridge University, 1967, M.A, 1971; Ph.D., economics,
London School of Economics and Political Science, 1973
Hewlett, Sylvia Ann | 507
Professional Experience: research fellow, Cambridge University, 1972-1974; as-
sistant professor, economics, Barnard College, 1979-1981; vice president for Eco-
nomic Studies, United Nations, 1981-1986; independent author, 1986-; chair and
founding president, Center for Work-Life Policy (formerly National Parenting
Association), 1993—
Concurrent Positions: adjunct faculty, Gender and Policy Program, School of
International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Sylvia Hewlett is a feminist economist who examines the status of women and the
family in American society. Her chief argument throughout her various works is
that in the drive for equality in the workplace, feminists ignored the fact that many
women want to be mothers and therefore did not demand paid medical and mater-
nity leaves, tax exemptions for children, or government-funded childcare, guaran-
tees that are prevalent in many European countries. Hewlett's interest in this topic
began with her own experience as a new professor in the early 1980s when she was
surprised to learn she had only a few weeks paid leave after the birth of her first
child. She worked to establish maternity leave policy and childcare facilities at
her institution, only to be discouraged by both male and female colleagues. Frus-
trated with the tenure requirements
for a woman with a family, she left
academia for a position with the
United Nations as vice president for
economic studies.
Although she published several
early books on South American fiscal
policy, Hewlett is best known for her
studies of feminism and economic
policy. In the controversial A Lesser
Life: The Myth of Women's Libera-
tion in America (1986), she argued
that the feminist focus on the Equal
Rights Amendment was misguided
and irrelevant to most American
women. She believed that feminists
in the 1970s ignored the realities of
family life by not attempting to enact
family-friendly legislation. She
followed up with When the Bough
Breaks: The Cost of Neglecting Our
Children (1991) and The War against
Economist and feminist Sylvia Hewlett has
written several books on the status of women
and the family in American society. (Erica
Berger/Corbis)
508 | Hibbard, Hope
Parents: What We Can Do for America's Beleaguered Moms and Dads (1998; co-
authored with Cornel West), providing data on the wage gap between women and
men, the low income of divorced women with children, and the lack of adequate
prenatal care and childcare facilities in this country that makes raising children
nearly economically impossible for many Americans. Her other books include
Creating a Life: What Every Woman Needs to Know about Having a Baby and a
Career (2004) and Off-Ramps and On-Ramps: Keeping Talented Women on the
Road to Success (2007), both of which deal with the economic and social costs
of women taking time off from careers to raise families and obstacles on trying
to reenter the workforce. Her most recent book is Top Talent: Keeping Perfor-
mance Up When Business Is Down (2009).
Hewlett continues her focus on these concerns as director of the Center for
Work-Life Policy, a nonprofit organization (founded in 1993 as the National
Parenting Association) focused on policy issues related to work and family
life, and heads a task force of global corporations on the issue of hiring and
retaining female and minority talent. In 2008, the Center released a report on
"The Athena Factor: Reversing the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering, and
Technology." Hewlett has maintained a highly visible presence in the media to
talk about these issues and has appeared on numerous television and news
outlets, including 60 Minutes, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Oprah,
and NPR.
Further Resources
"Sylvia Ann Hewlett." http://www.sylviaannhewlett.com/.
"Center for Work-Life Policy." http://www.worklifepolicy.org/.
Hibbard, Hope
1893 1988
Zoologist, Marine Biologist
Education: A.B., University of Missouri, 1916, A.M., 1918; Ph.D., zoology, Bryn
Mawr College, 1921, Sarah Berliner fellow, 1925-1926; D.es Sc, zoology, Uni-
versity of Paris (Sorbonne), Paris, 1928
Professional Experience: demonstrator, biology, Bryn Mawr College, 1919-1920;
associate professor, Elmira College, 1921-1925; preparateur, comparative anatomy
techniques laboratory, University of Paris, 1926-1927; fellow, International
Hicks, Beatrice Alice | 509
Education Board, 1927-1928; assistant to associate professor, zoology, Oberlin
College, 1928-1933, professor, 1933-1961
Hope Hibbard was recognized by her contemporaries for her research on the cytol-
ogy (or cell biology) and tissue studies of marine invertebrates, such as limpets,
worms, squid, and the Golgi apparatus. After receiving her doctorate from Bryn
Mawr on the fertilization of sea urchin eggs, she was employed as a demonstrator
in biology at the school for one year. She then taught at Elmira College as associ-
ate professor for four years before traveling to the University of Paris (the Sor-
bonne) on a postgraduate fellowship from the American Association of
University Women (AAUW). She remained in Paris on another fellowship from
the International Education Board and received another doctorate there in 1928.
She returned to the United States and was appointed assistant professor of zool-
ogy at Oberlin College, where she spent the remainder of her career, advancing to
full professor and serving for four years as department chair. In addition to her
duties at Oberlin, she also served as a trustee at the Woods Hole Marine Biological
Laboratory in Massachusetts.
Hibbard was a member of several professional societies, including the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, the AAUW, the American Society of
Naturalists, and the American Society of Zoologists. She was particularly con-
cerned about the role of women in science and gave numerous lectures for the
AAUW and other organizations on women's education and employment prospects.
Further Resources
Papers of Hope Hibbard. Oberlin College archives, http://www.oberlin.edu/archive/
resources/women/group30.html.
Hicks, Beatrice Alice
1919 1979
Engineer
Education: B.S., chemical engineering, Newark College of Engineering, 1939;
M.S., physics, Stevens Institute of Technology, 1949
Professional Experience: research assistant, Newark College of Engineering,
1939-1942; researcher, design and manufacturing, Western Electric Company,
1942-1945; chief engineer, Newark Controls Company, 1945-1946, vice
president and chief engineer, 1946-1955, president, 1955-1966; head, Rodney
D. Chipp and Associates, 1967-1979
510 I Hockfield, Susan
Beatrice Hicks was one of the few early women scientists who owned their own
companies. When her father died, Hicks became vice president and chief engi-
neer of the family-owned Newark Controls Company, a company founded by
her engineer father. She later bought control and became president of the com-
pany, which designed and manufactured temperature-sensing devices and con-
trols to meet specific environmental specifications. She began her career as a
research assistant after receiving her chemical engineering degree from Newark
College of Engineering (later the New Jersey Institute of Technology). She
accepted a position first as a technician and then in research design and manu-
facturing as one of the first female engineers at Western Electric Company in
1942. (During World War II, many corporations hired their first women scien-
tists and engineers in professional positions due to the shortage of available
men.) After taking over her father's company, she went on to earn her master's
degree in physics from Stevens Institute and took further graduate work in elec-
trical engineering at Columbia University. She sold Newark Controls after her
husband, Rodney Chipp, died in 1966, and she took over running his engineer-
ing consulting firm. She later established a Rodney D. Chipp Award from the
Society of Women Engineers (SWE) for individuals or companies that promoted
women in high-level engineering positions.
Hicks was one of the founders of SWE and was the first president, serving
from 1950 to 1953. In 1964, she was director of the SWE's First International
Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists. Hicks was elected to the National
Academy of Engineering in 1978. She received honorary degrees from Hobart and
William Smith Colleges (1958), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1965), Stevens
Institute of Technology (1978), and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (1978). She
was chosen Alumna of the Year for Newark College of Engineering (1962) and
received the SWE Achievement Award (1963). She was a member of the Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, National Society of Professional Engi-
neers, and American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Hockfield, Susan
b. 1951
Neuroscientist
Education: B.S., biology, University of Rochester, New York, 1973; Ph.D., neuro-
science and anatomy, Georgetown University School of Medicine, 1979; M.A.,
Yale University, 1994
Hockfield, Susan | 511
Professional Experience: National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow,
anatomy and neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, 1979-1980;
junior staff investigator, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, 1980-1982,
senior staff investigator, 1982-1985; assistant professor, neurobiology, Yale
University School of Medicine, 1985-1989, associate professor, 1989-1994,
professor, 1994-2004 (William Edward Gilbert Professor of Neurobiology,
2001-2004), provost, Yale University, 2003-2004; president and professor, neuro-
science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2004-
Susan Hockfield is a neurobiologist who, in 2004, became the first woman
president of MIT. She is also the first life scientist to be president of MIT, which
was founded in 1865 and known for its engineering and physical sciences pro-
grams. Hockfield received her undergraduate degree in biology from the Univer-
sity of Rochester, intending to become a physician, and went on to earn a
doctorate in neuroscience and anatomy from Georgetown University in 1979. As
a graduate student, she researched pain and the nervous system. She was a staff
scientist and summer neurobiology program director at Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory in New York for five years and worked with Nobel Prize-winning
geneticist James Watson. In 1985,
she joined the faculty of Yale Univer-
sity Medical School, where she also
eventually earned a master's degree
in administration and became dean
of graduate studies and then provost.
In addition to these administrative
duties, she continued her own scien-
tific research on mammalian brain
cells and brain tumors, work for
which she holds at least three patents.
She has served on numerous advisory
committees for academic, corporate,
and government boards. She was
recruited to MIT as president in 2004.
Hockfield is a fellow of the Ameri-
can Academy of Arts and Science,
American Association for the
Advancement of Science, and Council _ , .. , ,.
Susan Hockfield, the first female president at
on Foreign Relations. She is a member the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
of the Society for Neuroscience and 2004. (AP/Wide World Photos)
5 1 2 I Hoffleit, (Ellen) Dorrit
the recipient of the Charles Judson Herrick Award of the American Association of
Anatomists (1987), Wilbur L. Cross Medal from Yale (2003), Meliora Citation for
Career Achievement from the University of Rochester (2003), and Citation Award
from the Midwest Research Institute. She has also received honorary doctorates from
Tsinghua University, China (2006), Watson School of Biological Sciences at Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory (2006), Brown University (2006), Mount Sinai School of
Medicine at New York University (2009), and University of Edinburgh, Scotland
(2009).
Further Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Susan Hockfield: President, Massachusetts Insti-
tute of Technology." http://web.mit.edu/hockfield/.
Hoffleit, (Ellen) Dorrit
1907 2007
Astronomer
Education: A.B., Radcliffe College, 1928, M.A., 1932, Ph.D., astronomy, 1938
Professional Experience: assistant, Harvard Observatory, 1929-1938, research
associate, 1938-1943; mathematician, ballistic research laboratories, Aberdeen
Proving Ground, 1943-1948; astronomer, Harvard Observatory, 1948-1956;
research associate, Yale Observatory, 1956-1969, senior research astronomer,
1969-1975
Concurrent Positions: technical consultant, Aberdeen Proving Ground,
1948-1961; lecturer, Wellesley College, 1955-1956; director, summer programs,
Maria Mitchell Observatory, 1956-1978
Dorrit Hoffleit was an astronomer who discovered 1,000 new variable stars and
studied their modes of variation. She began working for the Harvard Observatory
in 1929 after receiving her undergraduate degree from Radcliffe, and she contin-
ued on the staff while receiving her master's degree and doctorate. In 1943, she
was hired as a mathematician at Aberdeen Proving Ground, continuing there as a
technical consultant from 1948 to 1961. (Many female scientists during World
War II were hired by government agencies or under government contracts due to
the wartime shortage of male scientists. Some continued in these positions, some
continued to consult, and some went on to other work.) She returned to the
Harvard Observatory as an astronomer in 1948 and moved to the Yale Observatory
Hoffman, Darleane (Christian) | 513
in 1956. From 1956 to 1978, she had a
concurrent appointment as the direc-
tor of the Maria Mitchell Observatory
at Nantucket, Massachusetts. Even
though she officially retired from Yale
in 1975, she maintained office hours
and continued her research well into
her nineties. Hoffleit lived to celebrate
her hundredth birthday.
In addition to her scientific papers,
Hoffleit published two books: Some
Firsts in Astronomical Photogra-
phy (1950) and Bright Star Catalogue
(1964). She was president of the
American Association of Variable
Star Observers (AAVSO) from 1961
to 1963 and was editor of the journal
Meteoritics. One of her interests was
the history of astronomy in the nine-
teenth and twentieth centuries. She
wrote biographical sketches of Maria
Mitchell, Williamina Fleming, and
Annie Cannon for several reference
books and, in 1992, published a
history, Astronomy at Yale, 1701-1968. She also wrote an autobiography,
Misfortunes as Blessings in Disguise: The Story of My Life, published by AAVSO
in 2002. Hoffleit contributed news items and occasional book reviews to Sky &
Telescope magazine from the early 1940s until her final submission in 1997, at the
age of 90 years old. She received the George Van Biesbroeck Prize (1988) and
the Annenberg Prize (1993), both of the American Astronomical Society.
She was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Meteoritical Society, International Astronomical Union, and American Astronomical
Society.
Astronomer Dorrit Hoffleit, author of one of
the most used catalogs on the cosmos.
(AP/Wide World Photos)
Hoffman, Darleane (Christian)
b. 1926
Nuclear Chemist
Education: B.S., Iowa State University, 1948, Ph.D., physical chemistry, 1951
514 | Hoffman, Darleane (Christian)
Professional Experience: assistant, Ames Laboratory, U.S. Atomic Energy Com-
mission, 1947-1951; chemist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1951-1952; staff
member, Associate Group Leader, Division Leader of Chemistry and Nuclear
Chemistry and Isotope and Nuclear Chemistry Divisions, Los Alamos National
Laboratory, 1952-1984; professor, chemistry and senior scientist, Nuclear Science
Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, 1984-; direc-
tor, Glenn T. Seaborg Institute of Transactinium Science, Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory, 1991-1996; Senior Advisor and Charter Director, Seaborg
Institute, 1996-
Darleane Hoffman is a major international figure in nuclear chemistry who, in her
early research on the separations processes of the heavy elements, developed tech-
niques that still are in use today. Her original interest in chemical separations made
her a leading figure in the studies of the heaviest elements. She was a project
leader of the radionuclide migration project at the Nevada test site in 1975 to
determine the potential for radionuclide migration away from the site of under-
ground nuclear tests. Her findings later led to the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage
Investigation Program to find a suitable site for an underground nuclear repository
at the Nevada test site. It was also at Los Alamos that she discovered plutonium-
244 in nature. Her group performed the first aqueous chemistry on hahnium
(element 105) using the longest known isotope, which has a half-life of only
35 seconds. In collaboration with German and Swiss scientists, her group pro-
duced and studied isotopes of element 103 (Lr) and element 105 as Ha-262 and
Ha-263. In 1999, her group discovered the first super-heavy elements, 118, 116,
and 114.
While still an undergraduate, Hoffman received a research assistantship at Iowa
State University's Institute of Atomic Research and became fascinated with the
study of radioactivity. She continued at Iowa State as a graduate student and met
her future husband there; they married shortly after she received her doctorate in
1951. When she accepted a position at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, her hus-
band, Marvin Hoffman, remained at Ames to complete his degree in physics; they
both moved to Los Alamos after he completed his degree. Over the course of her
long career, she conducted her research at all of the major national laboratories,
and in 1991, she became director of the Seaborg Institute of Transactinium Sci-
ence at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She was a member of the
Cold Fusion Panel of the Department of Energy to examine claims to the discov-
ery of cold fusion (1989-1990).
Hoffman was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1997. She was the first
woman to receive the Award for Nuclear Chemistry of the American Chemical
Society (ACS) (1983), and she was awarded the Garvan Medal of the ACS(1989),
Hollingworth, Leta Anna Stetter | 515
the ACS Priestley Medal (2000), and the Mosher Award of the ACS (2000). She is
a fellow of the American Institute of Chemists, the American Physical Society,
and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the American
Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
In 2000, she was inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall
of Fame.
Further Resources
University of California, Berkeley. Faculty website, http://chem.berkeley.edu/faculty/
hoffman/index.php.
Hollingworth, Leta Anna Stetter
1886 1939
Psychologist
Education: B.A., University of Nebraska, 1906; M.A., education, Columbia Uni-
versity, 1913, Ph.D., educational psychology, 1916
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1906-1908; clinical psychologist,
Bellevue Hospital, 1914-1916; instructor, Teachers' College, Columbia Univer-
sity, 1917-1928, professor, 1929-1939
Leta Hollingworth published on the psychology of women and children, and was
particularly interested in educational psychology and testing. At a time when it
was commonly considered that men were intellectually superior to women, she
measured sex differences in selected traits and types of performance to show that
women could function as well as men in educational and professional pursuits.
Hollingworth never had children, but in a 1927 article on "The New Woman in
the Making," she explained the biological and psychological dilemma for women
as they grappled with the question of "[h]ow to reproduce the species and at the
same time to win satisfaction of the human appetites for food, security, self-
assertion, mastery, adventure, play, and so forth." These studies made her popular
in feminist circles, and she and her husband marched in suffrage parades. She felt
that reform in attitudes would do as much to improve women's status as political
reform. Hollingworth had originally planned to be a writer, but decided to obtain
a teaching certificate in order to support herself. She married in 1908 and moved
with her husband, Harry L. Hollingworth, to New York, where he completed his
graduate degree and became a faculty member at Barnard. Finding no writing or
teaching job for a married woman, she decided to further her education, beginning
516 I Hollinshead, Ariel Cahill
with graduate courses in literature but soon developing an interest in psychology.
She eventually combined her interests in education and psychology by accepting
a position in the psychology department of Teachers College in 1917, where she
remained the rest of her career, eventually achieving the level of professor.
While pursuing her doctorate at Columbia, Hollingworth had worked part-time
administering intelligence tests at the Clearing House for Mental Defectives and
then as a clinical psychologist at Bellevue Hospital, where she began her work on
adolescents. In 1914, she was appointed to fill New York City's first civil service
position for a psychologist. This early work in New York hospitals and schools
led to an interest in the mental abilities and special educational needs of children.
Her books on the topic were widely read and represented significant contributions
to the field. These included The Psychology of Subnormal Children (1920), Special
Talents and Defects (1923), and her two books on gifted children, Gifted Children
(1926) and Children above 180 1. Q. (1942, published posthumously). Her textbook
on The Psychology of the Adolescent (1928) became the standard taught in college
courses. At Teachers College, she established a guidance laboratory to carry out
testing and counseling, and she consulted for school systems to obtain research
data. She was instrumental in establishing in 1936 the Speyer School in the New
York City School system to study exceptional children.
Although she spent her career in New York, she was the daughter of migrants to
the prairie and had strong ties to her home state of Nebraska, where she was raised
in a sod house and educated in a one-room school. She received an honorary
degree from the University of Nebraska in 1937. After her death, a collection of
her poetry was privately published as Prairie Years (1940) and her husband wrote
a biography, Leta Stetter Hollingworth (1943).
Hollinshead, Ariel Cahill
b. 1929
Pharmacologist, Cancer Researcher
Education: B.A., zoology, Ohio University, 1951; M.A., George Washington Uni-
versity, 1955, Ph.D., pharmacology, 1957
Professional Experience: postdoctoral research fellow, virology, Baylor Univer-
sity Medical Center, Texas, 1958-1959; assistant to associate professor, pharma-
cology, George Washington University, 1959-1973, professor, medicine, George
Washington Medical Center, 1974-1991, research professor emerita
Concurrent Positions: director, Laboratory for Virus and Cancer Research,
George Washington University, 1964-1989
Hopper, Grace Murray | 517
Ariel Hollinshead was the first person to identify animal and human antigens in
cancerous tumors, and she is also the first to purify, develop, and test cancer-
gene chemotherapy products that induce long-lasting cell-mediated immunity. In
her research, she devised a new technique for isolating the antigens intact from
the membranes by using low-frequency sound, which gently separates out the anti-
gens without damaging them. She began her career investigating vaccines for
human lung cancer, moved into the field of ovarian cancer in the 1980s, and then
worked on developing new forms of HIV and AIDS therapy. She spent her entire
career at George Washington University and Medical Center, where she taught
pharmacology, immunology, virology, and oncology. She also founded and then
directed the Laboratory for Virus and Cancer Research for nearly 25 years.
Hollinshead began her undergraduate career at Swarthmore College, but trans-
ferred to Ohio University, where she studied zoology and chemistry. After receiving
her bachelor's degree in 1951, she began graduate work at George Washington Uni-
versity, earning both a master's degree and a Ph.D. in pharmacology. She spent a year
as a postdoctoral fellow in virology at Baylor University in Texas, then moved to
Washington, D.C., to begin her long affiliation with George Washington University.
She has also been committed to science education and careers for women, and estab-
lished the group Professional Opportunities for Women in Science (POWS).
Hollinshead was the first woman appointed to chair the Review Board of
Oncology for the Veterans Administration in 1977. Among her awards are the
Medical Woman of the Year Award of the Board of American Medical Colleges
(1975), the Star of Europe Medal (1980), an honorary doctorate from her alma
mater, Ohio University (1980), and Italy's Scholar Speciale Medicina Silver
Medal (1990). She is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and
American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the
New York Academy of Sciences, International Society for Preventive Oncology,
National Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, American Society for
Microbiology, American Association of Cancer Research, American Association
of Immunologists, and American Medical Writers Association.
Hopper, Grace Murray
1906 1992
Mathematician, Computer Scientist
Education: B.A., math and physics, Vassar College, 1928; M.A., Yale University,
1930, Ph.D., mathematics, 1934
518 | Hopper, Grace Murray
Professional Experience: assistant, mathematics, Vassar College, 1931-1934,
instructor, 1934-1939, assistant to associate professor, 1939-1946; research fel-
low, engineering science and applied physics, Computational Laboratory, Harvard
University, 1946-1949; systems engineer, UNIVAC Division, Eckert-Mauchly
Corporation (later Remington Rand and Sperry), 1949-1953, director, Automatic
Programming, 1953-1959, chief engineer, 1959-1961, staff scientist, 196 1—
1971; Special Advisor to Commander, Naval Data Automation Command, U.S.
Department of Navy, 1967-1986; consultant, Digital Equipment Corporation,
1986-1992
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, Moore School of Electrical Engineer-
ing, University of Pennsylvania, 1963-1971; professor, George Washington Uni-
versity, 1971-1978
Grace Hopper was a mathematician whose achievements in the design of software
for digital computers spanned three computer generations. She is best known for
her contribution to early programming languages, in particular the development
of COBOL (or Common Business Oriented Language), a more accessible pro-
gramming language intended for universal business applications. After receiving
her undergraduate degree from Vassar College in 1928, she taught mathematics
there for 15 years, rising through the ranks to associate professor, and completing
both a master's and a doctorate in mathematics from Yale University. During
World War II, she took a leave of absence to join the U.S. Navy's Women
Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Services (WAVES), where she spent three
years working on ordnance problems at the Harvard computer laboratory. In
1946, she resigned from Vassar to take an assistantship at Harvard to continue
work on computer software. She had joined the U.S. Naval Reserves in 1943 and
it was under these auspices that she worked on the Bureau of Ships Computation
Project at Harvard, developing a programmable digital computer for the Navy.
She then moved to the Eckert-Mauchly Corporation (which sold to Remington
Rand, then Sperry, and much later became known as Unisys) to head its automatic
programming section for the UNIVAC computer.
Hopper retired officially in 1971 and taught for several years at George
Washington University before returning to active military duty for what was
essentially a second phase of her career designing computer software as head of
the programming language section. By the time she retired a second time in
1986, she was the oldest officer on active duty in the Navy to hold the rank of
commodore (subsequently changed to rear admiral). In 1996, four years after her
death, the U.S. Navy missile destroyer ship, the USS Hopper (nicknamed
"Amazing Grace"), was launched in memory of her service and contributions to
Horner, Matina (Souretis) | 519
computer science. In addition to her numerous conference papers and journal
articles, Hopper co-authored a textbook, Understanding Computers (1984).
Hopper was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1973. She
received honorary degrees from at least 10 universities in the United States and
abroad. She received an Achievement Award of the Society of Women Engineers
(1964) and was named "Man of the Year" by the Data Processing Management
Association (1969). Hopper received many of her highest honors and recognition
after her retirement, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (1986),
a Computer History Museum Fellow Award (1987), and the National Medal of
Technology (1991). In 1971, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
created the Grace Murray Hopper Award for Outstanding Young Computer
Professionals in her name. She was a fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
Franklin Institute, Association of Computer Programmers and Analysts, Associa-
tion for Computing Machinery, and in 1973 was the first American (and first
woman) named a Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society.
Further Resources
Williams, Kathleen Broome. 2001. Improbable Warriors: Women Scientists and the US
Navy in World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.
Williams, Kathleen Broome. 2004. Grace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea. Annapolis,
MD: Naval Institute Press.
Horner, Matina (Souretis)
b. 1939
Psychologist
Education: B.A., Bryn Mawr College, 1961; M.S., University of Michigan, 1963,
Ph.D., psychology, 1968
Professional Experience: lecturer, University of Michigan, 1968-1969; lecturer,
social relations, Harvard University, 1969-1970, assistant professor, clinical psy-
chology, 1970-1972, consultant, University Health Services, 1971-1989; associ-
ate professor, psychology, 1972-1989, president, Radcliffe College, 1972-1989;
executive vice president, TIAA-CREF, 1989-2003
Matina Horner is known for her research on the analysis of achievement motiva-
tion among women. She theorized that many highly intelligent women fear that
520 | Horning, Marjorie G.
academic or business success will undermine their femininity and that they will be
criticized for their ambition rather than encouraged in it. Such women develop
strong anxieties and unconsciously underachieve. Horner started her study of
achievement motivation while still an undergraduate in the late 1950s; while con-
ducting research for her doctorate in the 1960s, she found that although male stu-
dents were confident they would achieve success in work, life, and family, female
students were inconsistent in their replies. The mixed message that young women
should do well academically but ultimately define success through marriage and
family rather than personal achievement may cause the fear-of-success syndrome.
As a psychology professor, Horner found that although Radcliffe women were
highly intelligent and successful at college, they were not going on to high-
profile careers. Her research revealed that male Harvard students held images of
Radcliffe women as dull, uninteresting, and unattractive, and that the self-esteem
of female students suffered from such stereotypes. She advocated building wom-
en's confidence during the college years while helping men learn to be more com-
fortable working alongside successful women. As president of Radcliffe, Horner
worked to integrate the academic and social lives of students at the two schools.
She came to Radcliffe at the age of only 32, the youngest president in the college's
history. She left in 1989 to become executive vice president of TIAA-CREF, a pri-
vate retirement insurance agency for educators.
Horner has received 20 honorary degrees. She is a member of the American
Psychological Association and the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Women's Research and
Education Institute (WREI).
Horning, Marjorie G.
b. 1917
Pharmacologist, Biochemist
Education: B.A., Goucher College, 1938; M.S., University of Michigan, 1940,
Ph.D., biological chemistry, 1943
Professional Experience: research associate, pediatrics, University of Michigan
Hospital, 1944-1945; research chemist, University of Pennsylvania, 1945-1950;
biochemist, National Heart Institute, 1951-1961; associate professor, biochemis-
try, College of Medicine, Baylor University, Texas, 1961-1969, professor, bio-
chemistry, Institute for Lipid Research, 1969-retired
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, biochemical and biophysical sciences,
University of Houston
Horstmann, Dorothy Millicent | 521
Marjorie Horning is renowned for her pioneering research on techniques for study-
ing how drugs are broken down and used by the human body. In the 1960s and
1970s, she researched the transfer of drugs from a pregnant woman to her child.
As late as 1968, the placenta was considered a barrier that kept the fetus from harm,
but Horning showed that virtually every drug taken by a pregnant woman reaches
her unborn child, either in its original form or broken down into by-products. She
also found that drugs taken by a nursing mother reach the child through breast milk.
This research laid the foundation for subsequent work in preventing drug-induced
birth defects, and linking pregnancy health to later behavioral or learning prob-
lems. Homing's research had significant implications during the 1980s and
1990s, when the number of babies who were born with drug or alcohol addiction
increased. Armed with research that even nonprescription medications such as
aspirin could be passed on to the fetus with potentially harmful effects, doctors
began to warn pregnant women to avoid alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes completely
during pregnancy, and to limit their use even before conception.
Homing's research methods were also pathbreaking. She and her husband,
Evan Homing, were at the forefront of applying gas chromatology to the solution
of biological problems in the 1950s, and their use of trace analysis by gas chroma-
tography was a major breakthrough for the field of analytical biochemistry in the
early 1960s. Later, Horning used mass spectrometry to identify the metabolic
switching of drug pathways, and she has worked with the atmospheric pressure
ionization mass spectrometer, which allows detection at minute levels. The Hom-
ings received the Outstanding Achievement in Mass Spectrometry Award from the
American Chemical Society in 1989.
Horning has received the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society
(1977), and she and her husband shared the Warner-Lambert Award of the American
Association of Clinical Chemists (1976). She is a member of the American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, and New York
Academy of Sciences. She was also a member of the American Society of Pharma-
cology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), and served as the first female
president of that organization in 1984.
Horstmann, Dorothy Millicent
1911 2001
Epidemiologist
Education: A.B., University of California, Berkeley, 1936; M.D., University of
California, San Francisco, 1940
522 | Horstmann, Dorothy Millicent
Professional Experience: fellow, School of Medicine, Yale University, 1942-1943,
instructor, preventive medicine, 1943-1947; instructor, University of California,
San Francisco, 1944-1945; senior fellow, University of London, 1947-1948;
assistant to associate professor, preventive medicine, Yale, 1948-1956, associate
professor, preventive medicine and pediatrics, 1956-1961, professor, epidemiology
and pediatrics, 1961-1982, emeritus professor and senior research scientist,
1982-2001
Dorothy Horstmann conducted research on polio and rubella, and established many
of the important characteristics of polio that aided in the eventual development of a
vaccine. In particular, she discovered that the polio virus traveled to the brain through
the bloodstream, rather than through nerve cells as previously thought. After earning
an undergraduate degree from Berkeley, she received her medical degree from the
University of California, San Francisco in 1940. In 1948, she joined the faculty at
Yale University, where she spent more than 50 years as a professor of preventive
medicine, epidemiology, and pediatrics. In the 1940s, there still was reluctance to hire
women as faculty members, but she advanced in faculty rank at four-year intervals, a
truly remarkable achievement that indicates the superiority and importance of her
polio research. In the mid-twentieth
century, the polio epidemic was caus-
ing public panic, especially because
the disease primarily attacked children
and could cause death or paralysis.
Horstmann was a member of the vac-
cine development committee of the
National Institute of Allergy and Infec-
tious Disease, and worked with the
World Health Organization in approv-
ing a safe version of the oral vaccine.
Horstmann was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences in
1975. She was a member of the Infec-
tious Diseases Society of America
and served as president of that organi-
zation (1974-1975). She was also a
fellow of the American Academy of
Pediatrics, a master of the American
Epidemiologist Dorothy Horstmann, 1956. Her „ ,, c „, . . , ,
, a , ., . , / .. , . , . College of Physicians, and an honor-
research contributed to the development of ° J
the polio vaccine. (National Library of ar y member of the Royal Society of
Medicine) Medicine.
Howard (Beckham), Ruth Winifred | 523
Further Resources
Oshinsky, David M. 2005. "Breaking the Back of Polio." Yale Medicine. (Autumn 2005).
Howard (Beckham), Ruth Winifred
1900 1997
Psychologist
Education: B.A., social work, Simmons College, Boston, 1922, M.S., social
work, 1927; student, Teachers College and School of Social Work, Columbia
University, 1929-1930; Ph.D., psychology and child development, University of
Minnesota, 1934
Professional Experience: intern, National Urban League, 1921-1922; social
worker, Cleveland Urban League and Cleveland Child Welfare Agency,
1922-1929; intern, Institute of Juvenile Research, University of Illinois, 1935—
1936; director, Chicago Mental Health and Training, National Youth
Administration, 1937; co-director and clinical psychologist, Center for Psycho-
logical Services, 1940-1964; staff psychologist, McKinley Center for Retarded
Children, 1964-1966; staff psychologist, Worthington and Hurst Psychological
Consultants, 1966-1968; staff, Mental Health Division, Chicago Board of
Health, 1968-1972
Concurrent Positions: staff psychologist, Provident Hospital School of
Nursing, Chicago, 1940-1964; lecturer and adolescent psychologist, Evanston,
Illinois public schools, 1953-1955; University of Chicago's Reading Clinic,
1955-1956
Ruth Howard was one of the first African American women to receive a Ph.D. in
psychology and was considered a pioneer for her work on triplets. Howard's
research interests included sociology, education, the psychology of race and
ethnicity, and developmental psychology. She combined these interests in
her groundbreaking doctoral research on the role of both biology (nature) and
socialization (nurture) on the development of triplets. She studied more than
200 sets of triplets from different ethnic groups to try to understand why
triplets did not perform as well in school as single children. At that time, many
psychologists had studied the development of twins, but Howard was among the
first to do a large-scale study of triplets. Much of her research was later published
in the Journal of Psychology (1946) and the Journal of Genetic Psychology
(1947).
524 | Howard (Beckham), Ruth Winifred
She received her undergraduate and master's degrees in social work and was
particularly interested in the educational, economic, and social needs of urban
children and families. She was dismayed, however, that the mostly white social
workers, her colleagues, viewed the problems of their clients, who were poor
and nonwhite, as individual failings with individual solutions, whereas Howard
became increasingly aware of the environmental and group psychology and
social conditions that impacted the lives of children in such communities. After
an early internship with the National Urban League, she received a fellowship to
pursue further graduate studies in psychology at Columbia and then went on to
the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota, where she
worked with several prominent female faculty members, including Florence
Goodenough. After receiving her Ph.D. in 1934, she married psychologist
Albert Beckham and the couple moved to Chicago, where Howard served an
internship at the Institute of Juvenile Research at the University of Illinois
studying parent-child relations.
Throughout the course of her career, Howard worked at numerous institutions
and agencies as a staff or clinical psychologist. During the Depression, she had a
temporary position as director of a National Youth Administration job-skills train-
ing program in Chicago. In 1940, Howard and Beckham began their own private
practice, the Center for Psychological Services, which they directed until 1964
when Albert Beckham died and Ruth Howard retired the practice. Over the course
of the 24 years in which they operated the Center, Howard also held staff or con-
sulting positions at numerous institutions, schools, and hospitals. She was on the
staff at Providence Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago, a school that trained
many black nurses at the time, and consulted for other nursing schools around
the country. She also worked with children as a school psychologist, at the Univer-
sity of Chicago's Reading Clinic, where she researched and wrote about play
therapy among kindergarteners and fourth-graders, and with developmentally dis-
abled children at the McKinley Center for Retarded Children.
Howard was active professionally as a member of the American Psychological
Association, International Psychology Association, International Council of
Women Psychologists, International Reading Association, Friends of the Mentally
111, and American Association of University Women. Her concern with the educa-
tional and employment opportunities of black women led to her role in organizing
the National Association of College Women in the 1940s.
Further Resources
Guthrie, Robert V. 2004. Even the Rat Was White: A Historical View of Psychology.
Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Howes, Ethel Puffer | 525
Warren, Wini. 1999. Black Women Scientists in the United States. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
Saltzman, Ann L. 2001. "Ruth Winifred Howard." The Feminist Psychologist, Newsletter
of the Society for the Psychology of Women, 28(2). http://www.psych.yorku.ca/
femhop/Ruth%20Howard.htm.
Howes, Ethel Puffer
1872 1950
Psychologist
Education: A.B., Smith College, 1891; University of Berlin and University of
Freiburg, 1895-1897; Ph.D., Radcliffe College, 1902
Professional Experience: teacher, Keene High School, New Hampshire, 1891-
1892; instructor, mathematics, Smith College, 1892-1895; assistant in psychol-
ogy, Radcliffe College, 1898-1906; instructor and associate professor, philosophy,
Wellesley College, 1901-1906; instructor, psychology, Simmons College, 1904-
1906; founder and director, Institute for the Coordination of Women's Interests,
Smith College, 1925-1928, lecturer, sociology, 1928-1931
Ethel Puffer Howes was a psychologist whose research interests in the psychology
of esthetics and symmetry combined work from several disciplines as well as her
interest in women's issues and women's rights. Her career followed the pattern
of many women of her generation. After graduating from Smith College, she
taught in a high school for one year and then returned to teach mathematics at
Smith for three years. She traveled to Germany to study psychology at the Univer-
sity of Berlin and the University of Freiburg, and taught psychology courses at
Radcliffe College while completing her doctorate, which she received in 1902.
She taught philosophy at Wellesley College for five years, and then psychology
at Simmons College. She published a book, The Psychology of Beauty, in 1905,
but put her psychology career on hold after her marriage in 1908.
Undoubtedly frustrated by her domestic duties with a husband and two children,
Howes became active in the woman's suffrage movement, serving as executive sec-
retary of the National College Equal Suffrage League between 1906 and 1915, and
publishing numerous articles on women's issues, including balancing career and
family, for the Atlantic Monthly and other publications. She returned to Smith Col-
lege as founding director of the Institute for the Coordination of Women's Interests
in 1925 with a three-year grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. She then taught
sociology courses at Smith for three more years, retiring in 1931.
526 | Hoy, Marjorie Ann (Wolf)
Howes was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence, the American Psychological Association, and the American Philosophical
Association.
Further Resources
Scarborough, Elizabeth and Laurel Furumoto. 1987. Untold Lives: The First Generation of
American Women Psychologists. New York: Columbia University Press.
Hoy, Marjorie Ann (Wolf)
b. 1941
Entomologist, Geneticist
Education: B.A., zoology and entomology, University of Kansas, 1963; M.S.,
entomology, University of California, Berkeley, 1966, Ph.D., entomology and
biological control, 1972
Professional Experience: research geneticist, University of California, Berkeley,
1964-1966; lecturer, biology, Fresno State College, 1967-1968, 1973; laboratory
technician, Division of Biological Control, University of California, Berkeley,
1968-1970; research entomologist, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station,
1973-1975; research entomologist, Northeast Forest Experiment Station, U.S.
Forest Service, 1975-1976; assistant professor to professor, entomological
science, University of California, Berkeley, 1976-1992; professor, Biological
Control, Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida,
Gainesville, 1992-
Marjorie Hoy pioneered the development of an integrated pest management (IPM)
program for spider mites in crop plants. The traditional methods for artificial pest
control have been pesticide chemicals, breeding of pest-resistant plants, and using
natural predators to control the pests. Each method has its drawbacks, but inte-
grated pest management incorporates all three approaches and seeks control rather
than eradication. IPM plans emphasize biological controls over chemical controls
and use genetics to improve both the pest resistance of the crop plants and the
predatory efficiency or survival rate of the pest's predators. Hoy's research team
monitored the mite population in California's almond orchards relative to its prey,
as well as its levels of pesticide resistance. Resistant species of mites lasted
through the winter and retained their pesticide resistance for as long as three or
four years. The control program has also been implemented for apples, peaches,
and grapes, and it is standard procedure for many other crop plants.
Hrdy, Sarah C. (Blaffer) | 527
Hoy has received the Bussart Memorial Award (1986) and the Founder's
Memorial Award of the Entomological Society of America (1992). She is the edi-
tor or co-editor of several books: Genetics in Relation to Insect Management
(1979), Recent Advances in Knowledge of the Phytoseiida (1982), Biological Con-
trol of Pests by Mites (1983), Biological Control of Agricultural IPM Systems
(1985), and Insect Molecular Genetics (1994). She is a fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Entomological
Society of America and International Organization for Biological Control of
Noxious Animals and Plants.
Further Resources
University of Florida, Gainesville. Faculty website, http://www.entnemdept.ufl.edu/
hoy.htm.
Hrdy, Sarah C. (Blaffer)
b. 1946
Evolutionary Biologist, Primatologist
Education: B.A., Radcliffe College, 1969; Ph.D., behavioral biology, Harvard
University, 1975
Professional Experience: instructor, anthropology, University of Massachusetts,
Boston, 1973; lecturer, biological anthropology, Harvard University, 1975-1976,
postdoctoral fellow, biology, 1977-1978; senior fellow, American Institute of
Indian Studies, New Delhi, India, 1980-1981; visiting associate professor,
anthropology, Rice University, 1981-1982; professor, anthropology, University
of California, Davis, 1984-1996, emeritus
Concurrent Positions: volunteer teacher's assistant, Harvard Yard Day Care
Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1978-1981; associate, Peabody Museum,
1979-; visiting professor, Workshop in Evolutionary Ecology, University of
Western Australia, Perth, 2001
Sarah Blaffer Hrdy is renowned for her research on evolutionary biology. As a
graduate student at Harvard in 1974, she proposed the controversial theory that
infanticide is an adaptive evolutionary strategy among some primate species. After
she heard Paul Ehrlich lecture about the dangers of overpopulation, she decided to
study the monkeys called Hanuman langurs, of which there are dense populations
in parts of India. Her original theory was that overpopulation prompted the langur
males to kill a rival's offspring, but she found that whenever a male became
528 | Hrdy, Sarah C. (Blaffer)
dominant in a group, he would kill his predecessor's offspring so he could breed
with the mothers. The next dominant male followed the same pattern. Before the
1970s, most researchers viewed animal societies as smoothly running systems in
which each member fulfilled his or her role in the group, and it was thought that
primate societies in particular were Utopias that humans would do well to emulate.
Hrdy's theory was the subject of great controversy, but by the 1980s, anthropolo-
gists began to accept the view that infanticide was normal behavior in primates
as well as other creatures. Among humans, the practice of preferring male off-
spring to female can be found in both primitive tribes and modern cultures.
Inherbook, The Woman That Never Evolved (1981), Hrdy contradicted the theory
that women are evolutionarily selected to be weaker than men. She argued that the
size differential between men and women has only been used to rationalize patri-
archy. Her research also examined the evolutionary reasons for women to live 40
or more years past menopause, or childbearing capabilities, and came to the conclu-
sion that older women were evolutionarily important as food-gatherers while younger
women were busy bearing and nurturing children. This also-controversial theory con-
tradicted the view that the human family revolves around the males' ability to provide
for mothers and children. Hrdy has published several other books, namely, Black Man
of Zinacantan: A Central American Legend (1972), Langurs of Abu: Female and
Male Strategies of Reproduction (1980), Human Ethology (1989), and The Evolution
of Sex (1990). Her book Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants and Natural
Selection (1999) won several literary awards and has been translated into 10 lan-
guages. Since her retirement from teaching in 1996, she has remained active as an
author, editor, visiting professor, and speaker at international conferences, and has
been called upon as an advisor for documentaries on evolution.
Hrdy was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1990.
Her numerous awards include, most recently, the Howells Prize of the American
Anthropological Association (2001) and the Centennial Medal of the Harvard
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (2007). She is a fellow of the Animal
Behavior Society and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a
member of the American Society of Naturalists, American Society of Primatolo-
gists, American Anthropological Association, and International Primatological
Society. She has served on the Committee on Human Rights of the National
Academy of Sciences (2001-2004).
Further Resources
Dowling, Claudia Glenn. 2003. "The Hardy Sarah Blaffer Hrdy." Discover Magazine. (1
March 2003). http://discovermagazine.com/2003/mar/feathrdy/.
"Sarah B. Hrdy, Anthropologist." http://www.citrona.com/hrdy/index.html.
Huang, Alice Shih-Hou | 529
Huang, Alice Shih-Hou
b. 1939
Microbiologist
Education: student, Wellesley College, 1957-1959; B.A., Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity, 1961, M.A., 1963, Ph.D., microbiology, 1966
Professional Experience: assistant professor, zoology, National Taiwan Univer-
sity, 1966; postdoctoral fellow, Salk Institute of Biological Science, 1967; post-
doctoral fellow, biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1968-1969;
assistant professor to professor, microbiology and molecular genetics, Harvard
Medical School, 1971-1991; Dean of Science, New York University (NYU),
1991-1997; Senior Councilor for External Relations and Faculty Associate
in Biology, California Institute of Technology, 1997-; consultant, Baltimore
Associates
Concurrent Positions: director, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Children's
Hospital Medical Center, Boston, 1979-1989
Alice Huang led a major breakthrough in understanding how viruses function
with the discovery of reverse transcriptase, an enzyme that allows viruses to
convert their genetic material into deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). In searching
for clues on how to prevent viruses from replicating, she isolated a rabies type
of virus that produced mutant strains that interfered with viral growth. She
conducted research with her husband, David Baltimore, at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, work that led to Baltimore's research on tumor viruses
and the discovery of the enzyme called reverse transcriptase, which earned
Baltimore and his colleague, Howard Temin, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine in 1975.
Huang was born in China, where her father was a bishop in the Anglican
Episcopal Ministry, but when China was taken over by the communists in 1949,
her parents sent their four children to the United States for better opportunities
and education. While in medical school at Johns Hopkins University, she decided
to pursue research rather than become a physician. She went on to teach at Harvard
until 1991, when she was appointed dean of science at New York University. She
left NYU in 1997 for an affiliation with the California Institute of Technology
(CalTech), where her husband was president for 10 years.
Huang has received several honorary degrees and awards, including the Eli
Lilly Award in Microbiology and Immunology (1977) and the Alice C. Evans
Award (2001), both of the American Society for Microbiology. She also served
as president of the American Society for Microbiology in 1988, the first Asian
530 | Hubbard, Ruth (Hoffman)
American to head a national scientific society in the United States. She is a fellow
of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and a member of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (president, 2010-2011), American
Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and New York Academy of Sci-
ences. She and her husband have established the consulting firm Baltimore Asso-
ciates, which specializes in the "establishment of new research institutions and
start-up of biotechnology firms" and advising on science policy issues.
Further Resources
Baltimore Associates, http://www.baltimoreassociates.com.
Hubbard, Ruth (Hoffman)
b. 1924
Biologist, Biochemist
Education: B.A., science, Radcliffe College, 1944, Ph.D., biology, 1950
Professional Experience: U.S. Public Health Service predoctoral fellow, Univer-
sity College Hospital Medical School, London, 1948; research fellow, biology,
Harvard University, 1950-1958, research associate and lecturer, 1959-1973, pro-
fessor, 1973-1990, emerita
Concurrent Positions: member, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole,
Massachusetts, 1971—
Ruth Hubbard is best known for her research on the biochemistry and photochem-
istry of vision in vertebrates and invertebrates. She also examined the ethics of
gene therapy and genetic testing. After receiving her doctorate, she worked in
George Wald's laboratory at Harvard investigating vision. She specifically studied
the architecture of visual pigments such as rhodopsin, a molecule that responds to
light. The team discovered that light changes the shape of visual pigments that, in
turn, initiate all the changes that lead to electrical charges and ultimately to neuro-
transmission, work for which Wald (whom she married) received the Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine in 1967.
When she was asked to give a talk on women scientists to the American Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science, Hubbard began questioning the position
of women in academia and research. Her interviews with women scientists begin-
ning in the 1970s revealed similar experiences in that none of them had secure or
high-level jobs, most having been relegated to positions as research associates,
Hubbard, Ruth (Hoffman) | 53 I
lecturers, or lab assistants. She joined
a group at Harvard that petitioned the
university to examine the status of
women, and as a result, in 1973, she
became the first woman to receive
tenure in the sciences at Harvard.
After that, she added courses on
health and women's issues to her con-
tinuing courses on photochemistry.
After receiving tenure, she was asked
by a reporter if she thought she had
received tenure because she was a
woman. She replied that the reason
she had not received tenure earlier
was that she was a woman.
Hubbard wrote and edited a num-
ber of books that reflected her interest
in sex, gender, and women's health,
including Genes and Gender II:
Pitfalls in Research on Sex and Gen-
der (1979), Biological Woman: The
Convenient Myth (1982), Woman's
Nature: Rationalizations of Inequality (1983), The Shape of Red: Insider/Outsider
Reflections (1988), Women Look at Biology Looking at Women (1989), The Poli-
tics of Women's Biology (1990), and Profitable Promises: Essays on Women, Sci-
ence, and Health (1994). As a scientist and a feminist, Hubbard was concerned
that society oversimplifies science and has had a tendency to explain every trait
and behavior through genetics. In Exploding the Gene Myth (1993), which she
co-authored with her son, Elijah Wald, Hubbard argued that searching to identify
all genes, including those for diseases, presents ethical and social dilemmas. She
warned of insurers who deny medical coverage because of genetic conditions
and argued that finding a gene for breast cancer, for example, may obscure other
potential causes of cancers, such as environment.
In addition to her numerous honorary degrees, Hubbard received the Paul
Karrer Medal (1967; jointly with George Wald) and awards from the Women's
International League for Peace and Freedom (1985) for her advocacy of women's
issues and the American Institute of Biological Sciences (1992) for her work on
animal vision. She is a member of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, American Society of Biological Chemists, Biophysical Society, and
Society of General Physiologists.
Sociobiologist Ruth Hubbard was one of the
first women to hold a tenured professorship in
the sciences at Harvard University. (National
Library of Medicine)
532 | Hughes-Schrader, Sally (Peris)
Hughes-Schrader, Sally (Peris)
1895 1984
Zoologist
Education: B.S., Grinnell College, 1917; M.A., protozoology, Columbia Univer-
sity, 1922, Ph.D., zoology, 1924
Professional Experience: instructor, zoology, Grinnell College, 1917-1919;
lecturer, Barnard College, Columbia University, 1919-1921; demonstrator,
biology, Bryn Mawr College, 1922-1924, instructor, 1924-1930; professor,
Sarah Lawrence College, 1931-1941; professor, zoology, Columbia University,
1941-1947, research associate, cytology, department of zoology, 1947-1958;
research associate, cytology, Duke University, 1959-1972
Concurrent Positions: independent investigator, Marine Biological Labora-
tory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 1925-; fellow, zoology, Duke University,
1961-1962, visiting professor, 1962-1966
Sally Hughes-Schrader' s earlier research concentrated on insects, but her interest
shifted in the 1940s to fishes and amphibians, specifically the cranial nerves, cell
developments, and parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction) of amphibians and
insects. She made innovations in the staining techniques used in cytology. In
1920, she married fellow cytologist and renowned geneticist Franz Schrader, and
they were considered one of the notable couples working in science prior to
1940. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she taught at Grinnell College
for three years before going to Barnard and Bryn Mawr for teaching and research
while she completed her doctorate at Columbia under the direction of well-known
cytologist Edmund Beecher Wilson. She was a member of the science faculty at
Sarah Lawrence for 11 years and at Columbia for 18 years, where she was also
head of the Biology Department at Barnard, the women's college affiliated with
Columbia. She moved to Duke University in 1959 as a research associate in cytol-
ogy. Between 1962 and 1966, she also held a visiting professorship at Duke.
During the summers of 1914 and 1920, she had conducted research at the U.S.
Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries, respectively. She also
maintained an affiliation and later lifetime membership with the Marine Biologi-
cal Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, as a summer student and then as
an Independent Investigator beginning in 1925.
Hughes-Schrader was active professionally, serving on the editorial boards of
the journals Chromosomes and Biological Bulletin, and as a member of several
professional societies, including the American Society of Zoologists, the Genetics
Hutchins, Sandra Elaine | 533
Society of America, the Society for the Study of Evolution, and the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Further Resources
Allen, Garland E. 1999. "Edmund Beecher Wilson Letters at the Marine Biological Labo-
ratory." Mendel Newsletter. 8:16 19. (February 1999).
"Sally Hughes Schrader." Women of Science, Marine Biological Laboratory, http://
www.mbl.edu/publications/women schrader.html.
Hutchins, Sandra Elaine
b. 1946
Computer Scientist, Communications Engineer
Education: B.A., University of California, San Diego, 1967, Ph.D., information
and computer science, 1970
Professional Experience: assistant professor, electrical engineering, Purdue Uni-
versity, 1970-1972; senior staff engineer, communications, TRW Defense &
Space Systems, 1972-1977; senior scientist, communications, and engineering
manager, Linkabit Corporation, 1977-1979; technical director, voice processing,
ITT Defense Communications Division, 1981-1982; Chief Technical Officer,
Natural Speech Technologies, 1983-2001; manager, Bloomberg LP, New York,
2001-
Concurrent Positions: instructor, Loyola Marymount University, 1973-1974;
instructor, University of California, Davis, Extension, 1978—
Sandra Hutchins is known for her expertise in voice processing in computer soft-
ware and hardware. She has an undergraduate degree in physics with a minor in
linguistics, and a Ph.D. in computer science; her research combines these interests
and includes communications, information theory, and signal processing. After
teaching for two years in the Electrical Engineering Department of Purdue Univer-
sity, she worked in computer software and hardware design for a number of corpo-
rations. She has specialized in design and management of real-time software and
hardware for communications, specifically voice processing, message switching,
secure computing, modems, and personal computers. She was a senior staff engi-
neer in communications for five years with TRW Defense & Space Systems and
technical director of voice processing at ITT Defense Communications Division.
She served as engineering manager for two different corporations — Linkabit
534 | Hwang, Jennie S.
Corporation and ITT. She holds at least two patents, one for digital compression of
speech and one for computer recognition of speech in severe noise environments.
As CTO of Natural Speech Technologies, a software and systems design consult-
ing firm, she oversaw a line of educational programs, games, puzzles, and software
for home management. Several were chosen for a 1985 Smithsonian Institution
exhibit on American games, and the company advertises its ability to create user-
oriented programs for any computer in any language. Hutchins's primary interest is
in programs that enable computers to respond to human speech and to natural
English, and which enable users to bypass the keyboard. There are numerous busi-
ness applications for this software; for example, in the healthcare industry, physicians
could dictate directly to the computer the patient diagnosis, indicate the prescriptions
or tests needed, and forward the file to the billing department.
Hutchins is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
and of the Association for Computing Machinery.
Hwang, Jennie S.
Materials Scientist, Engineer
Education: B.S., chemistry, National ChengKung University, 1969; M.S., Liquid
Crystal Institute, Kent State University, 1971; M.A., chemistry, Columbia Univer-
sity, 1973; Ph.D., materials science and engineering, Case Western Reserve Uni-
versity, 1976
Professional Experience: research and technology director, chemicals, Lockheed
Martin, 1976-1980; exploratory research and business development leader, Sher-
win Williams Company, 1980-1982; research director, chemicals, Hanson PLC
(SCM Corp.), 1982-1990; co-founder and CEO, International Electronic Materi-
als Corp., 1990-1995; co-founder and CEO, H-Technologies Group, 1995-
Concurrent Positions: columnist and advisory board member, Surface Mount
Technology Magazine, PennWell Publications, 1991—; distinguished adjunct pro-
fessor, engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 1996-; interim CEO, Asahi
America, Inc., 2002-2009; columnist, Global Solar Technology Magazine, UK,
2008-
Jennie Hwang is a materials scientist, engineer, and businesswoman who consults
internationally on green technologies, renewable energies, and lead-free electron-
ics. She has successfully navigated a career across business, industry, government,
and academia. She has published widely on environmentally friendly electronics
Hwang, Jennie S. | 535
and surface-mount technology, which is used in the creation of circuit boards for
consumer, industrial, computer, telecommunication, automotive, aerospace, mili-
tary and medical industries. She has served on the board of Fortune 500 companies
and numerous committees and advisory boards, including for the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, National Research Council, and
U.S. Department of Commerce, and on cost analysis of electronic weapons for
the U.S. Department of Defense. She has served on the advisory boards of
numerous international corporations and the Singapore Advanced Technology
Institute, as well as of Kent State University and Case Western Reserve University,
where she received her doctorate. As an inventor, author, and entrepreneur, she
has also been a consultant and invited lecturer for worldwide electronics compa-
nies and organizations on business issues, trends, management, and women's
leadership and career advancement, as well as on technology education and
innovation.
Hwang began her career in technology and chemicals research and manage-
ment for companies such as Lockheed Martin, Sherwin Williams, and Hanson
PLC. In 1990, she co-founded International Electronic Materials Corporation, an
electronics manufacturing company. After the company was acquired, she co-
founded a global manufacturing and consulting firm, H-Technologies Group,
which focuses on intellectual property issues, global market analysis, technology
forecast, and providing materials in compliance with international hazardous
materials goals and legislation. She has also been the interim CEO of Asahi
America, Inc. Additionally, she has been an invited distinguished adjunct
professor at the Engineering School of Case Western Reserve University, and has
served on the University's Board of Trustees since 1996. She holds numerous pat-
ents and has published hundreds of papers, articles, and books.
Hwang was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1998. In addi-
tion to her numerous civic and business affiliations, she has been a member of
the American Chemical Society, American Ceramic Society, and American Soci-
ety of Metals (Materials Information Society), and she was the first female
president of the Surface Mount Technology Association (1994). She has been the
recipient of numerous awards and honors, including U.S. Congressional Certifi-
cates of Recognition and Achievement (1998 and 2000), Ohio Senate Resolutions
for special achievements (1999, 2001, and 2003), induction into the Women in
Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame (2000), a Surface Mount Technol-
ogy Association (SMTA) Founder's Award (2001), and an honorary doctorate
from Ohio University (2007). Dr. Hwang's commitment to science and technology
education includes the endowment of a YWCA-Cleveland Award for women sci-
ence and engineering students, and the Jennie S. Hwang Award for Faculty
Excellence at Cleveland State University.
536 | Hyde, Ida Henrietta
Further Resources
"Jennie S. Hwang, Ph.D., D.Sc." http://www.jenniehwang.com/.
Chung, Deborah D. L. 2006. The Road to Scientific Success: Inspiring Life Stories of Promi-
nent Researchers. Hackensack, NJ and Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Company.
Hyde, Ida Henrietta
1857 1945
Physiologist
Education: University of Illinois, 1881; A.B., Cornell University, 1891; Bryn
Mawr College, 1891-1893; University of Strasbourg, 1893; Collegiate Alumnae
European fellow, 1894-1895; Ph.D., University of Heidelberg, 1896; Naples Zoo-
logical Station, 1896; University of Berne, 1896; Radcliffe College, 1897; Harvard
Medical School, 1897; University of Liverpool, 1904; M.D., Rush Medical Col-
lege, 1911
Professional Experience: teacher, public schools, 1881-1888; assistant, biology,
Bryn Mawr College, 1891; teacher, histology and anatomy, prep school, 1897-
1900; associate professor, physiology, University of Kansas, 1899-1905, profes-
sor, 1905-1925
Ida Hyde was the first woman to be elected a member of the American Physiologi-
cal Society (1902). Her major contribution to physiology was the development of
the microelectrode, but it has never been acknowledged officially as hers. After
teaching public school for several years, she enrolled at the University of Illinois
at the age of 24. She went on to Bryn Mawr College for further study, then went
to Germany, where she received a doctorate from the University of Heidelberg in
1896, the first woman to receive a doctorate from that institution. She conducted
research at several other universities and institutions, and taught at a college pre-
paratory school before accepting a position as an associate professor of physiology
at the University of Kansas in 1899. After the university established a separate
department of physiology in 1905, she was promoted to full professor. Later, she
attended Rush Medical College for several summers and received an M.D. in
1911.
Hyde had an outstanding reputation as a teacher, and she published two text-
books: Outlines of Experimental Physiology (1905) and Laboratory Outlines of
Physiology (1910). She also worked to promote equal opportunities in science
for women. She was instrumental in establishing the Naples Table Association
Hyman, Libbie Henrietta | 537
for Promoting Scientific Research by Women, an organization formed to provide
fellowships for American women scientists to the prestigious Naples Zoological
Station. She endowed scholarships for women students of science at the University
of Kansas and at Cornell University. In 1945, she established the Ida H. Hyde
Woman's International Fellowship of the American Association of University
Women. She was a member of the American Physiological Society and the
American Eugenics Society.
Hyman, Libbie Henrietta
1888 1969
Zoologist
Education: B.S., University of Chicago, 1910, Ph.D., zoology, 1915
Professional Experience: assistant to associate in zoology, University of
Chicago, 1910-1931; research associate, American Museum of Natural History,
1937-1969
Libbie Hyman was a zoologist and is best known for her multivolume work The
Invertebrates (1940-1967). After receiving her doctorate from the University of
Chicago, she had a position there as a researcher in zoology until 1931, when the
department head retired. She was unable to secure another university position,
whether because she was Jewish or because it was extremely difficult for women
scientists to find employment during the Depression years. While employed at
Chicago, she published several studies: A Laboratory Manual for Elementary
Zoology (1919, 1926) and A Laboratory Manual for Comparative Vertebrate
Anatomy (1922). Later, she wrote Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy (1942). Start-
ing in 1937, the American Museum of Natural History provided Hyman with an
office, laboratory use, and library privileges, but no salary. It was under this
arrangement that she prepared the six volumes of The Invertebrates, primarily sup-
porting herself from the sales of her earlier books.
Hyman received many awards, including the Elliot Gold Medal of the National
Academy of Sciences (1954) and an award from the Linnean Society of London
(1960). She was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1961. She received honorary degrees from several colleges and was president of
the Society of Systematic Zoology from 1959 to 1963. She was also a member
of the American Society of Zoologists, the American Society of Naturalists, and
the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography.
Intriligator, Devrie (Shapiro)
b. 1941
Astrophysicist
Education: B.S., physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1962, M.S.,
1964; Ph.D., planetary and space physics, University of California, Los Angeles,
1967
Professional Experience: assistant research geophysicist, Institute of Geophysics
and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1967;
research associate, Space Science Division, Ames Research Center, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 1967-1969; research fellow,
physics, California Institute of Technology, 1969-1972, assistant professor,
1972-1980, member, Space Science Center, 1978-1983; staff member, Stauffer
Hall of Science, University of Southern California, 1974-1977, assistant profes-
sor, physics, 1977-1979; senior research physicist, Carmel Research Center,
1979-, director, Space Plasma Laboratory, 1980-
Devrie Intriligator is renowned for her research in space physics and astrophysics,
and for her expertise in designing measurement instruments for interplanetary
spacecraft. Among the projects in which she has participated are the Pioneer 10
and 1 1 missions to the outer planets, the Pioneer- Venus Orbiter, and the Pioneer
6, 7, 8, and 9 heliocentric missions. Her research includes high-energy nuclear
physics, plasma physics, and astrophysics. She began doing physics experiments
as a high school sophomore and won a national prize in a Future Scientist of
America contest in her senior year. She received financial aid to enroll in college,
but the dean of women at the first school she attended would not permit her to
enroll in physics, and she had to give up the financial aid when she transferred to
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) the following year. She was
unable to secure any funding at MIT due to prejudices against women due to the
belief that women would not put their education to use and find work as scientists.
Instead, Intriligator held a number of jobs in college to support herself. She was a
research assistant in the cosmic ray group at MIT in 1960, and prior to her senior
year, was a consulting physicist for the Institute of Physics, University of Milan,
where she consulted on cosmic-ray balloon experiments. She continued as a
539
540 | Irwin, Mary Jane
graduate student at MIT and worked as a physicist in the cosmic -ray branch of the
Air Force's Cambridge Research Laboratory from 1962 to 1963. When her hus-
band received an appointment to teach at UCLA, she transferred to that school to
complete her doctorate.
Since UCLA would not accept her credits from MIT, she had to repeat a number
of courses, but in the course of the three years she spent studying at UCLA, she
became interested in solar wind plasma physics and decided to add it as a spe-
cialty. The solar wind plasma is a stream of particles — electrons, protons, and
other ions — that continually flow from the sun and that is responsible for many
features of the solar system and the Earth's environment. After graduation, she
won a prestigious National Academy of Sciences Resident Research Associate-
ship for use at NASA's Ames Research Center, where she was the principal inves-
tigator of the positive-ion probe on the UCLA Small Scientific Satellite. She also
was a co-investigator of the Ames solar wind plasma probes on several Pioneer
spacecraft in orbit around the sun.
At the California Institute of Technology, where she began working in 1969, she
analyzed data sent back from instruments aboard the Pioneer spacecraft in orbit
around the sun. She was co-investigator of the Ames solar wind plasma probe
for the Pioneer 10 and 1 1 missions to Jupiter, and she was also a member of the
plasma measurement team for the outer planet missions to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune, and Pluto. In her current position as director of the Space Plasma Labo-
ratory, she is continuing her research on cosmic rays and solar winds.
Intriligator is co-editor of the book Exploration of the Outer Solar System
(1976) and has written numerous scientific papers. She has received three achieve-
ment awards from NASA and is a member of the American Geophysical Union,
American Physical Society, and American Association for the Advancement of
Science.
Irwin, Mary Jane
b. 1949
Computer Scientist
Education: B.S., mathematics, Memphis State University, 1971; M.S., computer
science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1975, Ph.D., computer
science, 1977
Professional Experience: associate to assistant professor, computer science,
Pennsylvania State University, 1977-1989, professor, computer science and
Irwin, Mary Jane | 541
engineering, 1989-1999, Distinguished Professor, 1999-2003, A. Robert Noll
Chair in Engineering, 2003-, Evan Pugh Professor, computer science and engi-
neering, 2006-
Concurrent Positions: research staff, Supercomputer Research Center, Institute
for Defense Analysis, Maryland, 1986
Mary Jane Irwin is a computer sciences engineer whose research focuses on com-
puter architecture, computer arithmetic, embedded and mobile computing systems
design, energy and reliability aware systems design, and emerging technologies in
computing systems. She received a Ph.D. in computer science from the University
of Illinois and has been a faculty member in computer sciences and engineering at
Pennsylvania State University since 1977. She is co-director of the Microsystems
Design Lab at Pennsylvania State University, a project funded collaboratively by
both government and corporate research interests, including the National Science
Foundation, Gigascale Systems Research Center, Semiconductor Research Corpo-
ration, Pennsylvania Technology Collaborative, Intel, Microsoft, Honda, and
Toyota. She has been an invited lecturer and speaker at conferences and univer-
sities worldwide and has served on numerous government, corporate, and aca-
demic research councils and advisory committees, including Microsoft's
External Research Advisory Board. She was a founding editor of the Association
for Computing Machinery's Journal on Emerging Technologies in Computing
Systems.
Irwin was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2003. She is a fel-
low of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Association for Computing
Machinery (ACM), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE),
and a member of the International Federation for Information Processing. Her
awards and honors include an honorary doctorate from Chalmers University,
Sweden (1997), Pennsylvania State University Engineering Society's Premier
Research Award (2001), IEEE/CAS Best Paper Award (2003), DAC Marie R.
Pistilli Women in EDA Award (2004), ACM/SIGDA Distinguished Service Award
(2005 and 2007), ACM Distinguished Service Award (2005), Computing Research
Association's (CRA) Distinguished Service Award (2006), IEEE/ICPADS Best
Paper Award (2006), and Anita Borg Technical Leadership Award (2007).
Further Resources
Pennsylvania State University. Faculty website, http://www.cse.psu.edu/research/mdl/mji/.
J
Jackson, Jacquelyne Mary (Johnson)
b. 1932
Sociologist
Education: B.S., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1953, M.S., 1955; Ph.D.,
sociology, Ohio State University, 1960
Professional Experience: assistant to associate professor, Southern University,
1959-1962; professor and department chair, sociology, Jackson State College,
1962-1964; assistant professor, Howard University, 1964-1966; instructor, medical
sociology, Duke University Medical Center, 1967-1968, assistant to associate
professor, 1968-1998, emerita
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, sociology, St. Augustine's College, 1969-
Jacquelyne Jackson is known for her research on minority aging and for her par-
ticipation in the civil rights movement. She also had a number of "firsts" in her
career. She was the first black woman to receive a doctorate in sociology from
Ohio State University, the first full-time black faculty member to be hired at the
Duke University Medical Center, and the first black tenured faculty member at
the medical school. After receiving her doctorate, she did postdoctoral study at
the University of Colorado before becoming a faculty member at Southern Univer-
sity, a professor of sociology at Jackson State College, an assistant professor at
Howard University, and then joining the faculty of the Duke University Medical
Center as an assistant professor of medical sociology. Her work has always been
connected to real people and real issues. Her interest in minority aging grew out
of the experience of elderly friends who had to sell their houses to pay for medical
care. Later, one friend was in a racially segregated ward in New Orleans's Charity
Hospital, and Jackson organized her students to donate "black" blood for the
woman because blood was segregated at the time. In 1974, she and colleague
Frank Cantor made a short documentary film called Old, Black and Alive, which
investigated the living conditions and needs of elderly African Americans in one
Alabama county. She helped found the Journal of Minority Aging, and in 1980,
she published Minorities in Aging, which has become a classic in the field.
543
544 | Jackson, Shirley Ann
Jackson became involved in the civil rights movement while teaching at
Jackson State College. When a group of civil rights advocates was forbidden to
hold a meeting at Jackson State for fear of creating racial unrest, she secured the
support of Charles Evers, brother of Medgar Evers, to schedule the meeting at
another site in the city. She took part in the 1963 march in Washington, D.C.,
and in 1962, she published These Rights They Seek, a study of the Tuskegee Civic
Association, the Montgomery Improvement Association, and the Alabama
Christian Movement for Human Rights.
Jackson was elected a fellow of the National Science Foundation in 1961. In
addition to her teaching and research, she has also served as a consultant to the
National Center for Health Statistics and to the U.S. Senate's Special Committee
on Aging. She was a member of numerous professional and civic organizations,
including but not limited to the Association of Social and Behavioral Scientists,
National Council on Family Relations, American Sociological Association,
Caucus of Black Sociologists, National Caucus on the Black Aged, Gerontological
Society, and Carver Research Foundation of Tuskegee Institute.
Jackson, Shirley Ann
b. 1946
Physicist
Education: B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1968, Ph.D., physics,
1973
Professional Experience: research associate, theoretical physics, Fermi National
Accelerator Laboratory, 1973-1974; visiting science associate, European
Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva, 1974-1975; research associ-
ate, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, 1975-1976; technical staff, theoretical
physics, AT&T Bell Laboratories, 1976-1991; professor, physics, Rutgers Univer-
sity, 1991-1995; chair, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 1995-1999;
president, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1999-
Concurrent Positions: chair, International Nuclear Regulators Association
(INRA), 1997-1999.
Shirley Ann Jackson is a theoretical physicist whose research has focused on par-
ticle physics and condensed matter physics. Theoretical physics uses theories
and mathematics to predict the existence of subatomic particles and the forces that
bind them together. One method for this research uses a particle accelerator, a
Jackson, Shirley Ann | 545
Physicist Shirley Ann Jackson, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with Senator
Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, 2005. (AP/Wide World Photos)
device in which nuclei are accelerated to high speeds and then forced to collide
with a target to separate them into subatomic particles. Another method detects
their movements using certain types of nonconducting solids. Jackson has
conducted research using both methods at a number of prestigious physics laborato-
ries in both the United States and Europe, such as the Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory in Illinois, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in
Switzerland, and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in California.
Jackson was the first African American woman to receive a doctorate in any
field from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and she was the first woman
and the first African American to serve as chair of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC), the federal agency that regulates the uses of nuclear materials
and technology throughout the United States to ensure the protection of public
health, safety, and the environment. At the NRC, she oversaw the process for
renewing the licenses of existing nuclear power plants, ensuring public safety as
546 | Jameson, Dorothea A.
electric utilities were deregulated, and ensuring safety in the disposal of spent
reactor fuel. In 1997, the International Nuclear Regulators Association was
formed with Jackson elected as its first chair. She became president of Rensselaer
in 1999, the first black woman to lead a major technology institute. Jackson brings
to this position her commitment to the presence of more women and minorities in
science and technology careers.
In 2001, Jackson was the first African American woman to be elected to the
National Academy of Engineering. She has received numerous honorary degrees
and awards, including the Thomas Alva Edison Science Award (1993), the New
Jersey Governor's Award in Science (1993), the Golden Touch Award for Lifetime
Achievement from the National Society of Black Engineers (2000), the Black
Engineer of the Year Award from US Black Engineer & Information Technology
magazine (2001), and the Vannevar Bush Award from the National Science Board
(2007). She has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame (1998) and
the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame (2000), and was a
fellow of the Association of Women in Science (2004). She is a member of the
American Physical Society, New York Academy of Sciences, National Society of
Black Physicists (president, 1980), American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
and American Association for the Advancement of Science (president, 2004). In
2002, she was named one of "The 50 Most Important Women in Science" by
Discover magazine. In 2009, Jackson was appointed to President Obama's Council
of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Further Resources
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. "Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D." http://www.rpi.edu/
president/profile. html.
Williams, Clarence G. 2003. Technology and the Dream: Reflections on the Black Experience
at MIT, 1941 1999. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Jameson, Dorothea A.
1920 1998
Psychologist
Education: B.A., Wellesley College, 1942
Professional Experience: research assistant, Harvard University, 1941-1947;
research psychologist, color control department, Eastman Kodak Company,
1947-1957; research scientist, psychology, New York University (NYU),
Jameson, Dorothea A. | 547
1957-1962; research associate, psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 1962-1968,
research professor, 1968-1972, professor, psychology and visual science, 1972-
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, University of Rochester, 1974-1975;
visiting professor, Columbia University, 1974-1976
Dorothea Jameson was an expert in the new field of color vision, and she com-
bined her work in psychology with work in optics, visual mechanisms, and human
perception. While still an undergraduate at Wellesley, she worked as a research as-
sistant at Harvard where, during World War II, she worked on improving the accu-
racy of visual rangefinders. It was at Harvard that she met her future husband,
psychologist Leo Hurvich, the beginning of a lifelong professional collaboration.
The couple (who married in 1948) worked together as researchers at Eastman
Kodak in Rochester, New York, spent five years at NYU, and then moved to the
department of psychology and Institute of Neurological Sciences at the University
of Pennsylvania. Even without an advanced degree, Jameson was hired based on
her experience as a researcher. A bigger problem for her was that, at that time,
most universities were opposed to hiring husband-and-wife faculty teams, so
Jameson was not appointed a regular faculty position until the rules were loosened
in 1968; she was promoted to full professor at the University of Pennsylvania in
1972. Jameson and Hurvich published dozens of scientific papers together and
were renowned for their innovations in color vision research. Much of Jameson's
early research at NYU and the University of Pennsylvania was supported by grants
from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation.
She was a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences in 1981
and 1982, and served on the national advisory eye council for the NIH starting
in 1985.
Jameson was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1975. Between 1983 and 1986, she was chair of the National Academy of Sciences
psychology section. She received honorary degrees from the University of
Pennsylvania (1972) and the State University of New York (1989). She was a fel-
low of the Society of Experimental Psychologists and the American Academy of
Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Optical Society of America. Her numer-
ous awards and honors included the Warren Medal of the Society of Experimental
Psychologists (1971), the Distinguished Science Contribution Award of the
American Psychological Association (1972), the Inter-Society Color Council's
Godlove Award for Research in Color Vision (1973), the Wellesley College
Alumnae Achievement Award for Scientific Research (1974), the Tillyer Medal
of the Optical Society of America (1982), the Judd Award of the Association
Internationale de Couleur (1985), and the Helmholtz Award from the Cognitive
Neuroscience Association (1987).
548 | Jan, Lily
Further Resources
University of Pennsylvania. 1998. "Dorothea Jameson, Pioneer in Color Perception."
Almanac. 44(30). (21 April 1998). http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v44/n30/deaths.html.
Jan, Lily
Neurobiologist
Education: B.Sc, physics, National Taiwan University, 1968; M.Sc, physics,
California Institute of Technology, Ph.D., physics and biophysics
Professional Experience: postdoctoral research fellow, California Institute of
Technology (CalTech) and Harvard University; Lange Professor of Physiology
and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); Howard Hughes
Medical Investigator, 1984-
Lily Jan is a neurobiologist and biophysicist whose research focuses on the devel-
opment and function of the nervous system and, in particular, how potassium
(regulated through "potassium channels") affects the electrical impulses sent from
the brain throughout the body. Born in China and raised in Taiwan, Jan chose
physics to study in high school due to the inspiration of recent Nobel Prize winners
in China. She graduated from National Taiwan University in 1968 and moved to
the United States to attend CalTech for graduate work in theoretical physics. She
was inspired again by another Nobel Prize winner, Max Delbriick, one of her pro-
fessors, who encouraged her interest in biology, and she earned her doctorate in
physics and biophysics from CalTech. Another Taiwanese student who had come
to study at CalTech was Yuh Nung Jan. The two were lab partners and then post-
doctoral research fellows together in neurobiology, married in 1971, and began
collaborating on projects involving genetic explanations for certain behaviors in
the fruit fly. They were the first to identify the DNA sequence responsible for
potassium channels and mutations in the channels, linking it to behavioral changes
in the fly. The Jans conducted some postdoctoral work in neurophysiology at
Harvard and then returned to the West Coast as faculty members at UCSF. They
raised two children together and regularly collaborate in the lab, but have also
developed their own individual research interests and groups at UCSF and as
Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators.
Jan was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1995, and is
a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Academia Sinica
(Taiwan). Her awards and honors include a Javits Neuroscience Investigator
Jeanes, Allene Rosalind | 549
Award, W. Alden Spencer Award from Columbia University, K. S. Cole Award,
Distinguished Alumni Award from California Institute of Technology, and Presi-
dential Award of the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America. She was named
Harvard Foundation's 2005 Scientist of the Year.
Further Resources
University of California, San Francisco. "Jan Laboratory." http://physio.ucsf.edu/jan/
index.html.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "Lily Y. Jan, Ph.D." http://www.hhmi.org/research/
investigators/janly bio. html.
"Biophysicists in Profile: Lily Jan." Biophysical Society Newsletter. (September/
October 2002). http://www.biophysics.Org/Portals/l/PDFs/Career%20Center/Profiles/
jan.pdf.
Jeanes, Allene Rosalind
1906 1995
Chemist
Education: A.B., Baylor University, 1928; A.M., University of California, Berkeley,
1929; Ph.D., organic chemistry, University of Illinois, 1938
Professional Experience: high school teacher, mathematics and physics, 1930;
department head, science, Athens College, Alabama, 1930-1935; instructor,
chemistry, University of Illinois, 1936-1937; research fellow, National Institutes
of Health, 1938-1940; research chemist, Northern Regional Research Laboratory,
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1941-1976
Allene Jeanes was an organic chemist whose research group isolated and charac-
terized over 100 different dextrans that have great value in research, especially in
immunology and immunochemistry. She received one of the first Corn Industries
Research Foundation fellowships at the National Institutes of Health, where she
co-developed a new technique of periodate oxidation of starches. She joined the
staff at Northern Regional Research Laboratory in Peoria, Illinois, a regional lab-
oratory of the USDA, in 1941, three months after it opened. Initially she studied
the nature and structural role of the branch points in starch and developed xanthan
gum, a thickening substance used in numerous food and cosmetic products.
During the Korean War, there was a need for a blood-plasma substitute, and she
and her group were able to find a chemical, dextran, that was used successfully
to expand plasma volume. Her technique was used for isolating and characterizing
dextrans, and she held several patents for her work.
550 | Jemison, Mae Carol
In 1953, Jeanes was the first woman in the Chemistry Bureau to receive the
USDA Distinguished Chemist Award. She was also the recipient of a Garvan
Medal of the American Chemical Society (1956) and a Federal Woman's Award
of the U.S. Civil Service Commission (1962). In 1999, she was posthumously
inducted in the USDAs Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Science Hall of
Fame. She was a member of the American Chemical Society.
Jemison, Mae Carol
b. 1956
Physician, Astronaut
Education: B.S., chemical engineering, B.A., African and Afro-American Studies,
Stanford University, 1977; M.D., Cornell University Medical School, 1981
Professional Experience: intern, University of Southern California Medical
Center, 1981-1982; physician, INA-Ross Loos Medical Group, Los Angeles,
1982; medical officer, Peace Corps, 1983-1985; physician, Cigna Health Plan of
California, 1985-1987; astronaut, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), 1987-1993, mission specialist, Endeavour, 1992; founder and director,
Jemison Group, 1993-; founder, BioSentient, 1999-
Concurrent Positions: professor-at-large, Cornell University; teaching fellow,
environmental studies, Dartmouth College, 1995-2002
Mae Jemison is a physician and astronaut who was the first black woman to travel
in space. She began her career as a Peace Corps medical officer in Africa and
then as a physician and biomedical researcher investigating hepatitis B vaccine,
schistosomiasis, and rabies. She entered astronaut training in 1987 and was
assigned to the space shuttle Endeavour mission that flew September 12-20,
1992. Aboard the Endeavour, she conducted experiments concerning weightless-
ness, tissue growth, and the development of semiconductor materials. One of the
experiments was to test whether motion sickness in space could be alleviated by
the use of biofeedback techniques. She also investigated the loss of calcium in
human bones in space and the effects of weightlessness on the fertilization and
embryologic development of frogs.
While in medical school, Jemison traveled to a Thai refugee camp and received
a grant to conduct health studies in Kenya. She joined the Peace Corps and trav-
eled to Sierra Leone and Liberia, where she managed healthcare for volunteers,
developed and taught health classes for volunteers, and implemented public health
Johnson, Barbara Crawford | 551
and safety guidelines for the program. When NASA announced in 1986 that it was
seeking candidates for the space shuttle program, she applied and was one of
15 chosen from a field of some 2,000 applicants. After five years in the astronaut
program, Jemison left for a teaching and science advocacy career. She has since
founded two companies and worked on projects such as establishing a space-
based telecommunication system to facilitate healthcare delivery in countries of
the developing world, and marketing mobile medical technologies. She also
directed the Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology in Developing Countries
at Dartmouth College.
Jemison was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of
Science in 2001. She is a popular public figure and role model committed to
inspiring young people, women, and minorities in the sciences. She has appeared
in television shows and documentaries, and in 1994, she founded a science camp
program for children aged 12 to 16 called "The Earth We Share" (TEWS). She is
also the national science spokesperson for the Bayer pharmaceutical and medical
research company. Her autobiography, Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from
My Life, was published in 2001.
Further Resources
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration "Mae C. Jemison (M.D.)." http://www
.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/jemison-mc.html.
"Meet Our National Spokesperson, Mae C. Jemison M.D." Making Science Make Sense.
Bayer US. http://www.bayerus.com/msms/MSMS About/NationalSpokesperson/
Spokesperson, aspx.
Johnson, Barbara Crawford
b. 1925
Aerospace Engineer
Education: B.S., general engineering, University of Illinois, 1946
Professional Experience: engineer, Rockwell International Space Division,
1950s, project leader and supervisor, Entry Performance Analysis, 1961-1968,
system engineer and manager, Apollo program, 1968-1972, manager, Mission
Requirements and Integration, Rockwell Space Systems Group, 1973-1983
Barbara Johnson is one of the many women scientists and engineers who have
played significant supplementary roles in the National Aeronautics and Space
552 | Johnson (Masters), Virginia (Eshelman)
Administration (NASA) space program. She spent her career at the Rockwell
International Space Division in support of the manned space flight program.
Rockwell was one of the primary contractors for NASA, and one of Johnson's
major contributions was to create the Entry Monitor System (EMS), the backup
entry guidance system designed for the Apollo space missions. The EMS is a
graphic display for the astronauts to use in the case of a primary guidance failure,
and similar graphic displays are now a part of the instrument panels of virtually all
spacecraft and aircraft, and are even currently available in many automobiles. She
was supervisor of the Entry Performance Analysis team, which determined the tra-
jectories that enabled the Apollo aircraft to reenter the Earth's atmosphere safely;
if it entered on too shallow a trajectory, there was a danger of overheating; if too
deep, the astronauts would experience unbearable gravitational forces. Before
the 1960s, a spacecraft had never reentered the Earth's atmosphere from hyperve-
locity, which is a speed greater than that of the Earth's rotation. As system engi-
neering manager for the Apollo program, she supervised system analysis in
support of a lunar landing and exploration. In 1973, she was named manager of
Mission Requirements and Integration for Rockwell, which meant she directed
the mission, flight performance, and trajectory design analysis of the space shuttle
and orbiter projects.
Johnson received a medallion from NASA for her role in the first Apollo landing
on the moon, and she has also received the Achievement Award of the Society of
Women Engineers (1974), the Distinguished Alumni Merit Award from the Univer-
sity of Illinois (1975), and the Outstanding Engineer Merit Award of the Institute for
the Advancement of Engineers (1976). She is a member of the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a fellow of the Institute for the Advancement of
Engineers.
Further Resources
Society of Women Engineers. "Barbara Crawford Johnson." http://societyofwomenengineers
. swe.org/index.php ?option=com content&task=view&id=46&Itemid=68.
Johnson (Masters), Virginia (Eshelman)
b. 1925
Psychologist, Sex Therapist
Education: student, Drury College, 1940-1942, University of Missouri, 1944-1947;
student, Washington University, St. Louis
Johnson (Masters), Virginia (Eshelman) | 553
Psychologist and sex therapist Virginia
Johnson and physician William H. Masters
were known for their pioneering studies of
human sexuality. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Professional Experience: research
staff, Division of Reproductive Biol-
ogy, School of Medicine, Washington
University, St. Louis, 1957-1960,
research assistant and instructor,
1960-1964; research associate,
Reproductive Biology Research
Foundation, St. Louis, 1964-1969,
assistant director to co-director,
1969-1973; co-director, Masters and
Johnson Institute, 1973-1994; director,
Virginia Johnson Masters Learning
Center, St. Louis, 1994-
Virginia Johnson is renowned for her
pioneer studies with William H.
Masters and her unique contribution
to our knowledge of human sexuality.
At the Reproductive Biology Re-
search Foundation in St. Louis, and later at the Masters and Johnson Institute,
she counseled clients and taught sex therapy to practitioners. By the late 1950s,
William Masters was a respected professor of obstetrics and gynecology who
hired Virginia Johnson to interview volunteers for his research project on
reproductive biology. Soon she was promoted to research assistant, instructor,
and eventually co-director of the project. Gathering scientific data by electroen-
cephalography (EEG), electrocardiography, and the use of color monitors, the
two measured and analyzed 694 volunteers. They gathered data allowing them to
identify the four stages of sexual arousal, the efficacy of contraceptives, and the
observation that sexual enjoyment need not decrease with age. They created the
nonprofit Reproductive Biology Research Foundation in 1964, began training
couples to combat their sexual problems, and wrote a scientific text, Human
Sexual Response (1966), describing their research. Although the book was adver-
tised only in scientific journals, within a few months, it had become a bestseller.
Masters and Johnson married in 1971, founded the Masters and Johnson Insti-
tute in 1973, and went on to publish several books for a general audience, always
inciting controversial reactions to their findings on sensitive topics. In Human Sexual
Inadequacy (1970), they discussed the possibility that sex problems are more cultural
than physiological or psychological. The Pleasure Bond: A New Look at Sexuality
and Commitment (1975) advised total commitment and fidelity to the partner as the
basis for an enduring sexual bond. In Homosexuality in Perspective (1981),
554 | Johnston, Mary Helen
they came to the controversial conclusion that homosexuality is a "learned" behavior
and that homosexuals can be "converted." In Crisis: Heterosexual Behavior in the
Age of AIDS (1988; co-authored with Dr. Robert Kolodny), they accurately predicted
a large-scale outbreak of the virus in the heterosexual community. However,
due to exaggerated and erroneous claims about how AIDS could be transmitted,
many in the medical community, including the surgeon general C. Everett Koop,
criticized the study, and the negative publicity hurt the couple's reputation.
They divorced in 1992, and the Institute was closed in 1994 with Masters's
retirement. Johnson, however, retained the Institute's records and went on to found
the Virginia Johnson Masters Learning Center in St. Louis, which produces instruc-
tional material for couples with sexual problems. William H. Masters died in 2001.
Further Resources
Maier, Thomas. 2009. Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia
Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love. New York: Basic Books.
Johnston, Mary Helen
b. 1945
Metallurgical Engineer
Education: B.S., engineering science, Florida State University, 1966, M.S., 1969;
Ph.D., metallurgical engineering, University of Florida, 1973
Professional Experience: metallurgical staff, University of Alabama, Huntsville,
1969-; materials engineer, George Marshall Space Flight Center, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 1969-1983, payload specialist,
astronaut program, 1983-1985
Mary Johnston is known for her expertise in failure analysis while working at the
George Marshall Space Flight Center of NASA. As a metallurgist, she was con-
cerned with the stability of the metal and materials parts of which the spacecraft
was composed. There always is a possibility that a part might malfunction or break
when exposed to the extremes of soaring heat or frigid cold in space, and the fail-
ure could occur in any part of a spacecraft, including bolts and screws. Although
she worked for NASA for a number of years, she was never part of the astronaut
program. In the 1970s, she started planning for the time when women would be
accepted into the space program, and she was among the women employees who
taught themselves how to function in a weightless environment. When she chose
her major of metallurgical engineering, materials processing in space did not exist
Jones, Anita Katherine | 555
as a specialty. However, in 1974, she participated in an all-woman crew of
experimenters in a five-day simulation of a Spacelab mission set up by NASA at
Marshall because NASA needed to know how difficult it would be to handle
materials-processing experiments in space. These experiments required a lot of
power and put out a lot of heat, and Johnston predicted that nuclear radiation
detector material would be a good material for a Spacelab experiment. One advan-
tage of metallurgical research in space is that the zero-gravity environment in
space allows for more control; on Earth, it is more difficult to study the processes
involved in metals when the metals are cooled. Later, she was assigned to be the
backup payload specialist on Spacelab 3, but she did not go into space.
Johnston was the first woman to graduate from Florida State University in engi-
neering, and went on to graduate school at the University of Florida, one of the few
female engineering students who completed that program. She is a member of
American Society for Metals and National Society of Professional Engineers.
Jones, Anita Katherine
b. 1942
Computer Scientist
Education: B.A., mathematics, Rice University, 1964; M.A., English, University of
Texas, Austin, 1966; Ph.D., computer science, Carnegie Mellon University, 1973
Professional Experience: programmer, International Business Machines
Corporation (IBM), 1966-1968; assistant to associate professor, computer science,
Carnegie Mellon University, 1973-1981; vice president and founder, Tartan Labora-
tories, Pittsburgh, 1981-1987; freelance consultant, 1987-1988; professor and
department chair, computer science, University of Virginia, 1988-1993; director,
Defense Research and Engineering, U.S. Department of Defense, 1993-1997;
professor, computer science, University of Virginia, 1997-
Anita Jones is renowned for her work in the area of computer software and sys-
tems. Her research includes design and implementation of programmed systems
on computers, including enforcement of security policies on computers, operating
systems, and scientific databases. She was director of Defense Research and
Engineering for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) (the highest-level defense
job ever held by a woman), the department's senior official for research and
technology matters. Her responsibilities included management of DOD science
and technology programs; all in-house laboratories and research, development,
and engineering centers; university research initiatives; and overseeing the
556 | Jones, Mary Ellen
Advanced Research Projects Agency, which was responsible for the development
of ARPAnet, the predecessor of the Internet. The DOD engineering research
would eventually serve as a basis for both commercial and military information
technology. Early on, Jones predicted that virtual reality (VR) simulations would
be used extensively in education and job training, pointing out that the military
invented high-fidelity simulations for flight training, and it still bankrolls the most
cutting-edge applications.
Jones is married to fellow University of Virginia computer science professor
William Wulf, who served a 10-year term as president of the National Academy
of Engineering. Together they have formed a formidable power couple of engi-
neering. In 1981, they launched a software firm, Tartan Laboratories, which spe-
cialized in research for optimizing compilers. Six years later, they sold the
company to Texas Instruments and accepted faculty positions at the University
of Virginia. Jones took a leave from her academic position to work for the DOD,
but returned to academia in 1997. She has edited two books — Foundations of
Secure Computation (1971) and Perspectives in Computer Science (1977) — in
addition to writing numerous scientific papers. She has been a consultant to or
member of the National Research Council, the Defense Science Board (1985—
1993), and the U.S. Air Force Science Advisory Board (1980-1985), and served
as vice chair of the National Science Foundation (2000-2006).
Jones was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in
1994. She is a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery and the Insti-
tute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. She is the recipient of an Air Force
Meritorious Civilian Service Award (1985) and a Distinguished Service Award
of the Computing Research Association (1997).
Further Resources
Schrof, Joannie M. "Keeping Up with Anita Jones." http://www.cs.virginia.edu/misc/
news-jones-keeping up. html.
University of Virginia. Faculty website, http://www.cs.virginia.edu/brochure/profs/
jones.html.
Jones, Mary Ellen
1922 1996
Biochemist
Education: B.S., biochemistry, University of Chicago, 1944; Ph.D., biochemistry,
Yale University, 1951
Jones, Mary Ellen | 557
Professional Experience: research chemist, Armour and Company, 1942-1948;
U.S. Public Health Service Fellow, physiological chemistry, Yale University,
1950-1951; postdoctoral fellow, biochemistry research laboratory, Massachusetts
General Hospital, 1951-1957; assistant to associate professor, biochemistry,
Brandeis University, 1957-1966; associate professor to professor, biochemistry
and zoology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1966-1971; professor, bio-
chemistry, University of Southern California, 1971-1978; professor, biochemistry
and nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1978-1995
Mary Ellen Jones was a distinguished biochemist who contributed to early cancer
research through her studies of DNA and RNA. Her research interests included
biosynthetic and transfer reactions, metabolic regulation of enzymes, multifunc-
tional proteins, and pyrimidine and amino acid biosynthesis. Her studies of meta-
bolic pathways increased understanding of how cells, including cancer cells,
divide and differentiate. This laid the groundwork for later, continued cancer
research studies. She worked as a research chemist for Armour and Company
while obtaining her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago. She
continued her education at Yale, where her husband Paul Munson was a faculty
member in pharmacology, and received her doctorate in 1951 under a prestigious
U.S. Public Health Service fellowship. She held a postdoctoral fellowship at
Massachusetts General Hospital under Fritz Lipmann, who went on to win the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1953. She worked at Brandeis Univer-
sity as a biochemist until 1966, when the couple both moved to the University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNCCH). Jones became a full professor at UNCCH
in 1968, but moved to the University of Southern California in 1971. She returned
to her position at UNCCH in 1978, where she was the first woman to head a
medical school department at that institution. Jones was associate editor of the
Canadian Journal of Biochemistry from 1969 to 1974. She was co-editor of a book,
Purine and Pyrimidine Nucleotide Metabolism (1978), which is volume 51 in the
Methods in Enzymology series.
Jones was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1981 and the National
Academy of Sciences in 1984, and held several distinguished appointments,
such as member of the grants committee of the American Cancer Society (1971—
1973), member of the metabolic biology study section of the National Science
Foundation (1978-1981), and member of the science advisory board for
the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health (1980-
1984). Her extensive professional service included terms as president of the Associ-
ation of Medical School Departments of Biochemistry (1985), American Society for
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (1986), American Society of Biological
Chemists (1986), and American Association of University Professors (1988).
558 | Jones, Mary Ellen
Among her numerous awards were the Wilbur L. Cross Medal from Yale
University (1982), a Distinguished Chemist award of the North Carolina American
Chemical Society (1986), the Thomas Jefferson Award from the University of North
Carolina (1990), and an Award in Science from the state of North Carolina (1991).
A major research building is named after her at the University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill medical school. She was elected a fellow of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, and was also a member of the American Chemical
Society and the American Philosophical Society.
Further Resources
Traut, Thomas W. "Mary Ellen Jones, December 25, 1922 August 23, 1996." http://www
.nap.edu/html/biomems/mjones.html.
K
Kalnay, Eugenia
b. 1942
Meteorologist
Education: license, meteorology, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1965;
Ph.D., meteorology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1971
Professional Experience: assistant professor, University of Montevideo,
Uruguay, 1971-1973; assistant to associate professor, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), 1973-1979; senior research meteorologist, Global Modeling
and Simulation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/
Goddard Space Flight Center, 1979-1984, director, 1984-1986; director, Environ-
mental Modeling Center (EMC), National Centers for Environmental Prediction
(NCEP), Maryland, 1987-1997, senior scientist, 1998-2000; Robert E. Lowry Chair
in Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, 1997-1999; professor, meteorology,
University of Maryland, 1999-2001, Distinguished University Professor, 200 1-,
Eugenia Brin Professor in Data Assimilation, 2008-
Eugenia Kalnay is a meteorologist who studies global weather forecasting and
atmospheric weather dynamics. She uses computer modeling for numerical
weather predictions. She was the first woman to get a Ph.D. in meteorology from
MIT. She has been an outspoken critic of those, including other scientists, who
deny humankind's role in global climate change. She is the author of a popular
textbook, Atmospheric Modeling, Data Assimilation and Predictability (2002).
Kalnay was born in Argentina, the seventh of eight children, to Hungarian and
Swiss parents. Her father died when she was a teenager, but her mother encouraged
and supported her education. Kalnay enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires
intending to study physics, but her mother chose meteorology as her major due to
the availability of scholarships and job opportunities. She received her degree in
1965 and relocated to Massachusetts to study at MIT. She married and had a child
while in graduate school, and was the only female student in the meteorology
program at MIT. She received her doctorate in 1971 and then returned to South
America to teach in Uruguay for two years. She returned to MIT in 1973 as a
research associate and then faculty member. She was then offered a position with
NASA in the Global Modeling and Simulation laboratory. The NASA job required
559
560 | Kanter, Rosabeth (Moss)
that she finally secure U.S. citizenship,
which she did in 1978. She then joined
the EMC/NCEP, where she oversaw
the work of a team of scientists
compiling computer modeling infor-
mation on atmospheric and ocean
climates for the National Weather
Service. After 10 years, however, she
stepped down as director of the EMC
and returned to academic research as
professor of meteorology at the
University of Oklahoma and then the
University of Maryland.
1 ^^| ,t ,j0m Kalnay was elected to the National
V / j Academy of Engineering in 1996 and
has been named a foreign member of
the Academia Europaea (2000) and a
corresponding member of the Argen-
tine National Academy of Physical
Sciences (2003). She is also a fellow
of American Geophysical Union,
American Meteorological Society, and
the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences. She has received Gold and Silver Medals from the U.S. Department of
Commerce, a NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement (1981), the Jule
G. Charney Award of AMS (1995), the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious
Achievement (1997), the Kirwan Award of the University of Maryland (2006), and
the IMO Prize of the World Meteorological Organization (2009). In 2008, she
received an honorary doctorate from the University of Buenos Aires.
Meterologist, Eugenia Kalnay. (Courtesy of
University Publications, University of Maryland)
Further Resources
University of Maryland. Faculty website, http://www.atmos.umd.edu/~ekalnay/.
Kanter, Rosabeth (Moss)
b. 1943
Sociologist, Management Consultant
Education: student, University of Chicago, 1962-1963; B.A., Bryn Mawr
College, 1964; M.A., University of Michigan, 1965, Ph.D., sociology, 1967
Kanter, Rosabeth (Moss) | 56 1
Professional Experience: instructor, sociology, University of Michigan, 1967;
assistant professor, sociology, Brandeis University, 1967-1973; associate
professor, administration, Harvard University, 1973-1974; associate professor,
sociology, Brandeis, 1974-1977; associate professor, sociology, Yale University,
1977-1978, professor, 1978-1986; professor, Harvard University Business
School, 1986-2000, Ernest L. Arbunkle professor of business administration, 2000-
Concurrent Positions: visiting scholar, Newberry Library, 1973; visiting scholar,
Harvard University, 1975; faculty member, Young President's Organization of
International University, Hong Kong, 1976; founding partner, Goodmeasure,
Inc., 1977- ; scholar-in-residence, Miami University, Ohio, 1978; visiting profes-
sor, Organizational Psychology and Management, Sloan School of Management,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1979-1980; director, American Center
for Quality of Work Life, 1978-1982; director, Educational Fund for Individual
Rights, 1979-1984; director, Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Organi-
zation for Women, 1979-1986 and 1993-1995; visiting scholar, Norwegian
Research Council on Science and Humanities, 1980; editor, Harvard Business
Review, 1989-1992
Rosabeth Moss Kanter brought a multidisciplinary perspective to the study of
organizations and revolutionized management by introducing humanism into the
workplace. In her landmark book, Men and Women of the Corporation (1977),
she debunked the notion that the right personality is the key ingredient for success.
Her research indicated that the structure of a company and a person's position
within it determines her or his behavior and chances of promotion. Her statements
that people can be products of their jobs, not the reverse, was particularly impor-
tant for women, who usually are told they do not have the personality to be man-
agers, when they have never been able to develop leadership skills in low-level,
powerless jobs.
Kanter's earlier research was on the sociology of communal living. She moved
from the study of communes to corporations and, in 1977, she and her husband,
Barry Stein, established their own management consulting firm, Goodmeasure,
Inc. They co-authored A Tale of "O" (1980), which described in a whimsical man-
ner how "x's" and "o's" are treated differently and revealed the insidious effect of
discrimination in organizations. In The Change Masters: Innovation for Produc-
tivity in the American Corporation (1983), she advised companies on the idea of
"intrapreneurship," or how to stimulate entrepreneurial efforts from employees
within an organization. Kanter has kept up with changes affecting American cor-
porations, and in World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy (1995),
she emphasized the alternatives to job insecurity and economic chaos that have
been brought on by the increasing globalization of industry. Many of her published
562 | Kanwisher, Nancy
articles on topics of strategy, innovation, and leadership were collected in the book
Rosabeth Moss Kanteron the Frontiers of Management (1997; 2nd ed., 2003). Her
other books include Innovation: Breakthrough Thinking at Du Pont, GE, Pfizer, and
Rubbermaid (1997), Evolve!: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow (2001),
and Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End (2004).
Kanter has been a board member, trustee, or consultant to numerous businesses,
organizations, and government entities. She has also been an advisor to political
campaigns, working closely with Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts in
his campaign for the presidency in 1988. She and Dukakis wrote Creating the
Future: The Massachusetts Comeback and Its Promise for America (1988). In
1994, Massachusetts governor William Weld appointed her to his Council on Eco-
nomic Growth and Technology and named her co-chair of his International Trade
Task Force. She is also a member of the American Sociological Association,
American Association for Higher Education, and Society for the Study of Social
Problems.
Further Resources
Harvard Business School. Faculty website. http://drfd.hbs.edu/fit/public/facultyInfo.do
?fac!nfo=ovr&facId=6486.
Kanwisher, Nancy
Psychologist
Education: B.S., biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1980, Ph.D.,
cognitive psychology, 1986
Professional Experience: visiting scholar, Institute for War and Peace Studies,
Columbia University, 1986-1987; postdoctoral fellow, psychology, Harvard Uni-
versity, 1987-1988; assistant research psychologist, psychology, University of
California, Berkeley, 1988-1990; assistant and associate professor, psychology,
University of California, Los Angeles, 1990-1994; assistant professor and John
L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences, psychology, Harvard Univer-
sity, 1994-1997; associate professor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), 1997-2001, professor, 2001-, Ellen Swallow
Richards Professor, 2004-2009, Walter A. Rosenblith Professor, 2009-
Concurrent Positions: assistant in neuroscience, Department of Radiology,
Massachusetts General Hospital, 2000-; investigator, McGovern Institute for
Brain Research, MIT, 2000-
Kanwisher, Nancy | 563
Nancy Kanwisher is a psychologist who studies visual perception, including object
recognition, attention, number recognition, and social cognition. Her work com-
bines cognitive and neurological research methods and tools. One of her main con-
tributions to the field of cognitive neuroscience has been the identification of an
area of the brain she terms FFA (Fusiform Face Area), which is dedicated to
processing facial recognition. Using magnetic resonance imaging, or an MRI, to
track brain activity, Kanwisher has found that, even when vision is not impaired,
neurological injury or problems with this specific area can impact a patient's abil-
ity to recognize faces. Her research has also revealed other dedicated areas of the
brain that process specific imagery related to other body parts, such as feet or
elbows. These findings have unlimited implications for uncovering the previously
unknown function of other brain regions, and for further research into the role of
genetics, evolutionary biology, and environmental or social conditioning on the
development of specific areas of the brain.
Kanwisher received her doctorate in cognitive psychology from MIT in 1986
and taught at several universities on the East Coast and California before
returning to MIT as a faculty member in the Department of Brain and Cognitive
Sciences in 1997. Since 2000, she has also been an Investigator at MIT's
McGovern Institute for Brain Research. The McGovern Institute brings together
researchers on brain function specifically for the purpose of understanding
physical and cognitive brain disorders, diseases, and injuries. She has been an
invited lecturer, committee member, and advisor for numerous schools and insti-
tutions throughout the United States and abroad. She has published widely,
including collaborations with Harvard psychologist Elizabeth Spelke, and
served on the editorial boards of professional journals such as Current Opinion
in Neurobiology, Cognition, Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of Experimental
Psychology, and several others.
Kanwisher was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005. She is
a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Society of
Experimental Psychologists, and was named a MacVicar Faculty Fellow at
MIT (2002). She is also the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship
in Peace and International Security (1986-1988), a National Institute of Mental
Health FIRST Award (1988-1992), a National Academy of Sciences Troland
Research Award (1999), and a Golden Brain Award of the Minerva Foundation
(2007).
Further Resources
McGovern Institute. "Nancy Kanwisher." http://web.mit.edu/mcgovern/html/Principal
Investigators/kanwisher. shtml.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Kanwisher Lab." http://web.mit.edu/bcs/nklab/.
564 | Karle, Isabella Helen Lugoski
Karle, Isabella Helen Lugoski
b. 1921
Crystal lographer
Education: B.S., University of Michigan, M.S., physical chemistry, 1942, Ph.D.,
physical chemistry, 1944
Professional Experience: associate chemist, University of Chicago, 1944;
instructor, chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1944-1946; physicist,
Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), 1946-1959, scientist, x-ray defraction and
structural chemistry, 1959-2009
Isabella Karle is a chemist and physicist who, along with her husband Jerome
Karle and others, developed a new mathematical technique called "direct meth-
ods" in crystallography, or the study of the atomic structure and composition of
crystals. Her research interests have included application of electron and x-ray dif-
fraction to structure problems, phase determination in crystallography, elucidation
of molecular formulae, peptides, and configurations and conformations of natural
products and biologically active materials. Jerome (who was a co-recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1985) was the theorist and Isabella the experimental-
ist. He and others developed the theory of direct method, but she applied their the-
ories by designing a machine that could diffract and photograph images of crystals
to determine their atomic structures, speeding up the process and thus revolution-
izing the field. Karle's study of frog venom and other biological materials allowed
advances in creating synthetic chemicals for everything from insect repellents to
medicines. She published more than 200 scientific papers and has received several
honorary degrees. She has been a consultant or advisor to government agencies,
including the National Committee on Crystallography, the National Research
Council, and the Atomic Energy Commission.
Isabella Karle completed her undergraduate degree on a four-year fellowship and
received her doctorate at the age of 22, but she was unable to secure a graduate teach-
ing assistantship in chemistry at Michigan because women had never held such a
position. She was granted a fellowship by the American Association of University
Women to start her graduate studies. After she received her doctorate, she and Jerome
worked at the University of Chicago on the Manhattan Project for six months, and
then Isabella returned to the University of Michigan for a short time. The couple
was unable to obtain suitable employment together in a university due to anti-
nepotism rules, but the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) offered them an
opportunity to work together beginning in 1946, and they were affiliated with the
NRL until their joint retirement in July 2009.
Karp, Carol Ruth (Vander Velde) | 565
Isabella Karle was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1978 and received a National Medal of Science from President Clinton in 1995. Her
awards and honors over the course of a long career are numerous, but they include
eight honorary doctorates as well as a Superior Civilian Service Award of the Navy
Department (1965), Annual Achievement Award of the Society of Women Engineers
(1968), Hildebrand Award from the American Chemical Society (1969), Federal
Woman's Award (1973), Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society (1976),
Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists (1984), Women in Science
and Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award (1986), Gregori Aminoff Prize of
the Swedish Academy of Sciences (1988), Bijvoet Medal from the University of
Utrecht, Netherlands (1990), Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science
from the Franklin Institute (1993), U.S. Department of Defense Distinguished Civil-
ian Service Award (1995), and Merrifield Award of the American Peptide Society
(2007). She is a member of the American Crystallographic Association (president,
1976), the American Physical Society, and the American Chemical Society. Jerome
and Isabella Karle had three daughters, all of whom pursued degrees in the sciences.
Further Resources
Naval Research Laboratory. "Jerome and Isabella Karle Retire from NRL Following Six
Decades of Scientific Exploration." Press release. (21 July 2009). http://www.nrl.navy
.mil/pao/pressRelease.php?Y=2009&R=58-09r.
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Karp, Carol Ruth (Vander Velde)
1926 1972
Mathematician
Education: B.A., Manchester College, 1948; M.A., Michigan State University,
1950; Ph.D., mathematics, University of Southern California, 1959
Professional Experience: instructor, mathematics, New Mexico Agricultural and
Mechanical College (now New Mexico State University), 1953-1954; instructor,
mathematics, University of Maryland, 1958-1960, assistant to associate professor,
1960-1966, professor, 1966-1972
Carol Karp was renowned for her research on logic, particularly infmitary logic in
mathematics. Logic is the science that investigates the principles governing correct
or reliable inference, and her book Languages with Expressions of Infinite Length
566 | Kaufman, Joyce (Jacobson)
(1964), based on her doctoral thesis, was the first systematic explanation of the theory
of infinitary logic. In infinitary logic, a modification of calculus, the formulas are
formed from symbols representing variables, constants, functions, and relations.
Karp introduced four new symbols representing conjunction of infinite sets. Her work
was internationally recognized, and she was able to recruit other faculty and a steady
stream of graduate students to the University of Maryland. She was instrumental in
bringing several important participants to the colloquia that she sponsored, and she
and her husband even had a home with an extra apartment in which visiting logicians
were frequently housed. Karp's intellectual standards were extremely high, and she
was unfailingly honest in appraising the mathematical contributions and research
promise of her students, refusing to let anyone graduate until their results met her
own high standards for publishability.
Karp developed breast cancer in 1969, but she continued her schedule of teaching
and research until 1971, when she was too ill to work. At the time of her death in
1972, she was working on a second book, but it was still too incomplete to publish.
Colleagues and friends prepared a memorial volume, Infinitary Logic: In Memoriam
Carol Karp (1975), which incorporates many of her ideas and notes. She was a
member of the American Mathematical Society, Mathematical Association of
America, and Association for Symbolic Logic.
Further Resources
Agnes Scott College. "Carol Karp." Biographies of Women Mathematicians, http://
www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/karp.htm.
Kaufman, Joyce (Jacobson)
b. 1929
Chemist, Pharmacologist
Education: B.S., Johns Hopkins University, 1949, M.A., 1959, Ph.D., chemistry
and chemical physics, 1960; DES, theoretical physics, Sorbonne, 1963
Professional Experience: research chemist, U.S. Army Chemical Center, Maryland,
1949-1952; research assistant, Johns Hopkins University, 1952-1960; staff scientist,
Martin Company Research Institute for Advanced Studies, 1960-1962, head, quan-
tum, chemistry group, 1962-1969; associate professor of anesthesiology, School of
Medicine, and principal research scientist in chemistry, Johns Hopkins University,
1969-1977, associate professor, Department of Surgery, 1977-
Joyce Kaufman has gained a distinguished national and international reputation in a
wide variety of fields — chemistry, physics, biomedicine, and supercomputers — on
Keller, Evelyn Fox | 567
both the experimental and the theoretical levels. Her specialties include theoretical
quantum chemistry, experimental physical chemistry, and chemical physics of ener-
getic compounds; the last includes explosives, rocket fuels, oxidizers, and energetic
polymers. She has examined the application of those techniques and experimental
animal studies to biomedical research, including pharmacology, drug design, and
toxicology. She is also knowledgeable in nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry,
and has been successful in using experimental chemical techniques in determining
the guidelines for effective drug action in a number of different areas. She published
a landmark paper in 1980 in which she introduced a new theoretical method for cod-
ing and retrieving certain carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Since that
time, at least 30 papers have been written by other researchers using and expanding
upon her concept. At Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she works with interns and
residents studying the effect of drugs, such as narcotics, tranquilizers, psychotropic
drugs, general anesthetics, and spinal anesthetics, on the central nervous system.
Kaufman completed high school in two years and, after receiving her undergradu-
ate degree, worked as a librarian at the Army Chemical Center, where she set up a
scientific indexing system for their technical reports. During the 1950s, it was
common practice for companies and agencies to hire women scientists as librarians
specializing in scientific literature rather than to employ them in the laboratories.
However, Kaufman was able to transfer to a position as a research chemist after
one year. A chemistry professor at Johns Hopkins invited her to work with him on
a research contract, and he later convinced her to obtain a doctorate. She later joined
Martin Company's Research Institute for Advanced Studies to do theoretical
research on the application of quantum mechanics to problems in chemistry, but
returned to Johns Hopkins in 1969 as a professor and research scientist.
Kaufman has received numerous awards, including the Gold Medal of the Martin
Company each year for three years (1964-1966), the Dame Chevalier of the Centre
National de la Recherche Scientifique, France (1969), the Garvan Medal of the Ameri-
can Chemical Society (1974), and a Woman of Achievement Award from the Jewish
National Fund (1974). She is a fellow of the American Physical Society, American
Institute of Chemists, and the European Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters.
Keller, Evelyn Fox
b. 1936
Physicist, Mathematical Biologist, Molecular Biologist
Education: student, Queens College, 1953; B.A., Brandeis University, 1957;
M.A., Radcliffe College, 1959; Ph.D., physics, Harvard University, 1963
568 | Keller, Evelyn Fox
Physicist, biologist, and feminist scholar,
Evelyn Fox Keller. (Photograph by Marleen
Wynants)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
visiting professor, 1985-1986
Professional Experience: instructor,
New York University, 1962-1963, as-
sistant research scientist, 1963-1966;
assistant professor, Graduate School
of Medical Science, Cornell Univer-
sity, 1966-1969; associate professor
of molecular biology, New York
University, 1970-1972; associate pro-
fessor, Division of Natural Science,
State University of New York (SUNY)
at Purchase, 1972-1982; professor
of humanities and mathematics,
Northeastern University, 1982; senior
fellow, Cornell University, 1986—
1987; professor of rhetoric, Women's
Studies and History of Science,
University of California, Berkeley,
1989-1992; professor, history and
philosophy of science, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1992-
Concurrent Positions: visiting fellow,
1979-1980, visiting scholar, 1980-1984,
Evelyn Fox Keller is known for her work in the fields of theoretical physics,
molecular biology, and mathematical biology, as well as her feminist critique of
scientific methods and beliefs. She was drawn to physics as a means for deep
inquiry into nature, and received a National Science Foundation fellowship to
attend Harvard. She did not enjoy the competitive and discriminatory atmosphere
at Harvard and was ready to quit school after two years. A summer at the Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory, however, inspired her finish her thesis on molecular
biology, and she received her doctorate in physics in 1963.
While teaching a women's studies course in New York in 1974, she began to
question the treatment of women in the sciences. An article on geneticist Barbara
McClintock turned into a full biography, A Feeling for the Organism: The Life of
Barbara McClintock, which Keller published in 1983. McClintock had worked for
years in relative obscurity at Cold Spring Harbor on the genetics of maize. She had
discovered that some genes move from one area on the chromosome to another,
but her work was ignored for many years. McClintock received the Nobel Prize for
this discovery more than 30 years after publishing her first findings. Keller generated
Kempf, Martine | 569
controversy with her next book, Reflections on Gender and Science (1985), in which
she emphasized the importance of intuition in science and speculated on what a truly
gender-free science might look like. Her recent works include The Century of the
Gene (2000), and Making Sense of Life: Explaining Biological Development with
Models, Metaphors and Machines (2002).
Fox Keller has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Blaise
Pascal Research Chair by the Prefecture de la Region D'lle-de-France (2005-
2007). She is a member of the American Philosophical Society and the American
Academy of Arts and Science.
Further Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Faculty website, http://web.mit.edu/sts/people/
keller.html.
Kempf, Martine
b. 1958
Computer Scientist
Education: student, astronomy, Friedrich Wilhelm University, Bonn, 1981-1983
Professional Experience: founder and CEO, Kempf USA, 1985-, CEO, Kempf
SAS, 2002-
Martine Kempf is known for her research on voice commands for computer pro-
grams. In 1985, she invented a breakthrough voice recognition microcomputer
dubbed Katalavox, a name derived from the Greek word katal, "to understand,"
and vox, which is Latin for "voice." While she was a student in Bonn, she saw
many German teenagers who had been born without arms because their mothers
had taken thalidomide during pregnancy, and reasoned that a voice recognition
system would enable them to drive cars. Learning to program on an Apple com-
puter, she succeeded in directly transforming the human voice's analog signals
into the computer's digital signals. Further refinements enable Katalavox to
respond to a spoken command in a fraction of a second, compared with one or
two seconds for competing systems. She was unable to secure financing to start a
company in France, so she moved to Sunnyvale, California, to create and market
the voice-recognition device not only for drivers, but also for people confined to
wheelchairs or who suffer from cerebral palsy or strokes, and for doctors to use
surgical tools and microscopes hands-free.
Kempf was an astronomy student who does not hold a higher degree, but taught
herself electronics and computers. She not only designed the software for her
570 | Kenyon, Cynthia J.
device but designed and built the hardware, designing the board and soldering the
circuits herself. She also invented the Comeldir Multiplex Handicapped Driving
Systems for people who must operate cars with their feet rather than their hands.
Kempf 's own father was a polio survivor who designed a car he could drive with
his hands and created a business customizing more than 1,000 cars per year for
others with disabilities. Martine's company, Kempf USA, is still headquartered
in California, and she became CEO of Kempf SAS in Europe (her father's busi-
ness) after his death in 2002.
Further Resources
Kempf USA. "Who is Martine KEMPF?" http://www.kempf-usa.com/Kempf
Martine.html.
Kenyon, Cynthia J.
b. 1955
Molecular Biologist
Education: B.S., chemistry and biochemistry, University of Georgia, 1976; Ph.D.,
biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1981
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, Medical Research Council Labora-
tory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, England, 1982-1986; assistant professor,
biochemistry and biophysics, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF),
1986-1992, associate professor, 1992-1994, professor, 1994-
Concurrent Positions: director, UCSF Hillblom Center for the Biology of Aging,
2002-
Cynthia Kenyon is a molecular biologist known for her studies of the genes of a
microscopic roundworm or nematode called Caenorhabditis elegans, or C. ele-
gans. Her findings that gene mutations were responsible for determining the life
span of C. elegans led to further research on the genetic role in aging and age-
related diseases (such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or Huntington's disease)
in other organisms, such as mice or humans. By altering the genes of the C.
elegans hormonally and environmentally, Kenyon found that she could increase the
worm's life span by as much as 50% compared to normal, from 21 days to 45 days
in some cases. While the implications for the human aging process are still being
researched, she has reported that her findings have at least prompted her to think
about her own aging; for example, finding that too much sugar shortened the worm's
life span, she made dietary changes to limit the amount of high-glycemic
Kenyon, Cynthia J. | 571
index carbohydrates she eats, avoiding
white flour and sugar. These dietary
changes also promote weight loss and
regulate insulin production, which can
also ward off disease. In 1999, she co-
founded a company, Elixir Pharma-
ceuticals, to research the development
of medications that could slow down
the aging process and treat metabolic
disorders.
Kenyon earned her undergraduate
degree in chemistry from the Univer-
sity of Georgia in 1976 and went on
to receive a doctorate from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technol-
ogy in 1981. Her thesis was on DNA
damage in E. coli. She then went to
Cambridge, England as a postdoc-
toral molecular biology researcher in
the laboratory of Nobel Laureate
Sydney Brenner, where she began
studying C. elegans. She joined the
faculty at UCSF in 1986, where she
was Herbert Boyer Distinguished
Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics (1997-2004), and in 2005 was named
an American Cancer Research Society Professor. She is also the founding
director of the Hillblom Center for the Biology of Aging at UCSF, established
in 2002.
Kenyon was elected to both the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute
of Medicine in 2003. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sci-
ences and the Genetics Society of America (president, 2003). Her most recent
awards and honors include the King Faisal International Prize for Medicine
(2000), Life Extension Prize (2002), Discover Prize for Basic Research (2004),
American Association of Medical Colleges Award for Distinguished Research in
Biomedical Sciences (2004), Use & Helmut Wachter Award for Exceptional Sci-
entific Achievement in the Field of Medicine (2005), and La Fondation IPSEN
Prize (2006).
Molecular biologist Cynthia Kenyon
researches the genetic role in aging and age-
related diseases. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Further Resources
University of California, San Francisco. "Kenyon Lab." http://kenyonlab.ucsf.edu/.
572 | Kidwell, Margaret Gale
Kidwell, Margaret Gale
b. 1933
Geneticist, Evolutionary Biologist
Education: B.Sc, Nottingham University, 1953; M.S., animal breeding, Iowa
State University, 1962; Ph.D., genetics, Brown University, 1973
Professional Experience: officer, Ministry of Agriculture, London, 1955-1960;
research fellow, Brown University, 1973-1974, research associate, 1974-1975,
investigator, 1975-1977, assistant to associate professor, 1977-1984, professor,
1984-1985; professor, ecology and evolutionary biology, University of Arizona,
Tucson, 1985-
Margaret Kidwell is renowned for her research on Drosophila, the common fruit
fly. Her research interests include Drosophila genetics and evolution, recombina-
tion transposable elements, and speciation. In the 1990s, her team discovered that
sometime around 1950, genes of one fruit fly jumped to another species. Since
that time, "the jumping genes" have spread like wildfire, so that today, essentially
all fruit fly populations, except those maintained in isolation in laboratories, carry
the same elements. The theory is that a tiny parasitic mite lives in association with
both species. Although there have been reports of other possible gene transfers
between species, principally by viruses, this discovery was the first indication that
a mite or anything like it can transfer genetic material. The transfer of genetic
material between species has a major impact on our understanding of evolution,
as the "transposons" cause mutations if they happen to land in a gene. However,
if lateral transfers of genetic material between species occur frequently, that could
complicate the work of researchers who are attempting to study the evolutionary
relationships among species. Kidwell, a pioneer in this research, was the one
who zeroed in on the mite. Since the two species of fruit flies cannot breed, the
team recognized that the material had to have been transferred by some agent.
Born in England, Kidwell came to the United States in 1960 with a fellowship
to pursue graduate study, receiving a master's degree from Iowa State and her doc-
torate from Brown University in 1973 at the age of 40. She had originally planned
to return to England, but discovered she wanted to pursue a research career in the
United States, and had married an American and started a family as well. While
still in graduate school, she accepted a position at Brown as a research scientist,
then moved into the academic ranks as an assistant professor in 1977. She became
a full professor at Brown in 1985 but was recruited to the University of Arizona as
professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and in affiliation with the Interdis-
ciplinary Program in Genetics.
Kieffer, Susan Werner | 573
Kidwell was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1996. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a member of the American
Genetics Association (president, 1992), Society for Molecular Biology and Evolu-
tion (1996), American Society of Naturalists (vice president, 1984), Genetics
Society of America, and Society for the Study of Evolution. Kidwell had two
daughters, both of whom pursued advanced degrees in the biological sciences.
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
University of Arizona. Faculty website. http://www.eebweb.arizona.edu/Faculty/Bios/
kidwell.html.
Kieffer, Susan Werner
b. 1942
Geologist, Volcanologist, Mineral Physicist
Education: B.S., physics and mathematics, Allegheny College, 1964; student,
astrogeophysics (solar physics), University of Colorado, Boulder, 1964-1965;
M.Sc, geological sciences, California Institute of Technology, 1967, Ph.D., plan-
etary science, 1971
Professional Experience: postdoctoral research fellow, University of California,
Los Angeles, 1971-1973, assistant to associate professor, geology, 1973-1979;
geologist, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Flagstaff, Arizona, 1979-1990, scientist
emeritus; professor, geology, Arizona State University, 1990-1993; professor and
department head, geological science, University of British Columbia, 1993-1995;
co-founder and head, Kieffer & Woo, Inc., Ontario, 1996-2000; professor, geology
and physics, Center for Advanced Study, and affiliated faculty member, civil and
environmental engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2000-
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, geology, California Institute of Tech-
nology, 1982; research professor, geology, Arizona State University, 1989; co-
founder and president, Kieffer Institute for Development of Science-Based Educa-
tion, Arizona, 1999; founder, S. W. Kieffer Science Consulting Inc., 2000-
Susan Kieffer is renowned as an expert on volcanoes both on Earth and on Io, Venus,
Mars, and other planets. Her research includes geological physics, high-pressure
574 | Kieffer, Susan Werner
geophysics and impact processes, shock metamorphism of natural materials,
thermodynamic properties of minerals, mechanisms of geyser and volcano erup-
tions, and river hydraulics. Her expertise on the hydraulics of lava flow also transfers
to her studies of the hydraulics, sediment transfer, rapids, and waves in rivers. She
also participated in the studies of asteroid impact on Earth at the Chicxulub crater
in Mexico. She has studied geysers, volcanoes, and the volcanic environment on
Earth as well as on other planets and has found that simulated volcanic eruptions
on Earth, Venus, and Mars produce plumes with different fluid dynamic regimes.
A major portion of the differences are caused by differing atmospheric pressures
and ratios of volcanic vent pressure to atmospheric pressure. She did extensive stud-
ies of the hydraulics of lava flow and erosion furrows after the eruption of Mount St.
Helens in Washington State in 1980, research which earned her team a USGS Group
Achievement Award. She has also studied the hydraulics of river flow in areas such
as the Colorado River, and explored Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park by
lowering a robot down its vent.
Although it is commonplace for asteroids to strike other planets, it is a compa-
ratively rare occurrence when they strike Earth. Kieffer collaborated with Walter
Alvarez in his study of the crater left by an asteroid striking the Earth at Chicxulub
in Mexico, a study that supported Alvarez's theory that the dust cloud from this
impact blotted out the sun while circling the Earth, thus killing the vegetation that
was the food supply for the dinosaurs. Kieffer and Alvarez co-authored a paper
about the study, and the research is also discussed in Alvarez's book T-Rex and
the Crater of Doom (1997).
She has worked for government agencies as well as for several universities.
After receiving her doctorate, she secured a position as a research geophysicist at
the University of California, Los Angeles, and then transferred to a tenure-track
academic position. She worked for the USGS for more than a decade, then
returned to academia as a professor at Arizona State University before moving to
the University of British Columbia in 1993. In 1996, she co-founded Kieffer &
Woo, a consulting firm in Canada, and was chair of the Canadian Geoscience
Council (CGC) committee on Geologic Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Fuel
Waste. Most recently, she has consulted on volcanic intrusions into waste reposito-
ries for the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. In 2000 she became a professor
of geology and physics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Kieffer was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1986. She received a prestigious five-year MacArthur fellowship (1995-2000),
and has also received the Mineralogical Society of America Award (1980), Distin-
guished Alumnus Award of California Institute of Technology (1982), Meritorious
Service Award of the Department of Interior (1987), Spendiarov Prize of the
Soviet Academy of Sciences (1989), and Day Medal of the Geological Society
Kimble, Judith | 575
of America (1992). She is the co-editor of Microscopic to Macroscopic Atomic
Environments to Mineral Thermodynamics (1985). She is a fellow of the American
Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (chair of Geology/Geography Section, 2002-2005), and a member of the
Meteoritical Society, Geological Society of America, Geological Association of
Canada, Society of Canadian Women in Science and Technology, and American
Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Further Resources
University of Illinois. "The Geological Fluid Dynamics Group." http://www
. geology, uiuc.edu/~skieffer/.
Kimble, Judith
b. 1949
Geneticist
Education: B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1971; Ph.D., biology,
University of Colorado, Boulder, 1978
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, Laboratory of Molecular Biology,
Cambridge, England, 1978-1982; assistant to associate professor, molecular biol-
ogy and biochemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1983-1992, professor,
1992-
Concurrent Positions: investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1994-
Judith Kimble is renowned for her research on elegans, a type of nematode —
unsegmented worms of the phylum Nematoda that have elongated, cylindrical
bodies. Her research concerns understanding animal development at the molecular
and cellular levels. She became interested in this field after studying human
embryology as an undergraduate and realized that understanding stem cells and
organ development of the simplest animals would have implications for under-
standing all animals, including humans. After completing her undergraduate
degree at Berkeley, Kimble spent two years at the University of Copenhagen
Medical School as an assistant before she received a National Science Foundation
predoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado, Boulder. After receiving her
doctorate, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in
Cambridge, England, and went on to receive prestigious postdoctoral fellowships,
including one from the National Institutes of Health (1980-1982). Kimble joined
the faculty in molecular biology, biochemistry, and medical genetics at the
576 | King, Helen Dean
University of Wisconsin, Madison. She has published widely in scientific journals
such as Developmental Biology; Genetics; Cell; Developmental Genetics; and
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Kimble was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
in 1995 and was recently elected to a term on the Council of the NAS (2008-). She
received a National Institutes of Health Research Career Development Award
(1984-1989), and has served on several prestigious committees, such as the
Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Research Fund Scientific Advisory
Board (1992-1996) and the Searle Scientific Advisory Board (1997-). She has
been active in professional organizations, such as the Society of Developmental
Biology (secretary, 1987-1990; president, 2004-2005), Genetics Society of
America (president, 2000), and American Society for Cell Biology (council
member, 1994-). She is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sci-
ences and the American Philosophical Society.
Further Resources
University of Wisconsin. Faculty website, http://www.biochem.wisc.edu/faculty/kimble/.
King, Helen Dean
1869 1955
Geneticist
Education: B.A., Vassar College, 1892; Ph.D., morphology, Bryn Mawr College,
1899
Professional Experience: fellow, biology, Bryn Mawr College, 1896-1897, assis-
tant, 1899-1904; instructor, science, Baldwin School, Pennsylvania, 1899-1907;
fellow, biology, University of Pennsylvania, 1906-1908; assistant, anatomy,
Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology, 1909-1912, assistant professor,
anatomy, 1912-1927, professor, embryology, 1927-1949
Helen King 's outstanding contribution to science was her success in breeding pure
strains of laboratory animals, including 150 generations of rats and the "Wistar"
rat (named after the Institute where she worked for 40 years) that became widely
used as a lab animal. In addition to discovering new types of rats, her research shed
light on inquiries into heredity, sex determination, fertility, and longevity. Through
careful inbreeding experiments with brother and sister rats, a practice unpopular at
the time, she demonstrated the capacity to improve the strain, knowledge that has
been applied to other animals, such as racehorses. Her research was reported in the
King, Mary-Claire | 577
newspapers in the 1910s and 1920s at a time when there was great interest in
eugenics. Her work on rats sparked controversy and outrage over whether she
was advocating "human inbreeding" or incest. Her other research interests
included sex determination in amphibians and mammals, germ cells in amphibians
and mammals, parthenogenesis, growth and reproduction of the white rat, and
modification of the sex ratio.
After she received her doctorate from Bryn Mawr, she remained at the school as
an assistant in biology and also taught science at the Baldwin School before
accepting a research fellow position at the University of Pennsylvania. She moved
to the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology in Philadelphia in 1909, where she
spent the remainder of her career. She served on the institute's advisory board for
24 years, was editor of its bibliographic service for 13 years, and was editor of the
Journal of Morphology and Physiology for 3 years.
King received many honors and awards for her work, including the Ellen
Richards Prize of the Association to Aid Scientific Research for Women in 1932.
She was elected a fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences. Her other mem-
berships included the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the
American Society of Naturalists, the American Society of Zoologists, and the
American Association of Anatomists.
King, Mary-Claire
b. 1946
Geneticist, Epidemiologist
Education: B.A., mathematics, Carleton College, 1966; Ph.D., genetics, Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley, 1973
Professional Experience: visiting professor, University of Chile, Santiago, 1973;
assistant professor, epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Califor-
nia, Berkeley, 1974-1980, associate professor, epidemiology, 1980-1984, profes-
sor, epidemiology, 1984-1996, professor, genetics and molecular biology, 1989-
1996, American Cancer Society Professor, genetics and epidemiology, 1994-
1996; professor, Genome Sciences and Medicine, University of Washington,
1996-
Mary-Claire King is renowned for her research on breast cancer. In 1990, she pre-
dicted the existence of the gene BRCA1 that, if damaged, can predispose women
to breast and ovarian cancer. The next year, she and other researchers discovered
the chromosomal location of a gene that causes a form of inherited deafness, and
578 | King, Mary-Claire
another of her discoveries consists of
the genetic clues to the reason some
men infected with HIV-1 develop
AIDS more rapidly than others. She
began her research on breast cancer
in the 1970s, but made very little
headway until the early 1980s, when
breakthroughs in molecular biology
led to the mapping of more genetic
markers. Her team was very close to
finding the gene BRCA1 when it was
located by a team at the University
of Utah in 1994. Although disap-
pointed, she continued her work on
the location of other genes and on
gene mutations. As a scientist, but
also as a person with a family history
of breast and ovarian cancer, she was
convinced that there was a hereditary
link to breast cancer and continues to
call for the development of new tests to detect the gene.
King has worked with the Human Genome Diversity Project to examine why
some early humans became ill when exposed to viruses or bacteria, while others
did not. This research has been applied to her study of possible genetic reasons
why some homosexual men who have been exposed to HIV develop AIDS, while
others do not. She is the recipient of the Genetics Prize of the Peter Gruber Foun-
dation (2004), the Heineken Prize for Medicine from the Royal Netherlands Acad-
emy of Arts and Sciences (2006), and the Weizmann Women & Science Award
(2006). She has served on various committees of the National Cancer Institute,
Institute of Medicine, Special Commission on Breast Cancer of the President's
Cancer Panel, and National Institutes of Health (NIH). She was considered for
the directorship of the NIH in 1991, but she declined this administrative position
in order to focus on her research. She is a member of the American Society of
Human Genetics and Society for Epidemiologic Research. She was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences in 2005.
Geneticist Mary-Claire King. (Courtesy of Uni-
versity of Washington/UnivPhoto)
Further Resources
University of Washington. Faculty website, http://www.gs.washington.edu/faculty/
king. htm.
Klinman, Judith (Pollock) | 579
Davies, Kevin and Michael White. 1996. Breakthrough: The Race to Find the Breast
Cancer Gene. NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Klinman, Judith (Pollock)
b. 1941
Biochemist, Physical Organic Chemist
Education: B.A., chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 1962, Ph.D., organic
chemistry, 1966
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, Isotope Department, Weizmann
Institute of Science, Israel, 1966-1967; affiliate, chemistry, University College,
London, 1967-1968; postdoctoral research associate, Institute for Cancer
Research, Philadelphia, 1968-1972, assistant to associate member, 1972-1978;
associate professor, chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, 1978-1982,
professor, 1982-, professor, molecular and cell biology, 1993—
Concurrent Positions: assistant professor, medical biophysics, University of
Pennsylvania, 1974-1978
Judith Klinman is renowned for bringing the principles and tools of physical
organic chemistry to bear on biological processes. Her research has led to
important breakthroughs in our understanding of protein function and structure,
including the discovery of new cofactors (or vitamins) and the effect of oxygen
on proteins. She also has been a leading figure in the use of isotope effects to probe
enzymatic-reaction mechanisms and transition states.
After she received her doctorate, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Weizmann
Institute of Science in Israel and then was affiliated with the Department of Chem-
istry at the University College, London. First a postdoctoral associate at the Insti-
tute for Cancer Research in Philadelphia, she was promoted to research associate
and later became an associate member there. Concurrently, she was assistant pro-
fessor of biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania, where she taught and super-
vised graduate students. She joined the University of California, Berkeley in 1978
as an associate professor of chemistry and the first female faculty member in the
physical sciences. She was promoted to full professor in 1982, and has held a joint
appointment as professor of molecular and cell biology since 1993. Klinman is
very active professionally, serving on the editorial board of scientific journals
and giving lectures at universities and scientific organizations internationally.
580 | Knopf, Eleanora Frances Bliss
In 1994, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and awarded the
Repligen Award of the Division of Biological Chemistry of the American Chemi-
cal Society (ACS). She also received the Remsen Award of the ACS, a Merit
Award from the National Institutes of Health (1992), and honorary doctorates from
the University of Uppsala, Sweden (2000) and the University of Pennsylvania
(2006). She has been named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sci-
ences, the Japanese Ministry of Science, and the American Philosophical Society.
She is a member of the American Chemical Society, American Society of Bio-
chemists and Molecular Biologists (president, 1998-1999), and Protein Society.
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
University of California, Berkeley. "Klinman Research Group." http://www.cchem
.berkeley.edu/jukgrp/index.html.
Knopf, Eleanora Frances Bliss
1883 1974
Geologist
Education: A.B., A.M., Bryn Mawr College, 1904; Ph.D., petrology, University
of California, Berkeley, 1912; Johns Hopkins University, 1917-1918
Professional Experience: assistant curator, geology museum, Bryn Mawr
College, 1904-1905, 1908-1909, demonstrator, geology laboratory, 1905-1906;
aide, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 1912-1917, assistant geologist, 1917-1918,
associate geologist, 1918-1928, geologist, 1928-1970
Concurrent Positions: geologist, Maryland Geological Survey, 1917-1920;
research associate, department of earth sciences, Stanford University, 1951-1966
Eleanora Knopf introduced rock fabric analysis and structural petrology in the
United States. She gained recognition for her work after publishing her methods
in the book Structural Petrology (1938). In 1913, Knopf announced her discovery
of the mineral glaucophane in Pennsylvania; this was the first sighting of the sub-
stance east of the Pacific coast. One of her most important projects was at Stissing
Mountain, a region on the New York-Connecticut border. In the course of her
studies for this project, she decided to use structural petrology in analyzing her
data, which led to the publication of her book on the topic.
Kopell, Nancy J. | 581
After she received her undergraduate degree at Bryn Mawr, studying with
Florence Bascom, she continued working at the school in the geology museum
and the geology laboratory. She received her doctorate from the University of
California, Berkeley in 1912, and began working with the USGS, where she spent
her entire career. The USGS hired women geologists on a contract basis, and
Knopf accepted other work at times. She worked for the Maryland Geological Sur-
vey before her marriage, and she had a long-term association with the department
of earth sciences at Stanford from 1951 to 1966, when her husband, Adolph
Knopf, was a faculty member there. While at Stanford, she made studies of several
locations in the Rocky Mountains in Montana and the Spanish peaks in Colorado.
When she lived in New Haven, she was a visiting lecturer at Harvard and Yale, but
she did not have formal appointments.
Knopf wrote a chapter on "The Geologist" for a 1920 guide to Careers for
Women (edited by Catherine Filene). She was elected a fellow of the Geological
Society of America, and was a member of the American Geophysical Union.
Kopell, Nancy J.
b. 1942
Applied Mathematician
Education: B.S., mathematics, Cornell University, 1963; Ph.D., mathematics,
University of California, Berkeley, 1967
Professional Experience: instructor, mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), 1967-1969; faculty, Northeastern University, 1969-1986; pro-
fessor, mathematics, Boston University, 1986-2000, William Goodwin Aurelio
Professor of Mathematics and Science, 2000-
Concurrent Positions: visiting faculty, Centre National de la Recherche Scienti-
fique, France 1970, MIT, 1975, 1976-1977, California Institute of Technology,
1976
Nancy Kopell is one of the few mathematicians working in the field of applied bio-
mathematics. Her research uses mathematical models to analyze biological and
neurophysiological features of neurons, networks of cells that are responsible for
physical and cognitive functions such as motor skills, behaviors, perception, learning,
and sensory processing. She studied math as an undergraduate at Cornell University
at a time when there were few women in the discipline and received her doctorate
in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1967. She taught at
582 | Koshland, Marian Elliott
MIT and Northeastern before joining
the faculty at Boston University in
1986, where she is also co-director of
the Center for BioDynamics.
Kopell was elected to the National
Academy of Sciences in 1996 for her
work in systems neuroscience. She
has held several prestigious grants
and fellowships, including a Guggen-
heim fellowship and a five-year
Mac Arthur "genius grant" (1990-
1995). She has been an invited speaker
and lecturer at numerous professional
organizations and universities, and
was named the John von Neumann
Lecturer by the Society for Industrial
and Applied Mathematics in 2007.
Further Resources
Boston University. Faculty website.
Mathematician, Nancy Kopell. (Courtesy of BU http://cbd.bu.edu/members/nkopell
Photo Services) .html.
Case, Bettye Anne and Anne Leggett, eds.
2005. Complexities: Women in Mathematics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press.
Koshland, Marian Elliott
1921 1997
Immunologist
Education: B.A., Vassar College, 1942; M.S., bacteriology, University of
Chicago, 1943, Ph.D., immunology, 1949
Professional Experience: assistant, cholera project, Office of Scientific Research
and Development, University of Chicago, 1943-1945; assistant, Commission on
Air Borne Diseases, University of Colorado, 1943-1944; junior chemist, atomic
bomb project, Manhattan district, Tennessee, 1945-1946; associate bacteriologist,
Brookhaven National Laboratory, 1953-1962, bacteriologist, 1962-1965; associate
Koshland, Marian Elliott | 583
research immunologist, University of California, Berkeley, 1965-1969, research
immunologist, 1969-1970, professor, bacteriology and immunology, 1970-1997
Concurrent Positions: fellow, bacteriology and immunology, Harvard University,
1949-1951; visiting professor, Cancer Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technol-
ogy, 1980, 1985-1986
Marian Koshland was an immunologist who made important contributions to the
study of disease. She became interested in science as a child after watching a
younger brother suffer from typhoid fever. Koshland (known as "Bunny" to her
family and colleagues) worked her own way through Vassar College and went on
to earn a master's degree from the University of Chicago in 1943. She had
intended to go to medical school, but decided to pursue research while working
at Chicago on a project to develop a cholera vaccine. This project was funded by
the government in an effort to develop vaccines for soldiers serving overseas.
She was also engaged in research to prevent respiratory infections and spent time
at the University of Colorado on a World War II-era government project for the
Commission on Air Borne Diseases. She had a contract assignment as a junior
chemist with the Manhattan Project studying the effects of radiation before finally
receiving her doctorate in immunology in 1949. She spent two years as a postdoc-
toral fellow at Harvard before returning to government work with the Brookhaven
National Laboratory, where her husband, Daniel Koshland, was employed as a
research scientist. When her husband accepted a position in California, she moved
to the University of California, Berkeley as a researcher and then full-time profes-
sor of bacteriology and immunology. She made some of her most important scien-
tific contributions early in her career while working only part-time and raising five
children. She eventually published more than 200 articles.
Koshland was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1981. She was a
member of the governing board of the National Science Foundation from 1976 to
1982 and was selected the R. E. Dyer Lecturer by the National Institutes of Health
in 1988. She served on numerous boards and committees, including the National
Institutes of Health, the National Science Board, and the National Council of the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. She was a member of the
American Association of Immunologists (president, 1982-1983), the Institute of
Medicine, the American Society of Biological Chemists, and the American Academy
of Microbiologists. She was a longtime member of the Board of Trustees for Haver-
ford College in Connecticut, which has named its science research complex — the
Marian E. Koshland Integrated Natural Sciences Center — in her honor. Haverford
awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1995. In 2004, the Marian Koshland Science
Museum of the National Academy of Science was established in Washington, D.C.,
with a gift from her husband.
584 | Kreps, Juanita (Morris)
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Guyer, Ruth Levy. 2007. Marian Elliot Koshland, 1921 1997: A Biographical Memoir.
Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.
Marian Koshland Science Museum, http://www.koshland-science-museum.org.
Kreps, Juanita (Morris)
b. 1921
Economist
Education: B.A., Berea College, 1942; M.A., Duke University, 1944, Ph.D., eco-
nomics, 1948
Professional Experience: instructor, economics, Denison University, 1945-1946,
assistant professor, 1947-1950; lecturer, Hofstra College, 1952-1954, and Queens
College, 1954-1955; visiting assistant professor, economics, Duke University,
1955-1958, assistant to associate professor, 1958-1967, professor, 1967-1977,
director, undergraduate economics studies and Dean of Women's College, 1969-
1972, vice president, Duke University, 1973-1977; Secretary of Commerce, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 1977-1979
Juanita Kreps is an economist focused on women's employment and was the first
woman Secretary of Commerce of the U.S. Department of Commerce. She was
also the first professional economist to hold that cabinet post. Prior to that time,
the Secretaries had supported the interests of business, but she stated that she
would support the interests of the public, including consumers, as well as those
of business. The late 1970s was a period of high unemployment owing to the
restructuring of industries, and corporations were experiencing increased competi-
tion from abroad in industries such as steel and automobiles, traditionally the
strong sectors of U.S. industry. While she was working to revitalize industry, she
was also working to increase social consciousness among businesspeople.
Kreps specialized in labor demographics with particular emphasis on the employ-
ment of women and older workers. In Sex in the Marketplace: American Women at
Work (1971), she explored such questions as why women enter into the same types
of occupations, why their proportion of advanced degrees remains so low, and why
so many exchange the monotony of housework for equally dull and low-paying
office and factory jobs. Another book, Sex, Age, and Work: The Changing Composi-
tion of the Labor Force (1975), explored the effect of women's increased presence in
Krim, Mathilde (Galland) | 585
the workplace. In 1975, she organized
a conference called "Women and the
American Economy" that produced a
statement endorsing the Equal Rights
Amendment, recommending stronger
affirmative action programs at univer-
sities, and urging public education for
preschool children.
Kreps was born in a coal-mining
region of Kentucky and grew up during
the Great Depression. She worked her
way through college on a work-study
program. She decided to major in eco-
nomics after her first class in the sub-
ject because it seemed especially
relevant to her situation. As a highly
respected economist, Kreps attracted
attention from leading corporations
that were under pressure in the early
1970s to add women to their boards
of directors. She was named to the
board of the New York Stock Exchange
plus the boards of several companies such as Western Electric and Eastman Kodak.
After she completed her term as Secretary of the Department of Commerce, she con-
tinued to write and lecture, and she served on many committees and commissions.
She is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and of the American Acad-
emy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the American Economic Association.
Economist Juanita Kreps served as Secretary
of Commerce under President Jimmy Carter
from 1 977 to 1 979. (Department of Commerce)
Krim, Mathilde (Galland)
b. 1 926
Geneticist, Virologist
Education: B.S., genetics, University of Geneva, Switzerland, 1948, Ph.D.,
cytogenetics, 1953
Professional Experience: junior scientist and research associate, Weizmann Insti-
tute, Israel, 1953-1959; research associate, virology, Division of Virus Research,
Cornell University Medical College, 1959-1962; associate, Sloan-Kettering Insti-
tute of Cancer Research, 1962-1975, associate and member, 1975-1986; associate
586 | Krim, Mathilde (Galland)
research scientist, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center and College of Physicians
and Surgeons, New York City, 1986—
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, public health and management,
Columbia University; founder and co-chair, American Foundation for AIDS
Research (amfAR), 1985, chair, 1990-2004
Mathilde Krim is a distinguished geneticist and virologist who, since the 1980s, has
devoted her time to raising funds for AIDS research. While working at the Sloan-
Kettering Institute for Cancer Research on cancer viruses, she became intrigued with
the possibility that the protein interferon, which is produced naturally by almost all
animal species and even some plants, might inhibit tumors and modify some proper-
ties of the immune system in animals. She felt this would be a significant area of
research, particularly in 1974, when a Swedish physician announced some success
with interferon's stopping the recurrence of highly malignant bone cancer in a num-
ber of patients. She pressed Sloan-Kettering to establish an interferon laboratory
and also sought funding from the
National Institutes of Health and
the National Cancer Institute. When
the results of the Swedish tests were
discredited, there was great contro-
versy over the efficacy of interferon,
which was very expensive as a natural
substance. After a researcher cloned
the interferon gene, it was possible to
produce interferon in large quantities,
and Krim was then appointed as
head of Sloan-Kettering's interferon
evaluation program; the Institute won
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approval to use interferon to treat
certain types of leukemia.
Krim initially became involved in
AIDS research through studies of the
effectiveness of interferon in treating
Kaposi's sarcoma, a cancer that
afflicts many AIDS patients. She
realized that the funding for AIDS
research was inadequate, and in 1983,
she founded the AIDS Medical Foun-
dation, later merged with another
Mathilde Krim at a benefit for amfAR,
the American Foundation for AIDS
Research, in New York, 2007. (AP/Wide
World Photos)
Krueger, Anne (Osborn) | 587
group to form the American Foundation for AIDS Research; amfAR is now the larg-
est nonprofit AIDS research organization, funding all areas including gene therapy,
prevention, drug treatments, and public -policy initiatives. Krim was able to unite the
scientific and entertainment communities through her husband, the founder of Orion
Pictures, and celebrity spokespersons such as actress Elizabeth Taylor helped raise
public awareness about AIDS and the efforts of amfAR. In recent years, Krim has
also focused on another health threat, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB),
which is a serious problem among people who are HIV-positive as well as the home-
less, people in prison, and the poor.
Krim has been a member of the Committee of 100 for National Health Insurance
and president of the Commission to Study Ethical Problems in Medical, Biomedical,
and Behavioral Research. She is a member of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, American Cancer Society, and American Association on
Mental Deficiency. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000 by
President Clinton in recognition of her "extraordinary compassion and commitment."
Further Resources
amfAR Aids Research, http://www.amfar.org.
Krueger, Anne (Osborn)
b. 1934
Economist
Education: B.A., economics, Oberlin College, 1953; M.S., University of Wisconsin,
1956, Ph.D., economics, 1958
Professional Experience: instructor, economics, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, 1958-1959; assistant to associate professor, economics, University of
Minnesota, 1959-1966, professor, 1966-1982; vice president, economics and
research, World Bank, Washington, D.C., 1982-1986; professor, economics, Duke
University, 1987-1993; professor, economics, Stanford University, 1993-2001;
First Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, 2001-2006; pro-
fessor, international economics, Johns Hopkins University, 2007-
Anne Krueger is an economist with expertise in international trade and economic
development. She has been involved in developing international economic policy
as a vice president and consultant for the World Bank and director of the
International Monetary Fund from 2001 to 2006. She has been a longtime member
or consultant on a variety of government and academic councils, including the
588 | Kiibler-Ross, Elisabeth
National Bureau of Economic Research, Institute for Global Economics, and
Center for Policy Studies. While a professor of economics at Stanford, she was
also director of the Center for Research on Economic Development and Policy
Reform. She has authored, co-authored, or edited more than 15 books on trade,
development, economic change, developing countries, exchange rates, and eco-
nomic aid. The National Bureau of Economic Research sponsored her three-
volume Trade and Employment in Developing Countries (1983; 2nd ed., 1988),
and her other books include Political Economy of Policy Reform in Developing
Countries (1994), American Trade Policy: A Tragedy in the Making (1995), The
World Trade Organization as an International Organization (2000), Transforming
India 's Economic, Financial and Fiscal Policies (co-author, 2003), Latin American
Macroeconomic Reform: The Second Stage (co-author, 2003), and Economic
Policy Reform and the Indian Economy (2003).
Krueger was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1995. Due to her international reputation, she has received honorary doctorates from
Hacettepe University in Turkey (1990), Georgetown University (1993), Monash
University in Melbourne, Australia (1996), and Chinese University of Hong Kong
(2003). Among the other honors she has received are the Robertson Prize of the
National Academy of Sciences (1984), Bernhard-Harms Prize of the Kiel Institute
of World Economics (1990), Kenan Enterprise Award of the Kenan Charitable Trust
(1990), and Frank E. Seidman Distinguished Award in Political Economy (1993).
She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Econometric
Society, and a member of the American Economic Association (vice president,
1977-1978; president, 1996) and the Royal Economic Society.
Further Resources
Johns Hopkins University. Faculty website, http://www.sais-jhu.edu/faculty/krueger/
index.htm.
Kiibler-Ross, Elisabeth
1926 2004
Psychiatrist
Education: M.D., University of Zurich, 1957
Professional Experience: intern, Community Hospital, Glen Cove, New York,
1958-1959; research fellow, Manhattan State Hospital, 1959-1962; fellow, psy-
chiatry, Psychopathic Hospital, University of Colorado Medical School, 1962-
1963, instructor, psychiatry, Colorado General Hospital, 1962-1965; assistant
Kiibler-Ross, Elisabeth | 589
professor, psychiatry, Billings Hospital, University of Chicago, 1965-1970, assis-
tant director, Psychiatric Consultation and Liaison Service, 1965-1969,
acting chief, Psychiatric Inpatient Service, 1965-1966, associate chief, Psychiatric
Inpatient Service, 1966-1967; medical director, Family Service and Mental
Health Center, South Cook County, Illinois, 1970-1973; president, Ross Medical
Associates, 1973-1976; president and chair of the board, Shanti Nilaya Growth
and Health Center, Escondido, California, 1977-1995; founder and president,
Elisabeth Kiibler-Ross Center, Virginia, 1990-1995
Concurrent Positions: resident, Montefiora Hospital, 1961-1962; staff member,
LaRabida Children's Hospital and Research Center, Chicago, 1965-1970; clinical
professor, Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Virginia, 1985
Elisabeth Kiibler-Ross was a psychiatrist who challenged the taboos surrounding
death in our culture. She pioneered a new field of healthcare, "thanatology," the
study of the effects of death and dying, especially the investigation of ways to lessen
the suffering and address the needs of the terminally ill and their survivors. While
teaching psychiatry courses in the 1960s, Kiibler-Ross ran a series of conversations
with the terminally ill in order to assess their feelings about the process of dying.
She pointed out that treatment of the dying had changed over time, from taking
place at home in the comforting presence of family and friends to occurring in
impersonal institutional settings where death is seen as a failure of the technological
expertise of physicians, who wish to prolong life. In her landmark book, On Death
and Dying (1969), she identified the five stages that dying patients experience —
denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance — and her work paved the
way for the more humane treatment of the terminally ill by medical personnel. Hos-
pice care was established as an alternative to dying in hospitals, and more emphasis
was put on the emotional needs of patients and their families. The rights of termi-
nally ill patients, however, have been the topic of much debate in recent years
around the issue of assisted suicide.
After Life magazine published an article about her work, Kiibler-Ross gained
public attention and began receiving invitations to speak at seminars throughout
the United States and Canada. She also continued to see patients and their families
in her regular practice. Her book AIDS: The Ultimate Challenge (1987) was written
for those suffering from the disease and focused on the medical, moral, and social
implications of AIDS. She was committed to working with the patients directly
and, in 1977, she created a center for the terminally ill and their families called
"Shanti Nilaya" (Home of Peace) in Escondido, California, which continues her
work to this day. She also operated the Elisabeth Kiibler-Ross Center in Virginia
to train those working professionally with the terminally ill, and co-founded the
American Holistic Medical Association.
590 | Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf, Doris
She received numerous honorary degrees and was a member of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, American Holistic Medical Associ-
ation, American Medical Women's Association, American Psychiatric Associa-
tion, and American Psychosomatic Society. She published numerous books,
including her autobiography, The Wheel of Life: A Memoir of Living and Dying
(1997), in which she claimed she had out-of-body experiences, meetings with
spirit guides, and visions of fairies. An earlier biography was published by Derek
Gill entitled Quest: The Life of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1980).
Further Resources
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. http://www.elisabethkublerross.com/.
Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf, Doris
b. 1922
Physicist, Metallurgist
Education: B.S., materials science, University of Gottingen, 1944, M.S., physics,
1946, Ph.D., materials science, 1947
Professional Experience: fellow, materials science, University of Gottingen,
1947-1948; fellow, physics, Bristol University, England, 1949-1950; lecturer,
physics, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 1950-1956; associate pro-
fessor, metallurgy, University of Pennsylvania, 1957-1961, professor, 1962-
1963; professor, engineering physics, University of Virginia, 1963-1966, profes-
sor, physics and metallurgical science, 1966-2005
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, physics, Pretoria University, 1982-1983
Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf is a metallurgist and materials scientist renowned for
her design for electrical metalfiber brushes to be used as sliding electrical contacts.
She holds patents on six inventions related to the electrical brushes. The brushes
have application in electric motors that could replace the heavier and less efficient
diesel engines. Her area of expertise is called tribology, which is the study of the
effects of friction on moving machine parts and of methods of lubrication. Another
of her contributions is the development of a model for surface deformation, which
takes into account erosion as well as friction and wear. She has also investigated
the behavior and properties of various metals, such as studying why rolled alumi-
num sheets crinkle under pressure, while other sheet metals break.
Prior to entering college in Germany, she served as an apprentice metallographer
and materials tester for two years. After receiving her doctorate from Gottingen,
Kurtzig, Sandra L. (Brody) | 59 1
she continued her research and studied under Nobel Laureate Nevill F. Mott. She
and her husband, Heinz G. F. Wilsdorf, came to the United States and eventually
both received appointments at the University of Virginia as professors in the Phys-
ics and Materials Science Departments. In 1994, the Wilsdorf s funded a professor-
ship in their name, and in 2001, a gift from one of Doris Kuhlmann- Wilsdorf 's
former students established a memorial building on campus in their name.
Kuhlmann- Wilsdorf has published over 250 scientific papers and has served as
a consultant to corporations such as General Motors Technical Center, Chem-
strand Research Laboratories, and General Dynamics Corporation, as well as for
the National Institute for Standards and Technology. She was elected to member-
ship in the National Academy of Engineering in 1994. She has received numerous
honors and awards, including the Society of Women Engineers Achievement
Award (1989), Ragnar Helm Scientific Achievement Award of the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (1991), Medal for Excellence in Research
of the American Society of Engineering Education (1965 and 1966), and Heyn
Medal of the German Society of Materials Science (1988), and was named Chris-
topher J. Henderson Inventor of the Year by the University of Virginia Patent
Foundation in 2001 and 2006 Fellow of TMS-AIME (the Minerals, Metals, and
Materials Society and the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petro-
leum Engineers). She is also a fellow of the American Society for Metals and the
American Physical Society, and a member of the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers and Society of Women Engineers.
Kurtzig, Sandra L. (Brody)
b. 1946
Computer Scientist, Aeronautical Engineer
Education: B.S., chemistry and mathematics, University of California, Los
Angeles, 1968; M.S., aerospace engineering, Stanford University, 1968
Professional Experience: mathematical analyst, TRW Systems, 1967-1968; mar-
keting representative, General Electric Corporation, 1969-1972; president and
CEO, ASK Computer Systems, 1972-1993; co-founder, eBenefits, 1996-
Sandra Kurtzig is a computer pioneer who founded ASK Computer Systems in
1972, the largest public company founded by a woman and one of the biggest suc-
cess stories of the 1970s minicomputer boom. The company's integrated software
products for manufacturers, primarily its MANMAN Information System, are
industry standards and are available as turnkey solutions for minicomputers,
592 | Kwolek, Stephanie Louise
particularly those manufactured by Digital Equipment and Hewlett-Packard. In the
1990s, Kurtzig expanded the product line by developing portable applications soft-
ware to run on multiple computer platforms and adapted the software to specific
niche markets, such as the automotive industry. Kurtzig was a young mother when
she started ASK out of her apartment with only a $2,000 investment. The name of
the company was derived from her and her husband's initials — Arie and Sandra
Kurtzig. She started developing innovative programs for businesses, such as one
for a newspaper company to monitor its carriers, and later created minicomputer
programs and information systems to help manufacturers optimize inventory,
improve product quality, reduce operating expenses, and improve customer ser-
vice. She had the foresight to design software to run on minicomputers when they
were just starting to become popular.
In 1994, her company was purchased by Computer Associates International for
$310 million. She has since formed an online business software consulting firm
with her son. Kurtzig's autobiography, CEO: Building a $400 Million Company
from the Ground Up (1991), describes her experiences starting and running a suc-
cessful business in a male-dominated field. She was one of only a few women
studying math and aeronautical engineering in college, and she has rarely encoun-
tered other women in manufacturing companies or in upper management.
Kwolek, Stephanie Louise
b. 1923
Polymer Chemist
Education: B.S., chemistry, Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1946
Professional Experience: chemist, Fibers Department, Experimental Station, E. I.
Du Pont de Nemours and Company, 1946-1959, research chemist, 1959-1967,
senior research chemist, 1967-1974, research associate, 1974-1986; consultant,
E. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company, 1986—
Stephanie Kwolek invented a polymer that is manufactured by Du Pont under the
trade name Kevlar. After graduating from college, she took what was supposed
to be a temporary job at Du Pont while saving money to attend medical school.
Her work was so interesting, however, that she stayed on with the company and
became involved in the research that led to the discovery of low-temperature
polymerization. She gained national attention in 1960 for her work creating long
molecule chains at low temperatures and her discovery of the method to spin syn-
thetic, petroleum-derived fibers in a liquid crystalline solution. The compound had
Kwolek, Stephanie Louise | 593
such high tensile strength that she ran the tests again and again to make sure she
had not made an error before reporting her discovery to the laboratory director.
The resulting product, Kevlar, eventually led to a multimillion-dollar industry with
more than 200 commercial applications, including use in radial tire cords, compo-
sites, rope, thermal insulating clothing, and bulletproof vests. At the time of her
retirement, Kwolek owned 17 U.S. patents.
The use of Kevlar in bulletproof vests has earned Kwolek many fans and acco-
lades. More than 2,000 police officers whose lives were saved due to wearing Kev-
lar vests formed a Survivors Club, a joint venture between Du Pont and the
International Chiefs of Police Association. Kwolek is regularly contacted by indi-
viduals thanking her and even asking for an autograph. Even after her retirement,
Kwolek continues to consult with Du Pont, as well as to give public and school
lectures about careers in science. In 1996, she was featured along with other Du
Pont employees in a series of print and television ads describing the company's
research.
Kwolek was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2001 for "the
discovery, development, and liquid-crystal processing of high-performance aramid
fibers." She won an early publication prize from the American Chemical Society
(1959), and has also received the Creative Invention Award of the ACS (1980)
and the Perkin Medal of the Society of Chemical Industry (1997), only the second
woman to receive that prize. She was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of
Fame (1995) and the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame
(1996), and has received the nation's highest technology honor, the National Medal
of Technology (1996). She has received honorary doctorates from Worcester Poly-
technic Institute (1981) and from the University of Delaware (2008). She is a
member of the American Chemical Society and American Institute of Chemists.
L
LaBastille, Anne
b. 1938
Ecologist
Education: B.S., conservation, Cornell University, 1955; M.S., wildlife
management, Colorado State University, 1958; Ph.D., wildlife ecology, Cornell
University, 1969
Professional Experience: wildlife tour leader, National Audubon Society, Palm
Beach, Florida, 1955-1956; organizer and co-leader, Caribbean Wildlife Tours,
Miami, Florida, 1956-1963; owner, co-manager, and naturalist, Covewood Lodge,
Big Moose, New York, 1956-1964; ranger-naturalist, Everglades National Park,
Florida, 1964; assistant professor, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell
University, 1969-1971, research associate, Laboratory of Ornithology, 1971-1973;
freelance wildlife ecologist, consultant, writer, and photographer, 1971-
Concurrent Positions: commissioner, Adirondack Parks Agency, 1976-1993;
visiting lecturer and Basler Chair of Excellence for the Integration of the Arts,
Rhetoric and Science, East Tennessee State University, 2001; owner, West of the
Wind Publications, Eagle Bay, New York
Anne LaBastille is an ecologist who has fulfilled a variety of roles in support of
wilderness conservation. She has done extensive work on preserving the wildlife
habitat of several species of birds, including a project with a flightless bird known
as the giant pied-billed grebe that was found at only one large lake in Guatemala.
There was little known about this water bird until she began the first systematic
study of its characteristics, and no photographs or drawings of it had ever been
made. She established a sanctuary for the birds and monitored the population,
obtaining grants from the World Wildlife Fund and the Smithsonian Institution
to support her work. She persuaded the Guatemalan government to designate the
grebe's habitat as the country's first wildlife refuge, but even so, the population
dwindled. She published two early books on the folklore of birds, Birds of the
Mayas (1964) and Bird Kingdom of the Mayas (1967). The local people called
her "Mama Poc," based on the Indian name for the grebe, and she recorded her
experiences in her book Mama Poc: Story of the Extinction of a Species (1990).
595
596 | LaBastille, Anne
After receiving her undergraduate
degree from Cornell University,
LaBastille spent her summers con-
ducting wildlife tours in Florida and
winters operating a lodge in upstate
New York while working on her
master's degree at Colorado State
University. She returned to Cornell
to obtain her doctorate and worked
as a research associate in the inter-
nationally known Laboratory of
Ornithology at Cornell while she
started working freelance as a wild-
life ecologist, writer, and photogra-
pher for organizations such as
National Geographic. She has lived
alone in two cabins she built in the
upstate forestland of New York and
is best known for her four-part auto-
biographical series describing her
life among the plant and animal life
in the Adirondacks: Woodswoman
(1976), Woodswoman II (1987),
Woodswoman III (1997), and Woods-
woman IV (2003). Her book, The Wilderness World of Anne LaBastille (1993),
consists of selections from never-before-published poems and short stories as
well as color photographs. In Women and Wilderness (1980), she examines the
historical role of other women living and studying in wilderness, including sci-
entists such as Eugenie Clark, Jane Goodall, and others employed as park rang-
ers, marine and wildlife biologists, professional environmentalists, or naturalists.
LaBastille's writings and activism have earned her the devotion of fans, both
local and international. She has been a wilderness guide as well as an invited lec-
turer at universities and conservation groups. Her many awards and honors include
a World Wildlife Fund Gold Medal (1974), Literature Award of the New York
State Outdoor Education Association (1977), Citation of Merit from the Explorers
Club (1987), Chevron Conservation Award (1988), Jade Chief's Award of the Out-
doors Writer Association of America, and research grants from the International
Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Caribbean Research
Institute, World Wildlife Fund, Smithsonian Institution, and other agencies. She
has been a member of the Society of Women Geographers, American Women in
Ecologist Anne LaBastille has written
numerous books and articles on wildlife and
wilderness conservation. (AP/Wide World
Photos)
Ladd-Franklin, Christine | 597
Science, Association for Tropical Biology, Wildlife Society, Outdoor Women
Writers of America, and Explorer's Club.
Further Resources
Holmes, Madelyn. 2004. American Women Conservationists: Twelve Profiles. Jefferson,
NC: McFarland.
Ladd-Franklin, Christine
1847 1930
Psychologist
Education: A.B., mathematics, Vassar College, 1869; Ph.D., mathematics, Johns
Hopkins University, 1926; University of Gottingen, 1891-1892; University of
Berlin, 1892, 1894, 1901
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1869-1878; lecturer, psychology
and logic, Johns Hopkins University, 1904-1909; lecturer, psychology and logic,
Columbia University, 1914-1927
Christine Ladd-Franklin was one of the foremost women psychologists of the early
twentieth century. Her research interests included color vision, deductive reason-
ing, the doctrine of histurgy, the one-time one-place theory of judgment, and proof
that a nerve when stimulated emits physical light. Although she published papers
on symbolic logic, her primary contribution to the history of psychology is her
emphasis on the evolutionary development of increased differentiation in color
vision, known as the Ladd-Franklin color theory. She published a compilation of
her papers in Colour and Colour Theories (1929) and was invited to contribute
an appendix to the English translation of Hermann von Helmholtz's classic Hand-
book of Physiological Optics (1924).
Ladd-Franklin studied mathematics at Vassar because there were no laboratory
facilities available for study in physics. After she graduated in 1869, she taught
high school science for 10 years, during which time she published articles on
mathematics in the British journal Educational Times and the American journal
Analyst. Originally denied admission to graduate study due to her sex, she was
eventually admitted to Johns Hopkins University on a fellowship due to the recom-
mendation of a mathematics professor who had read her papers. Although she
fulfilled the requirements for a Ph.D. by 1882 with a thesis on "The Algebra of
Logic," the trustees refused to grant the degree to a woman, as was the custom at
that time; she finally received the degree in 1926. Still, even without the formal
598 | Laird, Elizabeth Rebecca
degree, she held a lectureship in logic
and psychology at Johns Hopkins
from 1904 to 1909. In 1882, she mar-
ried Fabian Franklin, a member of the
mathematics department, and the
couple moved to New York City in
1910 when he was appointed to an
associate newspaper editor position.
She spent the remainder of her career
lecturing on logic and psychology at
Columbia University.
Ladd-Franklin was a strong sup-
porter of higher education, and she
was instrumental in establishing
research fellowships and even giving
her money directly to women scientists
who needed funds for research or
travel. She published newspaper
articles and editorials on women's
education and status. Vassar College
awarded her an honorary degree in
1887. She was a member of the Ameri-
can Association for the Advancement
of Science, the American Society of Naturalists, the American Psychological Associ-
ation, the Optical Society of America, and the American Philosophical Association.
Psychologist and mathematician Christine
Ladd-Franklin. (National Library of Medicine)
Further Resources
Scarborough, Elizabeth and Laurel Furumoto. 1987. Untold Lives: The First Generation of
American Women Psychologists. New York: Columbia University Press.
Laird, Elizabeth Rebecca
1874 1969
Physicist
Education: B.A., University of Toronto, 1896; Ph.D., physics and mathematics,
Bryn Mawr, 1901
Professional Experience: instructor, mathematics, Ontario Ladies' College,
1896-1897; assistant, physics, Mount Holyoke College, 1901-1902, instructor,
La Monte, Francesca Raimond | 599
1902-1903, acting head, 1903-1904, professor, 1904-1940; physicist, radar
development, University ofWestern Ontario, 1941-1945, honorary professor of
physics, 1945-1953
Concurrent Positions: Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University, 1909;
physics laboratory, University of Chicago, 1919; honorary research fellow, Yale
University, 1925
Elizabeth Laird was regarded as a notable physicist who spent most of her career
teaching at Mount Holyoke College. Her research interests included spectroscopy,
thermal conductivity, spark radiation, soft x-rays, the Raman effect, and electrical
properties of biological material in the microwave region.
A native of Canada, she received her undergraduate degree at the University of
Toronto, where she was awarded honors and fellowships in mathematics and phys-
ics. Denied a scholarship reserved for men to continue their graduate studies, she
instead taught math for two years at an Ontario women's college before applying
for admission at Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania. For her research, she received a phys-
ics fellowship to work at the University of Berlin and received the doctorate in phys-
ics and mathematics from Bryn Mawr in 1901. She immediately joined the faculty of
Mount Holyoke College, advancing very quickly in three years from instructor to
professor. She stayed at Mount Holyoke for 40 years, training an entire generation
of young women in the sciences. During World War II, she returned to Canada,
where she spent four years as a physicist in radar development at the University of
Western Ontario and also taught radio techniques for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Even after she officially retired, she continued her research on microwave radiation
until at least 1953 as an honorary professor. She received honorary degrees from the
University of Toronto (1927) and the University ofWestern Ontario (1954).
Laird was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society and was a member
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Optical Society
of America, the American Association of Physics Teachers, the Canadian Associa-
tion of Physicists, and the History of Science Society. She received several awards
and honors. She received the American Association of University Women Sarah
Berliner Research fellowship for study at the University of Wurzburg (1913-1914).
La Monte, Francesca Raimond
1895 1982
Ichthyologist
Education: B.A. and certificate of music, Wellesley College, 1918
600 | La Monte, Francesca Raimond
Professional Experience: secretary, Department of Ichthyology, American
Museum of Natural History, 1919-1923, 1925-1928, staff assistant, Department
of Fishes and Aquatic Biology, 1928-1929, assistant curator, 1929-1935, associate
curator, 1935-1962
Francesca La Monte was recognized for her work as an ichthyologist at the
American Museum of Natural History. Her primary interests were marlin and
swordfish (she participated in big-game fishing as a hobby), and she developed
exhibits at the museum on these and other species. Soon after receiving her
undergraduate degree from Wellesley, she joined the museum and she rose
through the ranks to become associate, curator, retiring in 1962. It was not
unusual for a woman to be appointed curator of a museum. In the nineteenth cen-
tury, many women worked with fathers, husbands, or brothers as underpaid or
unpaid staff in museums, arboreta, and herbaria; these positions sometimes
evolved into paid professional jobs. La Monte was a specialist in taxonomic ich-
thyology and a valued member of the staff at the American Museum of Natural
History. She was a member of the museum's Lerner-Cape Breton expeditions
of 1936 and 1938, the Lerner-Bimini expedition of 1937, and the Chile-Peru
expedition of 1940. She was a member of the fisheries committee for the
1939-1940 World's Fair in New York City. At the museum, she worked on the
Bibliography of Fishes and, having grown up in Russia and England and also
having spent time in France, Italy, and Germany as a child, she was able to trans-
late numerous documents for the American bibliography as well as articles for an
English-speaking audience. She was the museum's delegate to the International
Zoological Congress in Padua, Italy in 1930, one of only five representatives
from U.S. institutions.
La Monte was co-editor of Field Book of Fresh Water Fishes of North America
(1938), Game Fish of the World (1949), and The Fisherman's Encyclopedia
(1950). She was co-author of Vanishing Wilderness (1934) and author of North
American Game Fishes (1945), Marine Game Fishes of the World (1952), and
Giant Fishes of the Ocean (1966). She was elected a fellow of the New York Acad-
emy of Sciences. Her other professional memberships included the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Ichthyolo-
gists and Herpetologists, and the Society of Systematic Zoology.
Further Resources
Brown, Patricia Stocking. 1994. "Early Women Ichthyologists." Environmental Biology of
Fishes. 41:9 30. http://swfsc.noaa.gov/uploadedFiles/Education/Women%20in%20
Ichthyology.pdf.
Lancaster, Cleo | 601
Lancaster, Cleo
b. 1948
Physiologist
Education: B.S., Elizabeth City State University, 1971; M.S., biomedical science,
Western Michigan University, 1979
Professional Experience: research assistant, Brookhaven National Laboratory,
1971; research associate, Upjohn Company, 1971-1989, senior research associate,
pharmacology, 1989—
Cleo Lancaster is a pioneer in biological research leading to new ulcer therapies
and an expert in the field of prostaglandin cytoprotection, which is the cellular
protection of the gastric lining by the use of hormonelike fatty acids. At Upjohn
Company (later acquired by Pfizer), she has developed experimental models of
such gastrointestinal diseases as ulcers, diarrhea, pancreatitis, and colitis in order
to discover natural or synthetic chemicals to treat such conditions. In the early
1970s, she studied the ulcer-causing effects of nicotine and linked smoking to duo-
denal ulcers in humans. She has examined the effects of ibuprofen, aspirin, and
alcohol as irritants to the gastrointestinal tract, and she has also examined a steroid
used in organ transplant patients that causes ulcers. Her research revealed that
fatty acids known as prostaglandins can be used to inhibit gastric acid secretion
by stimulating mucus/bicarbonate production and increasing the cell resistance
of the stomach lining, thus preventing ulcers. She holds two patents: one for a
treatment of pancreatitis and the second for treating ulcers with oxalate deriva-
tives. She also contributed to developing surgical techniques for the research of
gastric secretion.
Lancaster grew up on a farm learning about anatomy and veterinary science
from working with animals. She originally planned to be a biology teacher, but
in her third year of college, she decided on a career in research because she
wanted the challenge of discovery. She worked as a research assistant in radia-
tion genetics the summer after she received her undergraduate degree, and she
joined the Upjohn Company in the fall as a research associate in gastrointestinal,
or ulcer, research. She received her master's degree in biomedical science from
Western Michigan University while working for Upjohn. She received the Labo-
ratory Special Recognition Award of the Upjohn Company and the Mary
McLeod Bethune Award for Science and Technology. She is a member of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science and the New York Academy
of Sciences.
602 | Lancefield, Rebecca Craighill
Lancefield, Rebecca Craighi
1895 1981
Bacteriologist
Education: A.B., Wellesley College, 1916; A.M., Columbia University, 1918,
Ph.D., immunology and bacteriology, 1925
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1917; technical assistant, Rockefeller
Institute, 1918-1919; department of genetics, Carnegie Institution, 1919-1921;
instructor, bacteriology, University of Oregon, 1921-1922; technical assistant,
Rockefeller Institute, 1922-1929, associate, 1929-1958, professor, microbiology,
1958-1965
Rebecca Lancefield was recognized among microbiologists as the outstanding
authority on streptococci. Her research was in immunochemical studies of strepto-
cocci, and the chemical composition and antigenic structure of hemolytic strepto-
cocci. Both national and international organizations devoted to streptococcal
problems have renamed their groups the Lancefield Society in her honor. While
she was attending Wellesley College, she became interested in the biology course
her roommate was taking, and she switched her major from French and English to
biology. She was able to receive a scholarship offered specifically for daughters of
Army and Navy officers to attend Columbia University. Lancefield obtained a
position as a technical assistant at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research,
working on streptococci. The group identified four distinct serological types that
served to classify 70% of the 125 strains studied; her name was included as a co-
author of the paper reporting this work, a distinct honor so early in her career.
After teaching for a year at the University of Oregon, she and her husband
returned to Rockefeller, where Lancefield remained the rest of her career. She
worked with rheumatic fever research and received her doctorate in 1925. She
returned to her studies of hemolytic streptococci, in which she provided a basis
for understanding the clinical and epidemiological patterns of disease caused by
these organisms. The research at that time was concentrated on puerperal fever,
wound infections, and pneumonia that followed measles or influenza. Later
research involved scarlet fever and rheumatic fever. In the mid- 1920s, she suc-
ceeded in obtaining two antigens in soluble form from hemolytic streptococci,
one that was type-specific and one that was species-specific. She continued her
research on streptococci until a few months before her death in 1981.
Lancefield was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1970.
Among the other honors and awards she received were the Jones Memorial Award
of the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation (1960), the Research Achievement Award
of the American Heart Association (1964), and the Medal of the New York
Leacock, Eleanor (Burke) | 603
Academy of Medicine (1973). As further recognition within the field, she was
elected president of the American Society for Microbiology in 1943, the second
woman to be elected president of the organization, and served as the first woman
president of the American Association of Immunologists in 1961 and 1962. She
also was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and the Harvey Society. She received honorary degrees from the Rockefeller Insti-
tute (1973), and from Wellesley College (1976) on the sixtieth anniversary of her
graduation.
Leacock, Eleanor (Burke)
1922 1987
Cultural Anthropologist
Education: student, Radcliffe College, 1939-1942; B.A., Barnard College, 1944;
M.A., Columbia University, 1946, Ph.D., anthropology, 1952
Professional Experience: research assistant, psychiatry, Cornell University Medi-
cal College, 1952-1955; lecturer, anthropology and sociology, Queens College,
1955-1956; special consultant, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare, 1957-1958; co-director of research, suburban interracial housing, Teaneck,
New Jersey, 1958-1960; senior research associate, schools and mental health
project, Bank Street College of Education, 1958-1965; lecturer, history and eco-
nomics, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, 1962-1963, associate professor to
professor, anthropology, 1963-1972; professor, anthropology, City College of
New York, 1972-1987
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, City College of New York, 1956-1960, 1966-
1967, and Washington Square College, 1960-1961
Eleanor Leacock was a prominent cultural anthropologist known for her studies of
the changing social and gender relations among the natives of Labrador, her
reevaluations of the work of the Marxist Friedrich Engels, her contributions to
feminist theory, and her analyses of racism in American education. When she
accompanied her first husband, a filmmaker, to Europe in 1948, she began archival
research on changes in the social organization of an Indian people in Labrador, the
Montagnais-Naskapi (Innu), following the introduction of the fur trade. The next
year, she started her field research in Labrador, and her research changed the pre-
vailing interpretation of private property in hunter-gatherer societies. She found
that although the rights to trap in given places were privatized, the rights to gather,
fish, or hunt for food were still communal. It had been thought that these societies
604 | Leavitt, Henrietta Swan
were patriarchal, but she found that there was flexibility in the relations between
women and men. She recorded stories that the residents told her, typed them,
and presented them to the tribes.
Leacock was exposed to radical social theories early in life, for her father was a
literary critic and social philosopher whose social circle included artists, political
radicals, and writers in Greenwich Village. As a college student, she was active
in student radical groups, and when she applied for a job in Washington, D.C., in
1944, the Federal Bureau of Investigation denied her clearance. She held various
research and teaching positions before becoming a professor of anthropology
and achieved recognition for her work on anthropology and education, on class
and culture in urban schools, and on reevaluating the work of early Marxists. She
published more than 70 papers and books before dying unexpectedly in Honolulu
in 1987 after suffering a stroke in Western Samoa, where she was conducting field-
work. She was a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and the
Society for Applied Anthropology, and a member of the American Ethnological
Society.
Further Resources
Gacs, Ute et al. 1988. Women Anthropologists: Selected Biographies. Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press.
Leavitt, Henrietta Swan
1868 1921
Astronomer
Education: Oberlin College, 1885-1886; A.B., Radcliffe College, 1892
Professional Experience: volunteer research assistant, Harvard College Observa-
tory, 1895-1900, staff member, 1902-1921
Henrietta Leavitt discovered the period-luminosity law, that is, the relation
between a star's magnitude and its period of luminosity. This work involved deter-
mining the magnitude (brightness) of a star from a photographic image. At the turn
of the century, visual photometry was superseded by photographic methods
because the photographic plate is more sensitive to light of certain wavelengths
than is the human eye. Another of her contributions to astronomy was the discov-
ery of 2,400 variable stars, about half of the total known at the time. Her most
important scientific contribution resulted from her study of the Cepheid variable
stars in the Magellanic Clouds. She also studied color indices, which is the
Ledley, Tamara (Shapiro) | 605
difference in magnitude of a star depending on the color-sensitivity of photo-
graphic plates.
Born in Massachusetts, she began her college studies in music at Oberlin
College in Ohio. She moved to Radcliffe College in 1888, where she earned a bache-
lor's degree in 1892. She took a course in astronomy during her senior year and
another after graduation. She returned to Harvard College Observatory as a volun-
teer research assistant in 1895 and was appointed to the permanent staff in 1902.
She was assigned by the director of the Harvard College Observatory to develop
photographic measurements that were eventually accepted among the astronomers
of the world and became known as the Harvard Revised Magnitude Scale, or Har-
vard Standard. Leavitt soon became head of the department of photographic stellar
photometry at the Observatory, although much of her work was published in reports
under the name of the Observatory Director at the time, Edward C. Pickering.
Although she never received the recognition as some other female astronomers
of her generation, such as Annie Jump Cannon, Leavitt certainly deserved it.
Her research revealed what are now known to be satellite galaxies of the Milky
Way, and her methods helped later astronomers to determine the distances from
the Earth of similar stars within our own galaxy and in distant galaxies. Interest-
ingly, in a discipline that relied so heavily on sight and analysis of detailed
imagery, both Cannon and Leavitt were partially deaf.
Leavitt was a member of the American Association of University Women, the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Astro-
nomical and Astrophysical Society. She was elected an honorary member of the
American Association of Variable Star Observers. Both an asteroid and a moon
crater are named after her.
Further Resources
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Johnson, George. 2005. Miss Leavitt 's Stars: The Untold Story of the Woman Who
Discovered How to Measure the Universe. New York: W.W. Norton.
Ledley, Tamara (Shapiro)
b. 1954
Climatologist
Education: B.S., University of Maryland, 1976; Ph.D., meteorology, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1983
606 | Ledley, Tamara (Shapiro)
Professional Experience: research associate, Space Physics and Astronomy and
Earth Systems and The Energy and Environment Systems Institute, Rice Univer-
sity, 1983-1985, assistant research scientist, 1985-1990, senior faculty fellow,
1990-1998; senior scientist, TERC, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1997-, interim
director, Center for Science Teaching and Learning, 2009-
Concurrent Positions: consultant, Houston Museum of Natural Science, 1989—
1990; director, teacher training program, George Observatory, Rice University,
1990-1992; visiting lecturer, geology and geophysics, Rice University, 1993;
assistant director, Summer Solar Institute, Rice-Houston Museum of Natural
Science, 1993; associate editor, Journal of Geophysical Research — Atmosphere,
1993; associate research scientist, Texas A&M University, 1995-1996; lecturer,
mathematics and sciences, Babson College, Massachusetts, spring 1997; visiting
scientist, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1997-1998; adjunct professor, University of Massachusetts,
Dartmouth, 2008-2009
Tamara Ledley is known for her research on the role of the polar regions in
shaping climate and has examined how the interaction of atmosphere and sea
with ice and oceans influences climate change. She has conducted research in
both Alaska and Antarctica, and been active in presenting information on clima-
tology to elementary school children as well as to university students. There is
sometimes confusion about the difference between meteorology and climatol-
ogy. Meteorology is the science dealing with the atmosphere and its phenomena,
including weather, while climatology is the science that deals with the phenome-
non of climate or climatic conditions. Ledley has consulted on numerous private
and government projects related to climate change. She was a member of the
working team at the Alaska facility for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) (1988) and a member of the McMurdo Sound working
team (1990). She also was a participant in the workshop on the Arctic initiative
of the Office of Naval Research (1988), a participant in the U.S. Global Change
Research program's climate modeling forum (1988), and a member of the com-
mittee on global and environmental change of the American Geophysical Union
(1993).
In addition to several academic affiliations, Ledley has participated in many
outreach programs bringing science to the public and the schools through science
curriculum building and teacher training programs on climatology, and is a senior
scientist at TERC, Inc., a producer of science and math education curriculum and
programs. She has received grants from the National Science Foundation to fund
various classroom and teacher professional development materials, including the
Earth Exploration Toolbook and the Digital Library for Earth System Education.
Leeman, Susan (Epstein) | 607
Ledley is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
American Meteor Society, and Ocean Society.
Further Resources
TERC. "Tamara Shapiro Ledley." Earth Exploration Toolbook, TERC, Carleton College.
http://serc.carleton.edu/eet/people/ledley.html.
Leeman, Susan (Epstein)
b. 1930
Endocrinologist, Physiologist
Education: B.A., Goucher College, 1951; M.A., Radcliffe College, 1954, Ph.D.,
physiology, 1958
Professional Experience: instructor, physiology, Harvard Medical School,
1958-1959; fellow, neurochemistry,
Brandeis University, 1959-1962,
senior research associate, biochemis-
try, 1962-1966, adjunct assistant pro-
fessor, 1966-1968, assistant research
professor, 1968-1971; assistant to
associate professor, physiology, Lab-
oratory of Human Reproduction and
Reproductive Biology, Harvard
Medical School, 1972-1980; profes-
sor, physiology, Medical School, Uni-
versity of Massachusetts, 1980-1992,
director, Interdepartmental Neurosci-
ence Program, 1984-1992; professor,
pharmacology, Boston University
Medical School, 1992-
Susan Leeman is considered one of
the founders of the field of neuroendo-
crinology based on her research on
peptides. She is renowned for her
work with substance P and neuroten-
sin, peptides that help govern the Endocrinologist and physiologist, Susan
functioning of the nervous, endocrine, Leeman. (Courtesy of BU Photo Services)
608 | LeMone, Margaret Anne
and immune systems. Neuroendocrinology is the study of the anatomical and
physiological interactions between the nervous and endocrine systems. During
the 1960s, she made a chance finding of a chemical that turned out to be substance
P, a transmitter that is distributed throughout both the central and the peripheral
nervous systems and the spinal cord, which had been discovered in the 1930s but
had never been isolated. She and her colleagues isolated and characterized the
peptide as well as discovering another one, neurotensin, which is involved in the
relaxation and contraction of the blood vessels and may be involved in psychiatric
disorders and, perhaps, regulation of the menstrual cycle. While in graduate school,
Leeman began her work on corticotropin, a hormone used in the treatment of rheu-
matoid arthritis and rheumatic fever. It was while she was trying to purify cortico-
tropin that she made the chance finding of substance P.
Leeman was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1991 and received the Academy's Fred Conrad Koch Award in 1994. She has
received numerous other awards, including the Excellence in Science Award of
Eli Lilly and Company (1993). She is a member of the Endocrine Society, Society
for Neuroscience, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and
American Physiological Society.
Further Resources
Boston University Medical School. Faculty website. http://www.bumc.bu.edu/Dept/
Content.aspx?DepartmentID=65&PageID=7764.
LeMone, Margaret Anne
Meteorologist
Education: A.B., mathematics, University of Missouri, 1967; Ph.D., atmospheric
sciences, University of Washington, 1972
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, Advanced Study Program,
National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), 1972-1973, acting project
leader, GATE Group, 1974-1975, Ph.D. scientist, 1973-1978, staff scientist, Mes-
oscale Research Section, 1978-1980, staff scientist, GATE Group, Cloud Systems
Division, 1980-1982, scientist, 1982-1992, senior scientist, 1992-
Concurrent Positions: affiliate professor, Colorado State University, 1984-1990;
adjoint professor, University of Colorado, 1994-; affiliate professor, Colorado State
University, 1996-; Advanced Study Program and National Oceanic and Atmospheric
LeMone, Margaret Anne | 609
Administration (NOAA) Aeronomy Lab, 1998-1999; Chief Scientist, Global Learn-
ing and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE), 2003-
Margaret "Peggy" LeMone is a meteorologist whose research focuses on storm
and cloud systems. She is considered an observational meteorologist because she
focuses on the lower area of the Earth's atmosphere known as the planetary boun-
dary layer. She combines aircraft and radar observations with mathematical mod-
els to understand the relationship between atmospheric weather systems and the
Earth's surface in terms of vegetation, soil properties, and terrain. She has con-
ducted weather-watching fieldwork around the world, including in West Africa,
Australia, the Solomon Islands, Mexico, and Taiwan. She has been affiliated with
NCAR in a variety of staff scientist and researcher positions since 1972, and has
been senior scientist there since 1992. Since 2003, she has served as Chief Scien-
tist of GLOBE, an international earth sciences educational program supported in
part by the National Science Foundation and National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA).
LeMone has written numerous scientific, articles, pamphlets, encyclopedia
entries, and weather portions of elementary and high school textbooks. She has
served and consulted on numerous government research boards, including
National Research Council Committees on Road Weather, on Tools for Tracking
Chemical/Biological/Nuclear Releases in the Atmosphere, on Improving the
Effectiveness of U.S. Climate Modeling, and on Atmospheric Sciences and Cli-
mate. She has also consulted for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Science
Foundation, and NOAA. LeMone has also been committed to science education
from elementary through high school and college, and has been an invited speaker
and mentor for organizations promoting women and minorities in the sciences,
including as founding chair (1975-1978) of the American Meteorological Society
(AMS) Board on Women and Minorities. She has also written several articles on
women scientists working in meteorology.
LeMone was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1997. She is a
fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American
Geophysical Union, and American Meteorological Society (president, 2010). She
is the recipient of an Editor's Award of the AMS Journal of Atmospheric Sciences
(1989), the NCAR Education Award (1995), and the AMS Charles Anderson
Award (2004).
Further Resources
National Corporation for Atmospheric Research. "Margaret (Peggy) LeMone." http://
box.mmm.ucar.edu/individual/lemone/.
610 | Leopold, Estella Bergere
Leopold, Estella Bergere
b. 1927
Paleoecologist
Education: B.A., University of Wisconsin, 1948; M.S., University of California,
Berkeley, 1950; Ph.D., botany, Yale University, 1955
Professional Experience: assistant research hydrologist, Laboratory of Tree Ring
Research, University of Arizona, 1951; mycologist, Forest Products Laboratory,
Madison, Wisconsin, 1952; research assistant, Genetics Experiment Station Research,
Smith College, 1952; teaching assistant, plant science and zoology, Yale University,
1952-1954; research botanist, Paleontology and Stratigraphy Branch, U.S. Geologi-
cal Survey, Denver, Colorado, 1955-1976; director, Quaternary Research Center,
University of Washington, Seattle, 1976-1982; professor, Department of Botany and
College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, 1982-1999, emeritus
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, biology, University of Colorado, 1967-
1976; visiting professor, Department of Botany and Institute for Environmental
Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1971-1972; member and chair, Aldo
Leopold Foundation, 1996-2004 (president 1996-1998 and 2004)
Estella Leopold is one of the leading
authorities on paleoecology, which is
the study of prehistoric organisms
and their environments. She describes
her work as comparing the pollen and
spores that exist today with those
found in rocks for a particular earlier
time period. In this way, researchers
try to determine the landscape and cli-
mate represented by fossils, which are
probably the most important evidence
of environments of the past. In her
research in the Rocky Mountains, she
found that extinction and evolution
are highest in the middle of the conti-
nent because of the variable seasonal
changes, while the coastal areas,
which have more moderate climates,
are able to sustain older species, such
as the giant redwood. She was one of
Paleoecologist, Estella Leopold.
(Courtesy of University of Washington/
UnivPhoto)
Lesh-Laurie, Georgia Elizabeth | 61 I
the leaders in the successful campaign to save Colorado's Florissant fossil beds,
and in 1962, the National Park Service decided to designate the fossil beds as a
national monument, but did not enact legislation. Meanwhile, developers started
building recreational subdivisions in the park. In 1969, the Defenders of Florissant,
Inc. persuaded the U.S. Congress to enact legislation to designate 6,000 acres for
the national monument. She was a past director of the Quaternary Research Center
at the University of Washington, Seattle (the Quaternary period, the present period
of the Earth's history, originated about 2 million years ago).
Leopold developed her interest in ecology in her childhood under the tutelage
of her father, the conservationist and writer Aldo Leopold. Estella received an
undergraduate degree in botany from the University of Wisconsin, Madison,
where her father taught wildlife management. Growing up, the family regularly
spent weekends on a farm, where they planted tree seedlings and restored an old
cornfield back to a tall-grass prairie. All five Leopold children followed careers
in science, and Estella and her two brothers, Starker and Luna, are all members
of the National Academy of Sciences.
Leopold was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1974. She has served on many distinguished scientific committees on conservation
and ecology, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (president, 1995) and of the Geological Society of America. She is a
member of the American Quaternary Association (president, 1982-1984), Botani-
cal Society of America, Ecological Society of America, and American Academy of
Arts and Sciences. She is also on the board and past president of the Aldo Leopold
Foundation, which works for ecological and environmental awareness and protec-
tion in her father's name.
Further Resources
University of Washington, Seattle. "Pollen and Seed Laboratory." http://protist
.biology.washington.edu/eleopold/.
The Aldo Leopold Foundation, http://www.aldoleopold.org.
Lesh-Laurie, Georgia Elizabeth
b. 1938
Developmental Biology
Education: B.S., Marietta College, 1960; M.S., University of Wisconsin, 1961;
Ph.D., biology, Case Western Reserve University, 1966
612 | L'Esperance, Elise Depew Strang
Professional Experience: instructor, biology, Case Western Reserve University,
1965-1966; assistant professor, biological science, State University of New York,
Albany, 1966-1968; assistant professor, Case Western Reserve University, 1969-
1973, associate professor, 1974-1977, assistant dean, 1973-1976; professor, biol-
ogy, Cleveland State University, 1977-1990, dean, College of Graduate Studies,
1981-1986, dean, College of Arts and Sciences, 1986-1990, interim provost,
1989-1990; vice chancellor of academic affairs, University of Colorado, Denver,
1990-1995, interim chancellor, 1995-1997, chancellor, 1997-2003
Georgia Lesh-Laurie is renowned for her research on a drug that can be used in
place of digitalis for the treatment of congestive heart failure. Digitalis, made from
the purple foxglove plant, increases the heart's pumping power without increasing
oxygen demand, but patients with kidney problems are unable to use it. Lesh-
Laurie's stimulant is a protein found in the toxin of the hydra, a small freshwater
cousin of the jellyfish, and the protein was discovered after people stung by jelly-
fish noticed a sudden neurological and cardiovascular response. Sponsored by the
American Heart Association, she continued work in the 1980s on developing a
drug incorporating the protein.
Early in her career, Lesh-Laurie assumed administrative responsibilities in
addition to her teaching and research. She served as assistant dean for three years
at Case Western Reserve, and at Cleveland State University, she was department
chair, dean of the College of Graduate Studies, dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences, and interim provost for a year. She moved to the University of Colorado
as vice chancellor of academic affairs in 1990 and then served as chancellor of that
institution for seven years before retiring in 2003. Lesh-Laurie has been a member
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society of
Zoologists, Society for Developmental Biology, New York Academy of Sciences,
and American Society for Cell Biology.
L'Esperance, Elise Depew Strang
1878 1959
Pathologist
Education: M.D., Woman's Medical College of New York, 1900
Professional Experience: intern, New York Babies Hospital, 1900; physician,
private practice, 1901-1908; physician and instructor, Cornell University Medical
Center, 1910-1920, assistant professor, 1920-1932; director, Kate Depew Strang
L'Esperance, Elise Depew Strang | 613
Tumor Clinic, New York Infirmary, 1933-1941; associate professor to professor,
Cornell University Medical Center, 1942-1950
Concurrent Positions: editor, Medical Woman's Journal, 1936-1941; editor,
Journal of the American Medical Women's Association, 1946-1948
Elise L'Esperance was a physician who established family clinics and promoted
the early detection and treatment of cancer. Her research focused on the pathology
and treatment of malignant tumors. Because their mother died from cancer, L'Esp-
erance and her sister, May Strang, used an inheritance to open the first of three
clinics in New York City devoted to the detection of cancer in 1933. The clinic
offered complete physical examinations to apparently healthy women and pro-
vided referral service for any sign of cancer. Several new techniques were devel-
oped at the Strang clinics, such as the Pap smear for the diagnosis of cervical
cancer. She staffed the clinic entirely with women physicians, and she conducted
an extensive campaign of public education. Later, she opened other clinics where
the services were expanded to men and children. Other groups in other cities built
upon this model; the value of early detection became more widely accepted both
by the public and the medical profession. She also worked in the fields of tubercu-
losis and Hodgkin's disease.
L'Esperance was a member of the last class to graduate from the Women's
Medical College of New York in 1899, but, due to an attack of diphtheria, did
not receive her degree until the next year. After serving her internship, she
engaged in private practice in New York and Detroit. She became increasingly
interested in pathology, and she accepted a position at Cornell's medical college.
She left Cornell to direct the Kate Depew Strang Tumor Clinic in New York for
eight years, but returned to teaching, eventually advancing to full professor right
before she retired in 1950.
In addition to focusing her efforts on women's health, and serving as editor of
two women's health journals, L'Esperance actively promoted careers in medicine
for women. She received numerous awards, the most prestigious of which was
the Albert Lasker Award of the American Public Health Association (1951). She
also received the Elizabeth Blackwell Citation in 1950 for her achievements in
pathology and cancer detection. She was elected a fellow of the New York Acad-
emy of Medicine, and she was named an honorary member of the American Radi-
ologists Society. She was president of the American Medical Women's
Association in 1948. Her other memberships included the American Medical
Association, the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists, the
American Association of Immunologists, the American Radium Society, the Har-
vey Society, and the American Cancer Society.
614 | Levelt-Sengers, Johanna Maria Henrica
Levelt-Sengers, Johanna Maria Henrica
b. 1929
Physicist
Education: B.Sc, physics and chemistry, University of Amsterdam, 1950, M.S.,
1954, Ph.D., physics, 1958
Professional Experience: research associate, Van der Waals Laboratory, Univer-
sity of Amsterdam, 1958-1959; research physicist, 1959-1963; physicist, Heat
Division, U.S. National Bureau of Standards, 1963-1984, physicist and senior fel-
low, National Bureau of Standards/National Institute of Standards and Technology,
1984-1995, emeritus
Concurrent Positions: research associate and instructor, theoretical chemistry, Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, 1958-1959; lecturer, University of Nijmegen, Netherlands,
1962-1963; visiting professor, University of Louvain, Belgium, 1971; visiting
research scientist, Instituut voor Theoretische Fysica, Amsterdam, 1974-1975
Johanna Levelt-Sengers is renowned for her research on critical phenomena and
fluid mixtures. Her research included thermodynamic properties of fluids and fluid
mixtures; critical phenomena in fluids; equation of state, theoretical and experi-
mental; and supercritical aqueous systems. She has been involved in establishing
indexes or standards on water and steam properties and power for the
International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam (IAPWS) and
the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Steam Tables. Her hus-
band, Jan V. Sengers, is also a physicist, and the two came to the United States
in 1963 to work for the National Bureau of Standards. The Sengers have collabo-
rated and published numerous papers together, and in 1992, the couple were
awarded honorary doctorates from the Technical University of Delft in their home
country of The Netherlands. In 1995, she retired from a more than 30-year career
at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly National Bureau
of Standards), but has remained active as a conference organizer, committee
member on the ASME International Steam Tables, and author of a book on
thermodynamics, How Fluids Unmix, published in 2002. She has also co-chaired
the InterAcademy Council's advisory panel on promoting women in science and
technology careers.
Levelt-Sengers is one of the few women scientists who has been elected a
member of both the National Academy of Engineering (1992) and the National
Academy of Sciences (1996). She has received numerous other awards, such as
the Edward Uhler Condon Award (1975), Special Achievement Award (1977),
and Certificate of Recognition (1978), all from the National Bureau of Standards;
Leverton, Ruth Mandeville | 615
the Department of Commerce Silver Medal (1972) and Gold Medal (1978) awards;
the Interagency Committee for Women in Science and Engineering's WISE Award
(1985); the Alexander von Humboldt Award (1991); the L'Oreal-UNESCO Women
in Science Award (2003); and ASME's Yeram S. Touloukian Award (2006). She is
a fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the American Society
of Mechanical Engineers, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American
Chemical Society, and International Association for the Properties of Water and
Steam (president, 1991-1991; U.S. national representative, 1990-2004). She is also
a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal
Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities.
Further Resources
National Institute of Standards and Technology. "Johanna M. H. Anneke Levelt Sengers
(Scientist Emeritus)." http://www.boulder.nist.gov/div838/ProfilesSengers.html.
Leverton, Ruth Mandeville
1908 1982
Nutritionist
Education: B.S., home economics, University of Nebraska, 1928; M.S., nutrition,
University of Arizona, 1932; Ph.D., nutrition, University of Chicago, 1937
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1928-1930; teaching fellow, home
economics, University of Arizona, 1930-1932, assistant, experiment station,
1932-1934; assistant professor, home economics, University of Nebraska, 1937-
1940; associate specialist, Bureau of Home Economics, U.S. Department of Agri-
culture (USDA), 1940-1941; associate professor, home economics and director,
human nutrition research, University of Nebraska, 1941-1949, professor, 1949-
1953; professor, home economics and assistant director, agricultural experiment
station, Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, 1954-1957; assistant
director, human nutrition research division, USDA, 1957-1958, associate director,
institute of home economics, 1958-1961, assistant director of administration,
1961-1971, science advisor, 1971-1974
Concurrent Positions: Fulbright professor, University of the Philippines,
1949-1950
Ruth Leverton was a nutritionist whose research included human metabolism
and requirements of minerals, nutritive value of food products, and blood
616 | Leverton, Ruth Mandeville
regeneration and prevention of anemia. Her research had an important impact on
American food practices at mid-century, including decisions about wartime food
rationing and nutrition, the development of a system of Recommended Dietary
Allowances, the fortification of grains, and food assistance programs. Following
a pattern of many educated women of her generation, she taught school for sev-
eral years after she received her undergraduate degree. But Leverton decided to
continue her own education, earning a master's degree in nutrition at the Univer-
sity of Arizona before moving to the University of Nebraska for a doctorate. Her
research focused on women's iron needs and made connections between insuffi-
cient protein intake and iron-deficiency anemia. Leverton's research was among
the first to highlight the differences between men's and women's dietary and
nutritional needs.
Leverton worked briefly for the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the begin-
ning of World War II, but returned to academia at Nebraska where she rose from
associate professor to professor of home economics between 1941 and 1953. She
accepted a position at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Okla-
homa State University) as professor of home economics and assistant director of
the agricultural experiment station. She returned to the USDA in 1957 as assistant
director of Human Nutrition Research, the highest-ranking woman at the USDA at
that time. She remained at the USDA in various positions until her retirement in
1974. Throughout this time, she also traveled extensively throughout Asia, Africa,
Latin America, and Europe. She represented the United States on the International
Rice Commission and the International Congress of Nutrition, and lectured on
nutritional health at conferences worldwide.
Leverton published more than 200 academic papers, was the author of the
classic book Food Becomes You (1952), and was the co-author of Your Diabetes
and How To Live with It (1953). Leverton received the Borden Award for Dairy
Foods Research (1942 and 1953), the Distinguished Service Award from the
USDA (1972), the Conrad A. Elvehjem Award of the American Institute of
Nutrition (1973), the Federal Woman's Award (1977), and a Medallion Award
of the American Dietetic Association (1977). She was the first woman to receive
an honorary doctorate of science from her alma mater, University of Nebraska,
in 1961. She was a member of the American Dietetic Association, the American
Home Economics Association, the American Public Health Association, the
American Institute of Nutrition, and the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science.
Further Resources
Hampl, Jeffrey S. and Marylynn I. Schnepf. "Ruth M. Leverton (1908 1982)." http://
jn.nutri tion.org/cgi/content/full/129/10/1769.
Leveson, Nancy G. | 617
Leveson, Nancy G.
Aerospace Engineer, Computer Scientist
Education: B.A., mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, 1965, M.S.,
Graduate School of Management, 1967, Ph.D., computer science, 1980
Professional Experience: systems engineer, IBM, 1967-1970; assistant profes-
sor, information and computer science, University of California, Irvine, 1980-
1985, associate professor, 1985-1990, professor, 1990-1993; Boeing Professor
of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, 1993-
1998; professor, aeronautics and astronautics, and professor, engineering systems,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1998—
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, Laboratory for Computer Science, MIT,
1988-1989; adjunct professor, computer science, University of British Columbia,
1993-; Hunsaker Visiting Professor, aeronautics and astronautics, MIT, 1997-1998
Nancy Leveson is an aerospace engineer who pioneered a new research field in
software safety systems, which involves using computer programs to prevent and
analyze safety situations where property or life are at risk. Her research has
focused particularly in the area of air and space flight, and involves creating acci-
dent models that take into account the role of computers as well as human
decision-making in risk management. She has published over 200 scientific papers
and articles, and her system for aircraft collision avoidance has been adopted by
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for use in commercial airlines. She
has been a distinguished invited guest lecturer at national and international univer-
sities and a consultant or advisory council member for numerous industry and
government organizations related to software-related safety issues in nuclear
power plants, transportation, air traffic control, and aerospace systems and
accidents, including authoring an analysis of the Columbia space shuttle explosion
of 2003. Leveson completed her undergraduate and graduate education at
the University of California, Los Angeles, including a doctorate in computer
science in 1980. She taught at the University of California, Irvine and at the Uni-
versity of Washington, Seattle before joining the faculty at MIT, where she holds
joint appointments in the departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and in
Engineering Systems.
Leveson was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2000. She is a
fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the International
Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS), and has been on the
Board of Directors of the Computing Research Association (CRA), International
Council on System Engineering, and Geisinger Institute on Electronic Health
618 I Levi-Montalcini, Rita
Records Safety. She was the recipient of the AIAA Information Systems Award
(1995), ACM Allen Newell Award (1999), CRA Habermann Award (2004),
ACM SIGSOFT Outstanding Software Engineering Research Award (2004), and
System Safety Society Professional Achievement Award.
Further Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Faculty website, http://sunnyday.mit.edu/.
Levi-Montalcini, Rita
b. 1909
Neuroembryologist
Education: M.D., University of Turin, 1936, 1940
Professional Experience: research associate, zoology, Washington University,
St. Louis, 1947-1951, associate professor, 1951-1958, professor, 1958-1981
Concurrent Positions: director, Research Center of Neurobiology of the Consi-
glio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Rome, 1961-1969, Laboratory of Cellular
Biology, 1969-1978
Rita Levi-Montalcini is a neurologist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine in 1986 with colleague Stanley Cohen for their discovery of the nerve
growth factor (NGF), responsible for the rapid growth of immature cells impli-
cated in diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's. Born and educated in Italy, she
conducted the early stages of her prize- winning research beginning in 1952 while
on the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Her research was
focused on the effect of a nerve growth factor isolated from the mouse salivary
gland on the sympathetic nervous system and of an antiserum to the nerve growth
factor. In order to advance the work more quickly, she smuggled two tumor-
infected mice on the plane to Rio de Janeiro to consult with a colleague about
the process of growing tissues in vitro. She spent the next six years on the project
until she achieved success. With a National Science Foundation grant in 1961, she
set up a small research unit in Rome so she could be close to her family. After a
few years, when she received grants from the Italian government to establish an
independent research institute, she alternated six months in Rome and six months
in the United States.
As teenagers in Italy, she and her twin sister Paola were sent to a finishing
school until, at age 20, she finally convinced her father that she would never marry,
Levi-Montalcini, Rita | 619
so he hired tutors in mathematics, sci-
ence, Latin, and Greek to prepare her
for university entrance examinations.
After completing her medical degree,
she continued research at the Univer-
sity of Turin. There she learned a
new technique of staining embryonic
chick neurons with chrome silver to
make nerve cells stand out in the
smallest detail. She continued using
this technique in her private research
when she was dismissed from her
position at the University of Turin
because her family was Jewish. She
was unable to practice medicine, use
the university library, or even visit
friends at the university. During
World War II, she set up a laboratory
in her home and hid her experiments
from the authorities. Since she was
unable to publish her papers in Italian
journals, she received international
attention when they were published
in Swiss and Belgian journals that
could be read in the United States. After the war, she returned to the laboratory
at the University of Turin until she was invited to join a research group in 1947
at Washington University after the director read the papers she had published.
She spent 30 years in St. Louis, returning to Italy permanently upon her retirement
in 1981. In 2009, Levi-Montalcini celebrated her hundredth birthday.
Levi-Montalcini was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1968, and
in 1987, she was awarded the National Medal of Science, the highest scientific
honor in the United States. With her collaborator, Stanley Cohen, she also jointly
received the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University (1983) and
the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1986). In 2001, she was
named an honorary Senator for Life in the Italian Senate. She has received honor-
ary degrees from Polytechnic University of Turin (2006) and Complutense Univer-
sity of Madrid, Spain (2008). She has been a member of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, Society for Developmental Biology, American
Association of Anatomists, and Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In 1988, she pub-
lished an autobiography, In Praise of Imperfection: My Life and Work.
Rita Levi-Montalcini shared the 1986 Nobel
Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Stanley
Cohen for her discovery of nerve growth factor,
the protein that promotes cell growth in the
peripheral nervous system. (Nobel Foundation)
620 | Lewis, Margaret Adaline Reed
Further Resources
McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch. 1993. Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles,
and Momentous Discoveries. Secaucus, NJ: Birch Lane Press.
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Lewis, Margaret Adaline Reed
1881 1970
Embryologist
Education: Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, 1900; A.B., Goucher
College, 1901; Bryn Mawr College, 1902-1903, 1908-1909; Columbia Univer-
sity, 1903-1906; University of Zurich, 1906; University of Paris and University
of Berlin, 1908
Professional Experience: assistant, zoology, Bryn Mawr College, 1901-1902;
lecturer, physiology, New York Medical College for Women, 1904-1907; lecturer,
Barnard College, 1907-1909; instructor, anatomy and physiology, training school
for nurses, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1911-1912; collaborator, department of
embryology, Carnegie Institution, 1915-1927, research associate, 1927-1940;
member, Wistar Institute, 1940-1958, emeritus member, 1958-1964
Concurrent Positions: preparator in zoology, Columbia University, 1903-1906;
lecturer, New York Medical College, 1904-1905
Margaret Lewis was a world-renowned authority on tumors, with expertise in the
chemotherapy of cancer, the cytology of living cells in tissue cultures, the origin of
epithelioid cells, and the relation of white blood cells to tumors. While working in
Berlin, she may have conducted the first known successful in vitro mammalian tissue
culture experiment. She and her husband, Warren H. Lewis, perfected the technique
to develop clear solutions on special slides. This technique is known as the Lewis cul-
ture, and the medium is called the Locke-Lewis solution. In later years, they studied
the chemotherapy of dyes in cancer. As early as 1915, they were able to provide a rea-
sonably complete description of a number of living cells microscopically. By 1917,
they had begun to determine some physiological activities. Later, at the Carnegie
Institution, she added important studies of the effects of acidity on these processes.
She published nearly 150 scientific papers, often co-authored with her husband.
Lewis received her undergraduate degree from Goucher College in 1901 and
studied at a number of universities in the United States and Europe without com-
pleting a graduate degree. She held brief appointments at several U.S. colleges
Libby, Leona Woods Marshall | 621
before joining the Carnegie Institution department of embryology. In 1940, she was
elected a member of the Wistar Institute, where she held emeritus status for several
years after her retirement. She and her husband jointly received the Gerhard Gold
Medal of the Pathological Society of Philadelphia and an honorary degree from
Goucher College in 1938. She was an honorary life member of the Tissue Culture
Society and a member of the American Association of Anatomists. She is identified
in some sources as "Margaret Reed" or as "Mrs. Warren H. Lewis."
Libby, Leona Woods Marshall
1919 1986
Physicist
Education: B.S., University of Chicago, 1938, Ph.D., chemistry, 1943
Professional Experience: research associate, metallurgical laboratory, Manhattan
Project, 1942-1944; physicist, Hanford Engineering Works, Washington, 1944-
1946; fellow, Institute for Nuclear Studies, University of Chicago, 1946-1947,
research associate, 1947-1953, assistant professor, physics, 1953-1960; associate
professor, physics, New York University, 1960-1962, professor, 1962-1963; associ-
ate professor, University of Colorado, Boulder, 1963; staff member, Rand Corpora-
tion, California, 1963-1970; staff member, R&D Associates, California, 1970-1976
Concurrent Positions: consulting physicist, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Com-
pany, 1944-1946; fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton, New Jersey,
1957-1958; visiting scientist, Brookhaven National Laboratory, 1958-1960; visit-
ing scientist, Brookhaven National Laboratory, 1958-1986; visiting adjunct pro-
fessor, University of California, Los Angeles, 1973-1986
Leona Marshall Libby was a physicist whose research focused on high-energy
nuclear physics, nuclear reactions, fundamental particles, astrophysics, and stable
isotopes in tree thermometers. She discovered that historical climate could be
measured from the isotope ratios in tree rings. She also conducted early research
on neutron and proton scattering. She was a member of the Manhattan Project,
the group that built the first and second Argonne reactors, the Oak Ridge reactor,
and the three Hanford reactors. She worked with the most important scientists in
this field in the mid-twentieth century, including several Nobel Laureates. For
her doctorate, she studied with Robert Mulliken, who won the Nobel Prize in
Chemistry in 1966; even before completing her Ph.D., she became the first female
researcher at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory working with Enrico Fermi,
who had won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938. Their top-secret work on the first
622 | Libby, Leona Woods Marshall
nuclear fission reactor and develop-
ment of the atomic bomb became
later known as the Manhattan Project.
Many women scientists were able to
secure government contracts and
positions during World War II, and
numerous women physicists and
chemists were ultimately involved in
the Manhattan Project. Libby (in this
early period known professionally by
her first married name, Marshall)
spent several years as a researcher
and then assistant professor with
the Institute for Nuclear Studies at
the University of Chicago, where she
studied nuclear explosions and
neutron diffusion.
In 1958, Leona Marshall moved to
the Brookhaven National Laboratory
in New York and later taught atomic
and nuclear physics at New York Uni-
versity. She left New York in 1964 to
teach physics at the University of
Colorado, Boulder, and in 1966 mar-
ried her second husband, Willard
Frank Libby, another prominent
chemist who had recently received
the Nobel Prize in 1960 for his work
on radio-carbon dating. In 1972, the
couple relocated to California, where
Leona worked first as a visiting
professor and then adjunct instructor
at University of California, Los
Angeles. There she continued her
research in particle physics and began
her work on environmental engineer-
ing, tree rings and ancient climates, publishing two books in the 1970s on environ-
mental issues. After Willard Libby's death in 1980, Leona Marshall Libby
collected and edited his papers and published The Life Work of Nobel Laureate
Willard Frank Libby in 1982.
Nuclear physicist Leona Woods Marshall
Libby worked on the Manhattan Project during
World War II. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Linares, Olga Frances | 623
In the 1970s and 1980s, Leona Marshall Libby remained an outspoken advocate
for nuclear power in the face of increasing public criticism. In 1979, she published
an autobiography of her early work in nuclear physics entitled The Uranium
People. She was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society and the Royal
Geographical Society, and was a member of the National Science Foundation
Postdoctoral Fellowship Evaluation Board.
Further Resources
Howes, Ruth and Carolyn L. Herzenberg. 1999. Their Day in the Sun: Women of the
Manhattan Project. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Linares, Olga Frances
b. 1936
Anthropologist
Education: B.A., anthropology, Vassar College, 1958; Ph.D., anthropology,
Harvard University, 1964
Professional Experience: instructor, anthropology, Harvard University, 1965;
lecturer, anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 1966-1971; research scientist
to senior scientist, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 1973-2008, emerita
Concurrent Positions: research curator, Center for American Archaeology,
Peabody Museum, Harvard University, 1974-
Olga Linares is an anthropologist recognized for her research on the rural popula-
tions of western Africa and Central America. Her research centers on the agrarian
practices and political economy of western African and Central American rural
populations, and on human adaptations to the tropical forest, past and present.
She is working in the area of economic anthropology among primarily agrarian
populations and looks not only at the types of crops that are grown and marketed
but also at the sexual division of labor. She examines the social, spatial, and tem-
poral relations in archaeological perspective.
The strength of her research can be seen in the book Power, Prayer, and Produc-
tion: The Jola of Casamance, Senegal (1992). The central thesis is that ideology
and production are part of the same system and any consideration of the division of
labor — whether by gender, age, status, or ethnic identity — must take into account
the influence of ideology. She compares three communities that are engaged in inten-
sive wet-rice cultivation but structure their agriculture very differently. One is a non-
Muslim community in which both men and women commune with spirit shrines, and
624 | Lippincott, Sarah Lee
relations between the generations and the sexes tend to be reciprocal and cooperative.
Another community has adopted Islam and has divided production along territorial,
generational, gender, and kinship lines. The third community also is Islamic and there
is a strong Islamic community nearby; this group has more extreme inequality and
social separation between the sexes and the generations. In each case, Linares exam-
ined the same set of factors: marriage and residence patterns, cropping and land ten-
ure arrangements, the role of ritual and religious powers and duties, the organization
of labor, the effects of introduced technologies, and the dynamics of social power
and conflict. After an appointment as a lecturer in anthropology at the University of
Pennsylvania, Linares secured joint appointments with the Smithsonian Tropical
Research Institute, first as a research scientist and then as a senior scientist, and with
the Center for American Archaeology at the Peabody Museum of Harvard University
as a research curator. She has written numerous journal articles and book chapters.
Linares was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1992.
She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a
member of the American Anthropological Association, African Studies Association,
Royal Anthropological Association, and Latin American Studies Association.
Further Resources
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. "Olga F. Linares." http://www.stri.org/english/
scientific staff/staff scientist/scientist. php?id=24.
Lippincott, Sarah Lee
b. 1920
Astronomer
Education: student, Swarthmore College, 1938-1939; B.A., University of
Pennsylvania, 1942; M.A., astronomy, Swarthmore College, 1950
Professional Experience: research assistant, astronomy, Swarthmore College,
1942-1951, research associate, 1952-1972, lecturer, 1961-1976, director, Sproul
Observatory, 1972-1981, professor, 1977-1981, emerita
Concurrent Positions: visiting astronomer, Lick Observatory, University of
California, Santa Cruz, 1949; visiting astronomer, California Institute of Technol-
ogy, 1978
Sarah Lippincott is known for her research in astrometry, which is the branch of
astronomy that deals with the measurement of the positions and motions of
celestial bodies. One of her projects was to look for extrasolar planets or planetlike
Liskov, Barbara Huberman | 625
companions to nearby stars. The Sproul Observatory at Swarthmore College has
had a long-term program of tracing the motions of stars within five parsecs of
the Earth to look for such perturbations. The data, going back an average of
50 years, are on photographic plates containing images of those stars; these are
in the archives of the observatory. Lippincott found three stars that were candi-
dates for having unseen companions. In addition to her work at Swarthmore, she
was a visiting astronomer at major West Coast observatories. She held a Fulbright
fellowship in France and was a member of the French solar eclipse expedition to
Oland, Sweden, in 1954. Lippincott spent her entire professional career at Swarth-
more College, beginning as a research assistant and eventually becoming professor
and director of the Sproul Observatory. She trained many female astronomers at
Swartmore, including well-known cosmologist Sandra Faber.
Lippincott held a master's degree, but received an honorary doctorate from
Villanova University in 1973. She published numerous papers in scientific journals
and is co-author of the book Point to the Stars, of which three editions were pub-
lished between 1963 and 1976. She is a member of the American Astronomical
Society and International Astronomical Union (president, 1973-1976). In some
sources she is identified by her married name, Zimmerman.
Liskov, Barbara Huberman
b. 1939
Computer Scientist
Education: B.A., mathematics, University of California, Berkeley, 1961; M.S.,
computer science, Stanford University, 1965, Ph.D., 1968
Professional Experience: applications programmer, Mitre Corporation, 1961-1962;
programmer, language translation project, Harvard University, 1962-1963; graduate
research assistant, artificial intelligence, Stanford University, 1963-1968; member of
technical staff, computer science research and development, Mitre Corporation,
1968-1972; assistant to associate professor, computer science and electrical engi-
neering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1972-1980, professor,
1980-, NEC Professor of Software Science and Engineering, 1986-1997, Ford Pro-
fessor of Engineering, 1997-, associate head, computer science, 2001-
Barbara Liskov is recognized as an expert on computer software, and her research
on programming methodology, distributed computing, programming languages,
and operating systems has been at the forefront of the field of software and com-
puter operating systems. She has been instrumental in designing software that
626 | Lochman-Balk, Christina
has formed the basis of widely used programming languages such as C++ and
Java. She worked for Mitre Corporation for several years before joining MIT as a
faculty member in 1972. As a member of the Programming Methodology Group
of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT, her work
has focused on distributed systems, object-oriented databases, programming lan-
guages, software design and upgrades, and, most recently, systems operations
plans due to computer failure or hacking, an important area of research in the
Internet age. In addition to her academic duties, she has consulted for major com-
puter companies such as Digital Equipment, Hewlett-Packard, NCR, Prime Com-
puters, Cadence, Intermetrics, BBN Corporation, and Cisco Systems.
Liskov received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1968, the first woman to
earn a doctorate in a computer science program. She was elected to membership in
the National Academy of Engineering (1988) and received an honorary doctorate
from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich (2005). She
is the recipient of an Achievement Award from the Society of Women Engineers
(1996), the John von Neumann Medal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) (2004), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
SIGPLAN Lifetime Achievement Award (2008), and the A. M. Turing Award of
the Association for Computing Machinery (2009), one of the highest awards
in computer science, for her contribution to "virtually every modern computing-
related convenience in people's daily lives." In 2002, she was profiled as a top
scientist in both Popular Science and Discover magazines. She is a member
of the IEEE and the ACM, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences.
Further Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "MIT's Magnificent Seven: Women Faculty
Members Cited as Top Scientists." http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2002/women.html.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Faculty website, http://www.pmg.csail.mit.edu/~liskov/.
Lochman-Balk, Christina
1907 2006
Geologist, Paleontologist
Education: A.B., Smith College, 1929, A.M., geology, 1931; Ph.D., paleontology,
Johns Hopkins University, 1933
Professional Experience: assistant geologist, Smith College, 1929-1931; instructor,
Mount Holyoke College, 1935-1940, assistant to associate professor, 1940-1947;
Loeblich, Helen Nina Tappan | 627
lecturer, physical science, University of Chicago, 1947; lecturer, life sciences, New
Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 1954, professor, geology, 1955-1972
Concurrent Positions: strategic geologist, New Mexico State Bureau of Mines
and Mineral Resources, 1955-1957
Christina Lochman-Balk was a prominent geologist whose research area was the
Cambrian paleontology and stratigraphy of the western United States, Mexico,
and Newfoundland. In particular, she studied Cambrian trilobites and published
several important papers and updates on invertebrate paleontology in North
America. She held positions at several universities and eventually rose through
the ranks to full professor in a predominantly male profession. After receiving her
doctorate, she accepted a position at Mount Holyoke in 1935, advancing to assistant
professor and associate professor. After her marriage in 1947, she followed her hus-
band Robert Balk to the University of Chicago, where he was appointed a professor
of geology; there, she could only get a position as a lecturer. The couple relocated to
New Mexico where, again, he was a professor and she a lecturer until she was pro-
moted after his death in 1955. She remained at the New Mexico Institute of Mining
and Technology (New Mexico Tech) until her retirement in 1972, also serving a two-
year appointment as a strategic geologist for the New Mexico State Bureau of Mines.
During her tenure at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, she
was renowned as a teacher and as a researcher, and helped expand the program's
offerings for doctoral studies in the earth sciences. She supervised numerous doc-
toral students who went on to make important geological discoveries of their own.
As Dean of Women, she was particularly interested in promoting the careers of
female scientists. She also established two fellowship opportunities for student
research in geology and earth sciences. Lochman-Balk was elected a fellow of both
the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Geological
Society of America, and was a member of the Paleontological Society, which
awarded her its President's Citation in 1996.
Further Resources
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Faculty website, http://www.ees.nmt
.edu/balk/.
Loeblich, Helen Nina Tappan
1917 2004
Paleontologist
Education: B.S., University of Oklahoma, 1937, M.S., 1939; Ph.D., geology,
University of Chicago, 1942
628 | Loeblich, Helen Nina Tappan
Professional Experience: assistant geologist, University of Oklahoma, 1937-
1939; instructor, Tulane University, 1942-1943; geologist, U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS), 1943-1945, 1947-1959; research associate, paleontology, Smithsonian
Institution, 1954-1957; lecturer, geology, University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA), 1958-1965, associate research geologist, 1961-1963, senior lecturer,
geology, 1965-1966, professor, 1966-1984
Helen Loeblich was a renowned researcher in micropaleontology whose research
focused on living and fossil foraminiferans, tintinnids, the camoebians, and
organic-walled siliceous and calcareous phytoplankton. She was an assistant geolo-
gist at the University of Oklahoma before taking over her the teaching responsibil-
ities of her husband, fellow paleontologist Al Loeblich, at Tulane University while
he was on active military duty during World War II. After the war, she held positions
with the USGS working at the Naval Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, and, with Al and
their children, traveled to Europe on a Guggenheim Fellowship to conduct research
on historical collections of forminifera for the Smithsonian Institution. The family
relocated to California in 1957, where Al worked as a researcher for Chevron Oil
and Helen returned to academia as a lecturer in geology at UCLA, where she even-
tually advanced to full professor and remained until her retirement in 1984.
With Al Loeblich she co-published more than 200 papers, articles, and books,
and helped update the 1964 edition of Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. She
received high praise for her 1980 book The Paleobiology of Plant Protists, and
their joint 1987 two-volume work Foraminfiera Genera and Their Classification
was designated the best geography and earth science book of 1988 by the Associ-
ation of American Publishers. Helen Loeblich was also an accomplished scientific
artist who, in 1976, designed a stamp for the fiftieth-anniversary celebration of the
Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists (now the Society for
Sedimentary Geology).
Among the awards Helen Loeblich received were the Woman of Science Award
from UCLA (1982), Paleontological Society Medal (1983), Raymond C. Moore
Medal for Excellence in Paleontology (1984), and Woman of the Year Award in
Natural History from the Palm Springs Desert Museum (1987). The Loeblich's
were named honorary directors of the Cushman Foundation of Foraminiferal
Research in 1982 and Helen Loeblich was elected president of the Paleontological
Society in 1985. She was also a fellow of the Geological Society of America, an
honorary member of the Society for Sedimentary Geology, and a member of the
American Microscopical Society.
Further Resources
"In Memoriam: Helen Nina Tappan Loeblich." University of California, Los Angeles, http://
www.universityofcalifornia.edu/senate/inmemoriam/helenninaloeblich-tappan.html.
Long, Irene (Duhart) | 629
Long, Irene (Duhart)
b. 1951
Aerospace Physician
Education: B.A., biology, Northwestern University, 1973; M.D., St. Louis
University School of Medicine, 1977; M.S., aerospace medicine, Wright State
University School of Medicine, Ohio, 1981
Professional Experience: medical resident, Ames Research Center, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 1981-1982, John F. Kennedy
Space Center, 1982; chief, Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
Office, NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center, 1982-1994, director, Biomedical
Office, 1994-2000, Chief Medical Officer and Associate Director of Spaceport
services, 2000-
Irene Long is one of the highest-ranking professional women at NASA. She was the
first black female chief of the Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
Office, and is responsible for overseeing not only the health of the astronauts but also
the health of some 18,000 workers, civil servants, and contractors at the Kennedy
Space Center. She works with a team of physicians to provide medical services to
the astronauts in emergency cases, such as an aborted mission, and she oversees
inspecting workspaces at the Kennedy Space Center to protect employees from
exposure to various possible hazards — toxic chemicals, fire, or decompression, for
example — when a spacecraft is launched. She coordinates the efforts of the Depart-
ment of Defense, environmental health agencies, and the astronaut office when they
work together to stage successful launches, as well as to prepare for emergency situa-
tions. In her own research, Long has found that lower oxygen levels do not impede
the flow of blood in people with the sickle-cell trait, and so they should not be banned
from flying. She has also used the Johnson Space Center's collection of medical data
to research the physical condition of astronauts, including the effects of space on the
individuals' physiology and the consequences of weightlessness.
Long has also worked to encourage women and minorities to have careers in
science and engineering through the Space Life Sciences Training Program. Par-
ticipants in the program spend six weeks at the Kennedy Space Center studying
space physiology in plants, animals, and humans, learning how to develop experi-
ments, and becoming acquainted with the basic concepts of teamwork. Long
received the Presidential Award of the Society of NASA Flight Surgeons (1995)
and later served as president of the society (1998). She also received an Outstand-
ing Achievement Award from Women in Aerospace (1998) and the Lifetime
Achievement Award from the National Women of Color Technology Awards
Conference (2005). Long is a member of the Aerospace Medical Association.
630 | Long, Sharon (Rugel)
Further Resources
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Irene Duhart Long, M.D.: Chief Medi-
cal Officer and Associate Director, Center Operations." http://www.nasa.gov/centers/
kennedy/about/biographies/long.html.
Long, Sharon (Rugel)
b. 1951
Developmental Biologist, Molecular Biologist
Education: B.S., biochemistry, California Institute of Technology, 1973; Ph.D.,
cell and developmental biology, Yale University, 1979
Professional Experience: research fellow, biology, Harvard University, 1978-
1981; assistant to associate professor, biological science, Stanford University,
1982-1992, professor, 1992-
Concurrent Positions: investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1994-2001;
dean, School of Humanities and Sci-
ences, Stanford Univeristy, 2001-2007
Sharon Long is renowned for her stud-
ies in plant genetics. Her research
includes genetics and developmental
biology of symbiotic nitrogen fixation
in legumes, the role of plasmids in
symbiosis, plant cell biology, and plant
molecular biology. She identified and
cloned the genes that allow bacteria to
locate and enter certain plants; she
has worked with the rhizobium bacte-
rium that invades the roots of such
legumes as alfalfa, soybeans, and peas,
and lives symbiotically with the plant,
receiving moisture and protection from
it and producing nitrogen for the
plant's growth. Her specific contribu-
tion is to genetically alter the bacte-
rium to make better invaders. Her
research involves allowing the bacte-
rium to invade other major food crops,
Developmental and molecular biologist,
Sharon Long. (Courtesy of Stanford University
News Service Library)
Love, Susan M. | 63 I
which will enable farmers to reduce the amounts of nitrogen fertilizer that are spread
on food crops and eventually are washed off by rain into streams and rivers.
Long was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1993
and has had a distinguished career as a teacher, researcher, and administrator. After
a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard, she joined the faculty at Stanford University in
1982, serving as full professor since 1992, and was dean of the School of Human-
ities and Sciences for six years. At Stanford, she has twice received the Dean's
Award for Distinguished Teaching (1988 and 1992). Among her prestigious national
honors are a Presidential Young Investigators Award of the National Science Foun-
dation (1984-1989) and a MacArthur fellowship (1992-1997). She has also been
the recipient of a Shell Foundation Research Award, a Charles A. Schull Award
from the American Society of Plant Physiology, a National Science Foundation Fac-
ulty Award for Women, and the Wilbur Cross Medal for alumni from Yale Univer-
sity (2002). She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Philosophical
Society. She is a member of the American Academy of Microbiology and a member
of the Genetics Society of America, American Society of Plant Physiologists,
American Society for Microbiology, and Society for Developmental Biology.
Further Resources
Stanford University. "Sharon R. Long Lab." http://cmgm.stanford.edu/biology/long/.
Love, Susan M.
b. 1948
Surgeon
Education: B.S., Fordham University, 1970; M.D., State University of New York
Medical Center, 1974; M.B.A., Anderson School of Business, University of
California, Los Angeles, 1998
Professional Experience: surgical intern, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston,
Massachusetts, 1974-1975, surgical resident, 1975-1979, surgical coordinator,
1979, clinical fellow, pathology, 1980, assistant in surgery, Beth Israel Hospital,
1980-1987, director, Breast Clinic, 1980-1988, associate surgeon, 1987-1992,
director of research, Faulkner Breast Center, 1992; clinical fellow, surgery, Harvard
Medical School, Boston, 1977-1978, clinical instructor, 1980-1987, assistant clini-
cal professor, surgery, 1987-1992; associate professor, clinical surgery, University
of California, Los Angeles, 1992-1996, Revlon Chair in Women's Health, 1995-
1996, director, Revlon/UCLA Breast Center, 1992-1996, adjunct associate
632 | Love, Susan M.
professor, 1996-1997, adjunct profes-
sor, general surgery, 1997-; president
and medical director, Dr. Susan Love
Research Foundation (formerly Santa
Barbara Breast Cancer Institute), 1 996—
Concurrent Positions: visiting
registrar, Guy's Hospital, London,
England, 1977-1978; clinical associ-
ate, Dana Farber Cancer Institute,
1981-1992
Susan M. Love is a surgeon who
retired from medical practice to advo-
cate for breast cancer research. She
had a distinguished career as a physi-
cian, rising to become the first female
general surgeon at Beth Israel Hospi-
tal in Boston and a professor at Har-
vard Medical School. She founded
the National Breast Center Coalition
in 1990 to bring together the latest
research and political advocacy for
greater awareness and more funding
dedicated to breast cancer. She
moved to California in 1992 as a professor at the University of California, Los
Angeles and served as director of the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center before found-
ing the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation in 1996. Love's work focuses on
the lack of research funding, misinformation among doctors and patients, and con-
cern about drastic and unnecessary treatment methods offered to women in the
past, such as radical mastectomies. Her message to women diagnosed with breast
cancer is that they should do their own research, be informed, get second opinions,
and be their own advocates in the battle against the disease.
Love has published two books: Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book (1990; 4th ed.,
2005) and Dr. Susan Love's Menopause and Hormone Book (1998; 2nd ed.,
2003). She has contributed to numerous medical textbooks and has been a member
of editorial or review boards of medical journals. Love's high-profile research
center and popular books have made her a prominent public figure, and she has
made several television appearances on Discovery Health channel, Lifetime, the
Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, the Today Show, and other news
programs. She lectures often for women's health groups and has served as a
Surgeon Susan Love, 1996. She is the founder
and director of the Dr. Susan Love Research
Foundation for breast cancer research.
(AP/Wide World Photos)
Love, Susan M. | 633
Breast Cancer Research
Breast cancer is said to strike one in eight American women and, although more
women die of heart disease and lung cancer each year, breast cancer is seen as
a particularly insidious and dreaded disease among women. The fear of the disease
stems, in part, from the historically brutal nature of the treatment. The first radical
mastectomies were performed in the nineteenth century, with removal of the
breasts, lymph nodes, and chest muscles. By the late twentieth century, as greater
understanding of the course and spread of the disease was achieved, a greater
range of treatments were offered, including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy,
but also new experimental drug options. Emotional support for the disease has also
increased as patient advocacy groups have created support networks and called for
earlier diagnosis, more humane treatments, increased research funding, and public
campaigns such as the pink ribbon crusade and October as National Breast Cancer
Awareness Month. Women scientists who have died of breast cancer include early-
nineteenth-century British paleontologist Mary Anning, environmental scientist
Rachel Carson, mathematician Carol Karp, and American physician Jerri
Nielsen, who attracted worldwide media attention in 1998 after performing a
lumpectomy on her own breast while stranded at the South Pole research center.
medical advisor or board member for the National Alliance of Breast Cancer
Organizations, Lesbian Health Foundation, Wellness Community, International
Breast Cancer Research Foundation, President's National Action Plan on Breast
Cancer, and numerous other organizations. Her own research on breast ducts led
to the co-founding in 1998 of a medical device company, now known as Pro-
Duct Health, for which she remains a consultant. In 2008, her own Dr. Susan Love
Research Foundation joined with the Avon Foundation's "Army of Women" to
support breast cancer awareness and research.
Love's numerous awards and honors include, but are not limited to, the follow-
ing: Women Who Have Made a Difference by the International Women's Forum
(1991), Achievement Award of the American Association of Physicians for
Human Rights (1992), Women of Distinction by the National Council on Aging
(1994), Spirit of Achievement Award from Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
Yeshiva University (1995), Alumni Achievement Award from the State University
of New York (SUNY) College of Medicine (1999), Radcliffe Medal of the
Radcliffe College Alumnae Association (2000), Humanitarian of the Year Award
of Western University of Health Sciences (2001), Excellence in Cancer Awareness
Award from Congressional Families for Cancer Awareness (2002), Women Inspir-
ing Hope and Possibility from the National Women's History Project (2004),
Director's Award of the National Cancer Advisory Board and National Cancer
634 | Lubchenco, Jane
Institute (2004), and induction into the International Women's Forum Hall of
Fame (2006). She has also received honorary degrees from several universities.
Love has been a member of the North American Menopause Society, American
Medical Women's Association (branch president, 1987), American College of
Surgeons, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Association of
Physicians for Human Rights, American Society of Preventive Oncology, Society
for the Study of Breast Disease, American Association for Cancer Research, Asso-
ciation of Women Surgeons, American College of Women's Health Physicians
(founding member), American College of Physicians Executives, Doctors against
Abuse from Steroid Sex Hormones (DASH), Longmire Surgical Society, Massa-
chusetts Medical Society, Los Angeles Medical Society, and Los Angeles Acad-
emy of Medicine. She is married to California surgeon Dr. Helen Sperry Cooksey.
Further Resources
Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, http://www.dslrf.org/.
Stabiner, Karen. 1998. To Dance with the Devil: The New War on Breast Cancer. NY:
Delta Books.
Lubchenco, Jane
b. 1947
Marine Ecologist, Conservation Biologist
Education: B.A., biology, Colorado College, 1969; M.S., zoology, University of
Washington, 1971; Ph.D., marine ecology, Harvard University, 1975
Professional Experience: assistant professor, ecology, Harvard University, 1975—
1977; assistant to associate professor, zoology, Oregon State University, 1977-
1988, professor and department chair, 1988-1992, distinguished professor,
1993-2009; Under Secretary of Commerce and Administrator, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2009-
Concurrent Positions: principal investigator, National Science Foundation,
1976-; visiting professor, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica,
1976; visiting professor, Discovery Bay Marine Lab, 1977; research associate,
Smithsonian Institution, 1978-1984; visiting professor, Universidad Catolica,
Santiago, Chile, 1986; visiting professor, Institute of Oceanography, Qingdao,
China, 1987; visiting professor, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New
Zealand, 1995-1996, 1999-2000, and 2002-2003.
Lubchenco, Jane | 635
Jane Lubchenco is a marine ecologist interested in biodiversity and sustainable
ecological systems, and is active in national and international studies in ecology
and global climate change. In 2009, she was chosen by President Obama as head
of NOAA, the first woman to hold that post. She had previously served on the
National Science Board under President Clinton from 1996 to 2006 and advised
the president, vice president, and U.S. Congress on issues related to climate
change. Her work has focused on marine plant-herbivore interactions, chemical
ecology, predator-prey interactions, algal ecology, and life histories. She is also
interested in biodiversity and sustainable ecological systems. She conducted her
early field research in Panama from 1977 to 1983. She helped draft the Sustainable
Biosphere Initiative of the Ecological Society of America in 1991 and co-authored
a 1997 article entitled "Human Domination of Earth's Ecosystems," in which the
authors warned that human alteration of the Earth was substantial and growing.
She began her career at Harvard University, but after she and her husband,
marine biologist Bruce A. Menge, had been married for several years, they sought
joint employment at a research university where they could combine family and
career. Oregon State University allowed them to split one tenure-track position
into two separate, half-time tenure-track positions so that each of them could
engage in research and work toward tenure while their children were young. As
their children grew older, the couple were able to gradually move into full-time
status, a model they actively endorse as an alternative for faculty with families.
Some of her early papers were published under her married name, Jane Menge.
Lubchenco was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1996 and is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Science
(president, 1997), American Philosophical Society, and Royal Society. She is also
a member of the Phycological Society of America, American Society of Natural-
ists, American Institute of Biological Sciences, International Council for Science,
and Ecological Society of America (president, 1992-1993). She has served as
advisor for numerous marine organizations including the Ocean Trust Fund, Envi-
ronmental Defense Fund, and Monterey Bay Aquarium. She has received numer-
ous honorary degrees as well as the Mercer Award of the Ecological Society of
America (1979), a MacArthur Foundation "genius" fellowship (1993-1998), a
Pew fellowship (1993), the Heinz Award for the Environment (2002), the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Award for Public Under-
standing of Science and Technology (2005), and the Zayed International Prize
for the Environment (2008).
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
636 | Lubic, Ruth (Watson)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "NOAA Leadership: Dr. Jane
Lubchenco." http://www.noaa.gov/lubchenco.html.
Lubic, Ruth (Watson)
b. 1927
Nurse-Midwife
Education: diploma, School of Nursing Hospital, University of Pennsylvania,
1955; B.S., Teachers College, Columbia University, 1959, M.A., applied
anthropology, 1961; certificate, nurse-midwifery, State University of New York
at Brooklyn, 1962; Ed.D., applied anthropology, Columbia, 1979
Professional Experience: faculty member, School of Nursing, New York Medical
College, and Maternity Center Association, State University of New York School
of Nurse-Midwifery, Downstate Medical Center, 1955-1958; nurse, Memorial
Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases, New York, 1955-1958; clinical associ-
ate, Graduate School of Nursing, New York Medical College, 1962-1963; general
director, Maternity Center Association, New York, 1970-1995; founder, president,
and co-CEO, District of Columbia Developing Families Center, 2000-
Concurrent Positions: consultant, midwifery, nursing, and maternal and child
health, Office of Public Health and Science, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, 1995-
Ruth Lubic is known for her contributions to the public health field, particularly
those related to childbearing women, and has been a driving force behind the expan-
sion of the midwifery profession in the United States. During her nursing training,
Lubic observed that doctors often treated maternity patients with condescension
and insensitivity, and that women often did not receive the prenatal and postnatal
information they needed. These observations contrasted with her own experience
in 1959, when her obstetrician allowed her husband to be present in the delivery
room and to remain there with her and their newborn child for an hour after birth.
For more than 25 years, she was director of the Maternity Century Association of
New York, which was founded in 1918 as a nonprofit health agency dedicated to
the advancement of education about childbearing and improving the care given to
women during pregnancy and birth, and after delivery. Under Lubic 's direction,
the Maternity Center Association open the nation's first freestanding birth centers.
Lubic 's father was a pharmacist; after his death, her mother ran the pharmacy,
and Ruth worked there to save money to enter nursing school at the age of 25.
Lubic, Ruth (Watson) | 637
Martha Ballard, Early American Midwife
Martha Moore Ballard (1 735-1 812) was a midwife and healer who, for more than
25 years, kept a detailed diary of her medical practice and domestic work in the fron-
tier town of Hallowell, Maine. In addition to raising her own nine children and assist-
ing her husband in the family business, Ballard contributed to her family income and
community life as a midwife who delivered hundreds of babies and treated a variety
of illnesses in her small town. Ballard's diary (which was recovered and published
by historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich in the 1991 Pulitzer Prize-winning book The
Midwife's Tale and also inspired a documentary film and a student research
website, http://dohistory.org/) reveals important information about childbirth and
medicine in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, in particular highlight-
ing the differences in obstetrical practice between midwives such as Ballard and a
new class of professionally trained male doctors.
Interestingly, medicine seemed to be part of the female family legacy, as Martha
Ballard's diary was eventually handed down to and preserved by a great-great-
granddaughter, Mary Hobart, who in 1 884 was one of the first American women
to earn a medical degree and was the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts
Medical Society.
She graduated from college in 1959 and went on to receive a certificate in nurse-
midwifery from State University of New York at Brooklyn in 1962, but while
working for the center, she realized that her limited knowledge of different cul-
tures was barring her from responding adequately to the needs of some of her cli-
ents. Therefore, she entered the graduate program in applied anthropology at
Columbia University's Teachers College and earned an educational doctorate
(Ed.D.) in 1979. She had already become director of the Maternity Center Associ-
ation in 1970. In 1993, she was the first nurse ever to be honored with a MacArthur
Foundation grant (1993), which she used to open the District of Columbia Devel-
oping Families Center in 2000. The Center's stated goal is "to meet the primary
health care, social service, and child development needs of underserved individ-
uals and childbearing and childrearing families through a collaborative that builds
on their strengths and promotes their empowerment."
Lubic received the Rockefeller Public Service Award from Princeton University
(1981), the Lillian D. Wald Spirit of Nursing Award from the Visiting Nurse Service
of New York (1994), and the Gustav O. Lienhard Award of the Institute of Medicine
(2001). She is co-author of Childbearing: A Book of Choices (1987). She is a member
of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American
Public Health Association, and the American College of Nurse-Midwives. She was
638 | Lubkin, Gloria (Becker)
founder of the National Association of Childbearing Centers and served as that
organization's president from 1983 to 1992.
Further Resources
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. "Past Recipients of the Gustav O. Lienhard
Award." http://www.iom.edu/Activities/Quality/Lienhard/Past-Recipients.aspx.
DC Developing Families Center, http://www.developingfamilies.org/.
Andrews, Wyatt. "The Midwife on a Mission." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/
08/eveningnews/main4428250.shtml.
Lubkin, Gloria (Becker)
b. 1933
Physicist
Education: B.A., physics, Temple University, 1953; M.A., physics, Boston
University, 1957
Professional Experience: mathematician, Aircraft Division, Fairchild Stratos Cor-
poration, 1954, and Letterkenny Ordnance Depot, U.S. Department of Defense,
1955-1956; physicist, technical research group, Control Data Corporation, 1956-
1958; acting chair, physics, Sarah Lawrence College, 1961-1962; vice president,
Lubkin Associates, 1962-1963; associate to senior editor, Physics Today, 1963—
1984, editor, 1985-1994, editorial director, 1994-2000, editor at large, 2001-2003
Gloria Lubkin has contributed to the physics profession in her 40-year career as
editor of Physics Today, the publication of the American Institute of Physics. Her
research includes nuclear physics and the history of physics, and in the 1960s,
she began conducting oral histories of famous physicists. She is also an expert
on science policy and has conducted several roundtables on issues in science that
have been published in the journal, including issues of funding and scientists' rela-
tionship to government and to industry. Lubkin came to the journal with a solid
background of experience. While working on her master's degree, she worked as
a mathematician for Fairchild Stratos Corporation and the U.S. Department of
Defense, and she was a physicist with Control Data Corporation before serving
as acting chair of the physics department at Sarah Lawrence College. She joined
the staff of Physics Today as an associate editor and rose through the ranks to
editor and then editorial director before retiring emeritus in 2003.
Lubkin has served on numerous commissions and has received appointments to
significant committees. She was a member of the Nieman Advisory Committee of
Luchins, Edith Hirsch | 639
Harvard University (1978-1982) after being a recipient of a Nieman fellowship
(1974-1975). In the American Physical Society, she has been a member of the
executive commission of the Forum of Physics and Society (1977-1978) and a
member of the executive committee of the History of Physics Division. She was
also a consultant for the Center for the History and Philosophy of Physics of the
American Institute of Physics (1966-1967). She was co-chair of the advisory com-
mission for and co-founder of the Theoretical Physics Institute of the University of
Minnesota (1987-1988), which now has a Gloria Becker Lubkin professorship of
Theoretical Physics named in her honor.
Lubkin is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Associ-
ation for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the New York Academy
of Science and the National Association of Science Writers.
Luchins, Edith Hirsch
1921 2002
Mathematician
Education: B.A., Brooklyn College, 1942; M.S., New York University, 1944;
Ph.D., mathematics, University of Oregon, 1957
Professional Experience: inspector, Sperry Gyroscope Company, New York,
1942-1943; instructor, mathematics, Brooklyn College, 1944-1946, 1948-1949;
assistant, applied mathematics laboratory, New York University (NYU), 1946;
research fellow and research associate, mathematics, University of Oregon,
1957-1958; research associate to associate professor, mathematics, University of
Miami, Florida, 1959-1962; associate professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
New York, 1962-1970, professor, 1970-1992
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, mathematics, U.S. Military Academy,
West Point, 1991-1992, adjunct professor, cognitive sciences, 1994
Edith Luchins was recognized for her research on Banach algebras, functional
analysis, and mathematical psychology. She was particularly interested in cogni-
tive processes in mathematical problem solving, as well as the role of gender in
learning and teaching mathematics. She especially wanted to encourage more
women to pursue mathematics as a field of study. Luchins (then Hirsch) had emi-
grated to the United States from Poland when she was just six years old and,
although (or because) neither parent had been formally educated, they stressed
the importance of an education for Edith. In her New York City high school, she
excelled in math, even tutoring other students and assisting teachers with grading.
640 | Lucid, Shannon (Wells)
Not only her family but her future spouse supported her education; Abraham
Luchins insisted that she complete her undergraduate degree before they were
married in 1942. She completed her bachelor's degree and then master's at NYU
in quick succession, also teaching at Brooklyn College and working during World
War II as a government inspector of anti-aircraft equipment at Sperry Gyroscope.
Female mathematicians and scientists were in great demand in government and
industry to fill in for men during the war.
Luchins had begun doctoral work at NYU but eventually took several years off
from her studies to raise children and follow her husband's career to Montreal,
Canada, and then to Oregon, where she finally received her doctorate from the Uni-
versity of Oregon in 1957 before giving birth to her fifth child. Her years in Canada
were also important to her career, however, as she worked closely with her
husband, an educational psychologist, and developed an interest in mathematics edu-
cation that would influence her commitment to teaching and learning as well as
research. Her collaborations with her husband also led the two to co-author several
books. She taught at the University of Miami for four years before being appointed
associate professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic in 1962, and in 1970 became the first
woman promoted to full professor there. She formally retired in 1992 but remained
active in her research until her death in 2002. She was a member of the Mathematical
Association of America, the American Mathematical Society, the Society for Indus-
trial and Applied Mathematics, the American Education Research Association, and
the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
Murray, Margaret Anne Marie. 2000. Women Becoming Mathematicians: Creating an
Identity in Post World War II America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. "Obituary: Edith Luchins." http://www.rpi.edu/web/
Campus.News/dec 02/dec 2/luchins.html.
Lucid, Shannon (Wells)
b. 1943
Biochemist, Astronaut
Education: B.S., chemistry, University of Oklahoma, 1963, M.S., 1970, Ph.D.,
biochemistry, 1973
Professional Experience: teaching assistant, chemistry, University of Oklahoma,
1963-1964; senior laboratory technician, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation,
Lucid, Shannon (Wells) | 641
Astronaut Shannon Lucid exercises on a treadmill which has been assembled in the
Russian Mir space station Base Block module, 1996. (NASA)
1964-1966; chemist, Kerr-McGee, 1966-1968; graduate assistant, biochemistry
and molecular biology, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, 1969—
1973; research associate, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, 1974-1978;
astronaut, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 1978-1996;
chief scientist, Solar System Exploration Division, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
2002-2003, CAPCOM, mission control, Johnson Space Center, 2005-, manage-
ment, Astronaut Office, 2008-
Shannon Lucid is a biochemist and astronaut who set the record for the most hours
in space of any U.S. astronaut after she stayed aboard the Russian space station Mir
for 179 days in 1996. Her task on the Mir was to conduct biomedical experiments
on the effects of long-term space flight on humans. In addition her work on the
space station, she flew as a mission specialist on the space shuttles Discovery
(1985), Atlantis (1989), Atlantis (1991), and Columbia (1993). In 2002, Lucid
became chief scientist of NASA's Solar System Exploration program, directing
future space research and explorations and communicating NASA's missions to
the public. Since 2005 she has served as CAPCOM (capsule communicator) for
several space shuttle missions.
642 | Lurie, Nancy (Oestreich)
Lucid was born in Shanghai, China to missionary parents and was raised in
Oklahoma. She earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemistry
and biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma, receiving her doctorate in
1973. She then worked as a laboratory research associate at the Oklahoma Medical
Research Foundation before joining the astronaut training program as part of the first
group of women to be selected for the space program in 1978, along with Judith
Resnik, Sally Ride, and others; Lucid was the only mother among the original group
of female astronauts. During the 1980s, there was much publicity about the women
astronauts, and their photos and interviews appeared in numerous magazines.
In 1996, Lucid was the first female astronaut to be awarded the Congressional
Space Medal of Honor. She was recognized by Russian President Yeltsin in 1997
with the highest honor given to noncitizens, the Order of Friendship Medal.
Further Resources
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Shannon W. Lucid (Ph.D.)." http://
www.j sc .nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/lucid.html.
Lurie, Nancy (Oestreich)
b. 1924
Anthropologist
Education: B.A., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1945; M.A., University of
Chicago, 1947; Ph.D., anthropology, Northwestern University, 1952
Professional Experience: instructor, anthropology and sociology, University of
Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 1947-1949, 1951-1952; instructor, anthropology, University
of Colorado, 1950; research associate, Peabody Museum, Harvard University, 1954-
1956; lecturer, anthropology, Rackham School, University of Michigan, 1957-1959,
lecturer, School of Public Health, 1959-1961, assistant professor, 1961-1963; associ-
ate professor, anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 1963-1967, pro-
fessor, 1967-1972; Anthropology Curator, Milwaukee Public Museum, 1972-1994,
emerita
Concurrent Positions: American Association for the Advancement of Science
grant, National Archives, 1953-1954; adjunct faculty member, University of
Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 1972-1994
Lurie, Nancy (Oestreich) | 643
Nancy Lurie is a cultural anthropologist known for her studies of North American
Indians and her work in applied and action anthropology aimed at identifying
and solving community problems. Her work centered on the Winnebago or
Ho-Chunk tribe of Wisconsin, and she was adopted by a member of that tribe,
Mitchell Redcloud, Sr., whom she interviewed during the course of her graduate
research. Her adoption gave her an entree to Redcloud's family when she later
conducted extensive research into the role of Native American women, who
she felt were ignored in most histories of Native Americans. Her book, Moun-
tain Wolf Woman, Sister of Crashing Thunder (1961), is the autobiography of
one of Redcloud's family members, as Mountain Wolf Woman dictated it to
Lurie, her adopted niece. As part of her activist anthropology, Lurie has also
consulted with and served as an expert witness and researcher for Indian clients
before the U.S. Indian Claims Commission on issues related to tribal identities,
boundaries, land use, and occupancy.
As a child, Lurie's father took her to learn about American Indians at the
Milwaukee Public Museum. As soon as she was old enough to ride the public
transportation alone, she spent many hours at the museum and worked in the
anthropology department as a volunteer. She conducted her first fieldwork among
the Winnebago while still an undergraduate. There was very little information
about this group available at the time, and she continued her research in graduate
school. Her doctoral thesis compared cultural change in the Nebraska and Wiscon-
sin enclaves of the Winnebago. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, she col-
laborated on research with June Helm on the northern Athabaskan Indians,
studying the Dogrib settlements in the Canadian Northwest. Among her action
anthropology projects, several involved the Winnebago and Menominee tribes.
In 1972, she left the university and spent the next 20 years of her career as curator
and head of the anthropology section of the Milwaukee Public Museum, the first
woman to head one of the museum's scientific sections.
Lurie has received numerous honors and awards and is a fellow of the American
Anthropological Association (president, 1983-1985) and a member of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, American Ethnological Society,
and Society for Applied Anthropology. In 2004, the Ho-Chunk Nation formally
recognized Lurie for her work on behalf of their people by presenting her with a
custom-made blanket.
Further Resources
Gacs, Ute et al. 1988. Women Anthropologists: Selected Biographies. Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press.
M
Maccoby, Eleanor (Emmons)
b. 1917
Psychologist
Education: student, Reed College, 1934, 1936; B.S., University of Washington,
Seattle, 1939; M.A., University of Michigan, 1949, Ph.D., psychology, 1950
Professional Experience: study director, Division of Program Surveys, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, 1943-1946; study director, Survey Research Center,
University of Michigan, 1946-1948; lecturer and researcher, Laboratory of
Human Development, Department of Social Relations, Harvard University,
1950-1958; associate professor, psychology, Stanford University, 1958-1966,
professor, 1966-1987, emeritus
Eleanor Maccoby is a developmental and social psychologist whose studies of the
social behavior of young children continue to influence research and theories of
gender differences. She edited and wrote a chapter for The Development of Sex
Differences (1966) on the differences in the development of male and female
children, and, in particular, the reasons boys and girls perform differently on intel-
lectual tests. In The Psychology of Sex Differences (1974), she and her co-author,
Carol Nagy Jacklin, examined the research on gender differences and theorized
that gender-typed behavior is a joint product of biological predispositions, social
shaping, and cognitive self-socialization processes, and that there was no evidence
for many widely held beliefs about the differences between boys and girls. The book
was immediately controversial, but it was a first step toward more objective scientific
investigations of sex differences. In Social Development (1980), she examined
family socialization and argued that children's development is influenced by the
nature and effect of parent-child interactions.
In the late 1980s, Maccoby and her team of researchers began a long-term study
of the effect of divorce on young children. They followed 500 divorcing families
for the book Dividing the Child: Social and Legal Dilemmas of Custody (1992;
co-authored with legal scholar Robert Mnookin). Maccoby and her researchers fol-
lowed up four years later when the children were adolescents and found that they
did well as long as there was minimal parental conflict involved in joint-custody
arrangements, results published in Adolescents After Divorce (1996; co-authored
645
646 | Macklin, Madge Thurlow
with Christy M. Buchanan and Sanford M. Dornbusch). Maccoby again turned to
her interest in sexual identity and gender differences in The Two Sexes: Growing
Up Apart, Coming Together (1998), which explores how individuals express their
sexual identity at successive periods of their lives and in different social contexts.
Maccoby's interest in psychology began in 1940 when she obtained a position
doing public-opinion surveys for the Department of Agriculture. There she gained
experience in applied psychology by conducting surveys of wartime programs such
as fuel oil rationing and the sale of war bonds. She conducted research for her doc-
toral thesis in B. F. Skinner's laboratory at Harvard. Through the Laboratory of
Human Development, she conducted interviews of mothers for a socialization study
on childrearing practices. When the major investigator left the department, she
was assigned to teach his courses in child psychology. After moving to Stanford
University, she began her work on gender studies.
Maccoby was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1993. She has received numerous prizes, such as the Distinguished Scientific Con-
tributions Award of the American Psychological Association (1988), the Kurt
Lewin Memorial Award (1991), and the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement
in Psychological Science of the American Psychological Association (1996). She
is a member of the Society for Research in Child Development (president, 1981-
1983), the American Psychological Association, the Social Science Research
Council, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Macklin, Madge Thurlow
1893 1962
Geneticist
Education: A.B., Goucher College, 1914; M.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1919
Professional Experience: instructor, embryology, University of Western Ontario,
1921-1930, assistant professor, 1930-1945; research associate, Ohio State
University, 1945-1959
Madge Macklin performed pioneering research in medical genetics, and she cam-
paigned to include genetics in the standard medical school curriculum. Eventually,
she was able to convince her contemporaries of the clinical importance of the fam-
ily history in diagnosis, therapy, prognosis, and prevention of disease. She demon-
strated that both environment and hereditary factors are significant in specific
cancers, such as those of the stomach and breast. After her marriage in 1918 and
receiving her M.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1919, she moved to the University of
MacLeod, Grace | 647
Western Ontario as a lecturer in embryology classes for first-year medical
students. Despite her significant work, she received only successive one-year
appointments at Western Ontario, perhaps due to her controversial views on
eugenics. She viewed eugenics as a branch of preventive medicine in that physicians
should determine which people are physically and genetically qualified to be parents
of the next generation. She advocated sterilization of people with certain mental
diseases. Another factor for her short appointments was that her husband taught at
the university, and many institutions were reluctant to hire both husband and wife
as faculty, although they did not specifically forbid it.
Macklin was meticulous in her research in preparing carefully controlled
experiments and data analysis. The contributions she made in applying sound stat-
istical techniques to genetics were of great significance. In 1945, when she was
notified that her contract at Western Ontario would not be renewed, she accepted
a position at Ohio State as a National Research Council associate and as a lecturer
in medical genetics. Her husband remained at Western Ontario. Macklin received
an honorary degree from Goucher College in 1938, and the Elizabeth Blackwell
Medal from the American Medical Women's Association in 1957. She was elected
president of the American Society of Human Genetics in 1959.
MacLeod, Grace
1878 1962
Nutritionist
Education: B.S., chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1901; A.M.,
Columbia University, 1914, Ph.D., 1924
Professional Experience: teacher, Massachusetts public schools, 1901-1910;
teacher, chemistry and physics, Pratt Institute, 1910-1917; assistant editor, Indus-
trial and Engineering Chemistry, 1917-1919; instructor, nutrition, Teachers College,
Columbia University, 1919-1924, assistant professor to professor, 1924-1944
Concurrent Positions: cooperating investigator, nutrition laboratory, Carnegie
Institution, 1922-1928
Grace MacLeod was recognized by her contemporaries for her work in nutrition.
Her research involved utilization of calcium and other supplements, efficiency of
proteins, energy metabolism of children, and availability of iron. She spent nearly
25 years at Teachers College, Columbia University, building one of the outstand-
ing nutrition programs in the United States. After the retirement of her colleague
and former professor, Mary Swartz Rose, in 1940, MacLeod was the head of
648 | Macy-Hoobler, Icie Gertrude
the nutrition program. In 1944 and 1956, she helped revise and then co-author two
new editions of Rose's book, Foundations of Nutrition, and she co-authored the
fifth edition of Rose's Laboratory Handbook for Dietetics. During World War II,
she worked on food and nutrition guidelines, becoming chair of the Food and
Nutrition Council of Greater New York. After her formal retirement in 1944, she
continued to consult for government agencies (such as the U.S. Department of
Agriculture [USDA]) on children's nutritional and energy needs.
Born in Scotland, MacLeod came to the United States when she was only four
years old. She majored in chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) after being encouraged in science and math by her high school teachers.
She went on to Columbia, but her career followed the general pattern for a woman
of her generation. She taught public school for more than 10 years after receiving
her undergraduate degree and then taught college chemistry and physics while
working on her master's degree at Columbia. She spent two years as an assistant
editor of a major journal in chemistry, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry,
before joining the staff of Columbia University while she completed her doctorate.
She rose through the academic ranks to full professor and did significant work in
the field of nutrition, which was just being recognized as a profession, thanks in
large part to the work of her team at Columbia. Her sister, Florence MacLeod,
was also a nutritionist, working at the University of Tennessee.
MacLeod published numerous papers and articles, and was on the editorial
board of the Journal of Nutrition and the Journal of the American Dietetic Associ-
ation. She was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, American Society of Biological Chemistry, American Chemical Society,
Society of Biological Chemists, Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine,
American Institution of Nutrition, American Dietetic Association, and American
Home Economics Association.
Macy-Hoobler, Icie Gertrude
1892 1984
Chemist
Education: A.B., English and music, Central College for Women, Missouri, 1914;
B.S., chemistry, University of Chicago, 1916; A.M., chemistry, University of
Colorado, Boulder, 1918; Ph.D., physiological chemistry, Yale University, 1920
Professional Experience: assistant chemist, University of Colorado, Boulder,
1916-1917, physiological chemist, school of medicine, 1917-1918; assistant
Macy-Hoobler, Icie Gertrude | 649
biochemist, Western Pennsylvania Hospital, 1920-1921; instructor, University of
California, Berkeley, 1921-1923; director, Nutrition Research Laboratory (later
Research Laboratory of the Children's Fund of Michigan), Merrill-Palmer School,
Detroit, Michigan, 1923-1954; staff, Merrill-Palmer Institute of Human Develop-
ment and Family Life, 1954-1959, consultant, 1959-1974
Icie Macy-Hoobler was one of the most influential physiological chemists of the
early twentieth century for her research on nutrition, mineral metabolism
in human pregnancy, lactation, and growth, and the chemistry of red blood cells
in health and disease. Her most important work was on the effect of nutrition on
both mother and child. She studied the nutritional requirements of women and
children and proved that malnutrition in women had a significant effect upon birth
defects, and upon infant health and growth. As a graduate student at Yale, she
began research on cottonseeds, which, during World War I, were being substituted
for wheat flour. She found that animals that had been fed cottonseeds became ill
due to gossypol, a poison present in the plant. She held a series of short-term
positions at various schools while completing her advanced degrees and, after
receiving her Ph.D., was offered the directorship of nutrition research at the
Merrill-Palmer School in Detroit, which in 1931 became the Research Laboratory
of the Children's Fund of Michigan. In this position, she mentored biochemistry
and nutrition graduate students from the University of Chicago and other schools,
and oversaw numerous important projects. Her research group was instrumental in
showing the need for vitamin D and in encouraging the irradiation of milk. She
studied amino acids in foods and the standardization and minimum daily require-
ments of vitamins B and C. Her work led to public health campaigns to dissemi-
nate new scientific information on nutrition to mothers and children. She
contributed to hundreds of scientific papers and several books, including Nutrition
and Chemical Growth in Childhood (3 vols., 1942-1951), Hidden Hunger (1945;
co-authored with H. H. Williams), and Chemical Anthropology: A New Approach
to Growth in Children (1957; co-authored with H. J. Kelly).
Icie Macy attended Central College for Women in Lexington, Missouri, where
she studied English and received certification as a music teacher in order to please
her parents. She went on to earn another bachelor's degree, this time in chemistry,
from the University of Chicago in 1916, where she studied with Nobel Prize-
winning physicist Robert A. Millikan. She earned a master's degree in chemistry
from the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she taught inorganic and physio-
logical chemistry. A professor encouraged her to continue on for a doctorate, and
she enrolled at Yale University, where in 1920 she was one of the earliest women
to earn a Ph.D. in physiological chemistry. She married late in life, to pediatrician
Raymond Hoobler, in 1938.
650 | Makemson, Maud Worcester
Macy-Hoobler was the first woman to chair a division of the American Chemical
Society — the biochemistry division (1930-1931). She was active in establishing the
Women's Award of the American Chemical Society, later known as the Garvan
Medal, which she received in 1946. She also was awarded the Borden Award
(1939), the Osborn and Mendel Award (1952), and the Modern Medicine Award
(1955). She was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, American Chemical Society, American Society of Biological Chemists,
Michigan Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters, American Institute of Chemists,
and American Institute of Nutrition (president, 1944). She received honorary
degrees from Wayne State University (1945) and Grand Valley State College (1971),
and was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame. Macy-Hoobler published
an autobiography, Boundless Horizons: Portrait of a Woman Scientist (1982), in which
she related some of the difficulties she encountered as a woman in her long career.
Further Resources
Williams, Harold H. 1984. "Icie Gertrude Macy Hoobler (1892 1984): A Biographical
Sketch." The Journal of Nutrition. American Institute of Nutrition. 1351 1362.
(30 April 1984). http://jn.nutrition.Org/cgi/reprint/114/8/1351.pdf.
Makemson, Maud Worcester
1891 1977
Astronomer
Education: Radcliffe College, 1908-1909; A.B., astronomy, University of California,
Berkeley, 1925, A.M., 1927, Ph.D., astronomy, 1930
Professional Experience: newspaper reporter, Review (Bisbee, Arizona) and
Gazette (Phoenix, Arizona), 1917-1923; public school teacher, 1925-1926; research
assistant, astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, 1926-1929, instructor,
1930-1931; assistant professor, astronomy and math, Rollins College, 1931-1932;
assistant professor, Vassar College, 1932-1957, director of observatory, 1936-1957;
research astronomer, University of California, Los Angeles, 1959-1964, lecturer,
astronomy, 1960-1964
Concurrent Positions: Fulbright fellow, astronomy, Ochanomizu Women's Univer-
sity, Tokyo, Japan, 1953-1954; consultant, Consolidated Lockheed-California,
1961-1963, General Dynamics, Fort Worth, Texas, 1965
Maud Makemson was recognized for her research on astrodynamics. Her research
centered on celestial mechanics and astrodynamics, and on cultural topics such as
Polynesian astronomy, navigation, and the Mayan calendar, subjects on which she
Maling, Harriet Mylander | 651
published in anthropological journals. She began her college career at Radcliffe,
but after more than 10 years as a housewife and then newspaper reporter,
she entered the University of California in 1923 as a divorced mother of three
young children to complete her undergraduate degree. With the help of relatives
to watch the children, she continued on to receive a Ph.D. in astronomy at
Berkeley in 1930, with a focus on celestial mechanics. She taught briefly at Rollins
College in Florida before accepting a faculty position at Vassar College in 1932.
Makemson was the first professor of astronomy at Vassar who had not been a stu-
dent of Maria Mitchell. Makemson remained at Vassar for 25 years, during which
time she also became director of the observatory. She continued to work well into
her seventies even after formal retirement. She held a position as a research
astronomer and lecturer in astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles
after retirement from Vassar, and also consulted for Consolidated Lockheed in
California and General Dynamics in Texas, where she moved in 1964 to be near
one of her children. At the time of her death, she was still busy at work on a trans-
lation of a 1645 Latin astronomy text.
Makemson was co-author of Introduction to Astrodynamics (1961, 1967). In
addition to her scientific papers, she wrote two other books: The Morning Star
Rises (1941), on Polynesian astronomy, and Book of the Jaguar Priest (1951),
for which she had received a Guggenheim fellowship to work on the translation
and study of an ancient Mayan calendar. Both of these projects brought her
prestige and recognition within the field. In 1953, she received a Fulbright
fellowship to teach astronomy at Ochanomizu Women's University in Japan.
She was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science and was a member of the American Astronomical Society, the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the American Association of
Variable Star Observers.
Further Resources
Lankford, John and Ricky L. Slavings. 1997. American Astronomy: Community, Careers,
and Power, 1859 1940. University of Chicago Press.
Maling, Harriet Mylander
1919 1987
Pharmacologist
Education: A.B., Goucher College, 1940; A.M., Radcliffe College, 1941, Ph.D.,
medical science and physiology, 1944
652 | Maltby, Margaret Eliza
Professional Experience: assistant pharmacologist, Harvard Medical School,
1944-1945, instructor, 1945-1946; assistant professor, medical school, George
Washington University, 1951-1952, assistant research professor, 1952-1954;
pharmacologist, National Heart and Lung Institute, National Institutes of Health,
1954-1962, head, physiology section, 1962-retirement
Harriet Maling was a pharmacologist whose research focused on autonomic and
cardiovascular drugs. She began her career plan as an undergraduate at Goucher
College in Maryland, where she planned to combine her interests in medicine
and biological research. She worked as an assistant pharmacologist and instruc-
tor at Harvard Medical School after receiving her doctorate in medical science
and physiology from Radcliffe. During her final year of doctoral study, Maling
received a fellowship from the American Association of University Women.
She then took a five-year break from seeking employment, during which time
she married and gave birth to four children. She returned to teaching at the
medical school of George Washington University as assistant professor and later as-
sistant research professor. She joined the National Heart and Lung Institute as a
chemical pharmacologist in 1954, and began her research on the effects of different
drugs on heart function. She was named the head of the division of physiology in
1962. She published dozens of scientific papers and was a member of the editorial
board of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics from
1962 to 1965.
Maling was a member of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, the American
Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and the New York
Academy of Science.
Maltby, Margaret Eliza
I860 1944
Physicist
Education: A.B., Oberlin College, 1882, A.M., 1891; B.S., physics, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1891; Ph.D., University of Gottingen, 1895
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1884-1887; instructor, physics,
Wellesley College, 1889-1893, department head, 1896; instructor, physics and
mathematics, Lake Erie College for Women, Ohio, 1897-1898; research assistant,
Physikalisch-Technische Reichsantalt, 1898-1899; instructor, chemistry, Barnard
Maltby, Margaret Eliza | 653
College, 1900-1903, adjunct professor, physics, 1903-1910, associate professor
and department head, physics, 1910-1931
Margaret Maltby was one of the earliest researchers in physical chemistry and the
first American woman to receive a degree in physics from a German university.
Her areas of research were measurement of high electrolytic resistances, measure-
ment of periods of rapid electrical oscillations, conductivity of very dilute solutions
of certain salts, and radioactivity. She was also interested in music and acoustics
and is believed to have offered the first course in the physics of sound. During her
lifetime, physics was almost exclusively a male profession, and Maltby worked at
various institutions before securing a tenure-track faculty position at Barnard. After
she graduated from Oberlin College, she attended the Art Students' League for a
year before returning to Ohio to teach high school for four years. She entered the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1887 to study physics and received
her undergraduate degree in 1891, the same year that Oberlin granted her a master's
degree. Besides earning these degrees, she also studied theoretical physics for a year
at Clark University. She taught physics at Wellesley College for four years while
continuing her graduate studies at MIT. She then was awarded a traveling fellowship
to the University of Gottingen, where she received her doctorate in 1895. She
returned to Wellesley as department head before accepting a position at Lake Erie
College as instructor in physics and mathematics.
In 1900, Maltby came to Barnard to teach chemistry and physics, and spent the
last 20 years of her career as head of the physics department. Although she had
early success as a researcher, she never advanced to full professor at Barnard, per-
haps because her teaching and administrative duties left little time for further
research. She did, however, have a tremendous influence on a generation of female
students of science, and committed a significant amount of time and energy to
securing funding for equipment and for her students. She had an even greater role
in developing career opportunities for women as chair of the fellowship committee
of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) from 1913 to 1924,
which gave funds to women for advanced study both in the United States and
abroad. In 1926, the AAUW established a fellowship in her name. She contributed
a chapter on "The Physicist" for a 1920 guide to Careers for Women (edited by
Catherine Filene).
Maltby was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society, and she also was
a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
654 | Marcus, Joyce
Marcus, Joyce
Archaeologist
Education: B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1969; M.A., Harvard Univer-
sity, 1971, Ph.D., anthropology, 1974
Professional Experience: visiting lecturer, anthropology, University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, 1973-1975, visiting assistant professor, 1975-1976, assistant professor,
anthropology, 1976-1981, assistant curator, Latin American Archaeology, Uni-
versity of Michigan Museum of Anthropology, 1978-1981, associate professor
and associate curator, 1981-1984, professor, anthropology, and curator, Latin
American Archaeology, 1985-, Elman R. Service Professor of Cultural Evolution,
1998-2005, Robert L. Carneiro Distinguished University Professor of Social
Evolution, 2005-
Joyce Marcus is an archaeologist whose research interests include the social,
political, and economic development of ancient societies in Latin America. Her
primary research has focused on the Zapotec, Maya, and pre-Inca societies of
ancient Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru. She has combined archaeological fieldwork
with hieroglyphic and ethnohistoric sources to analyze how these civilizations
evolved over time, and has documented the emergence of the earliest villages,
hereditary inequality, social stratification, warfare, and state religion. She and her
colleagues have excavated one of Mexico's earliest agricultural villages and the
earliest appearance of hieroglyphic texts circa 700 to 650 BC.
Born in California, Marcus completed her undergraduate education at the Uni-
versity of California, Berkeley and went on to receive her doctorate in anthropol-
ogy from Harvard University in 1974. She has spent her entire teaching career at
the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she is also the Curator of Latin
American Archaeology for the Museum of Anthropology. She has published
numerous articles and books, including The Cloud People: Divergent Evolution
of the Zapotec and Mixtec Civilizations (1983, with Kent Flannery; new ed.,
2003), Mesoamerican Writing Systems: Propaganda, Myth, and History in Four
Ancient Civilizations (1992, an Honorable Mention for Outstanding Book in the
Social Sciences and Humanities by the Latin American Studies Association),
Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society Evolved in Mexico 's Oaxaca Valley
(1996, with K. Flannery), Women's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca: Figurine-Making,
Divination, Death and the Ancestors (1998), La Civilizacion Zapoteca: Como
Evoluciono La Sociedad Urbana en el Valle de Oaxaca (2001, with K. Flannery,
recipient of the Premio Caniem 2001 en el Arte Editorial award in Mexico), Agricul-
tural Strategies (2006, with Charles Stanish), Monte Albdn (2008), Excavations at
Margulis, Lynn (Alexander) | 655
Cerro Azul, Peru: The Architecture and Pottery (2008, awarded the Cotsen Book
Prize in archaeology), The Ancient City (2008, with Jeremy A. Sabloff), and Andean
Civilization (2009, with Ryan Patrick Williams).
Marcus has been an invited lecturer at institutions both in the United States and
abroad, and has been a consultant to the American Museum of Natural History in
New York; University Museum, University of Pennsylvania; Cotsen Institute of
Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles; and Harvard University's
Peabody Museum. She has received numerous grants for her research, including from
the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American
Association of University Women, and the National Science Foundation.
Marcus was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1997 and was the
first archaeologist to be elected to the Council of the National Academy of
Sciences (2005-2008). She is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, American Philosophical Society, and Institute of Andean Studies,
and a member of the American Anthropological Association, Society for
American Archaeology, American Society for Ethnohistory, Midwest Andeanist
Society, and Midwest Mesoamericanist Society. The University of Michigan has
acknowledged her research and teaching with the Henry Russel Award for
Scholarly Research (1979), a Literature, Science, and Arts Excellence in Research
Award (1995), and a Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award (2007). The
Universidad Autonoma de Campeche awarded Marcus a "special recognition"
Reconocimiento (2003), and she received a Mentor Recognition Award from the
University of California, San Diego (2007).
Further Resources
University of Michigan. Faculty website, http://www.lsa.umich.edu/anthro/faculty staff/
marcus.html.
Margulis, Lynn (Alexander)
b. 1938
Cell Biologist, Microbiologist
Education: B.A., University of Chicago, 1957; M.S., University of Wisconsin,
1960; Ph.D., genetics, University of California, Berkeley, 1965
Professional Experience: postdoctoral researcher, Brandeis University,
1963-1965; assistant professor, biology, Boston University, 1966-1971, associate
professor, 1971-1977, professor, 1977-1988, Distinguished University Professor of
656 | Margulis, Lynn (Alexander)
Biology, 1986-1988; Distinguished
University Professor of Geosciences,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst,
1988-
Concurrent Positions: chair, Space
Science Board Committee on Plan-
etary Biology and Chemical Evolu-
tion, National Academy of Science,
1977-1980
Lynn Margulis has been called the
most gifted theoretical biologist of her
generation, and she has questioned
accepted truths about evolution, hered-
ity, and cell biology. Her research on
evolutionary links between cells con-
taining nuclei and cells without nuclei
led her to formulate a symbiotic theory
Cell biologist and microbiologist, Lynn of evolution in the 1970s that finally is
Margulis. (Courtesy of the University of becoming more widely accepted in
Massachusetts) ^ . ^.„ .„_ _. . ^ ,
the scientific community. Prior to her
work, scientists held that evolution was based on natural selection. Her theory of
symbiosis proposes that eukaryotes (cells with nuclei) evolved when different
kinds of prokaryotes (cells without nuclei) formed symbiotic systems to enhance
their chances for survival. The first such symbiotic fusion would have taken place
between fermenting bacteria and oxygen-using bacteria. All cells with nuclei, she
theorizes, are derived from bacteria that formed symbiotic relationships with other
primordial bacteria some 2 billion years ago. She argues that the primary mecha-
nism driving biological change is symbiosis and that competition plays a secondary
role. The manuscript in which she first presented her symbiotic theory was rejected
or lost by 15 journals before it was published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology
in 1966. Her comprehensive exposition of the theory is presented in the book The
Origin of Eukaryotic Cells (1970), and the revised version was published as Symbi-
osis in Cell Evolution (1981). By the time the second book was published, the scien-
tific establishment had finally accepted the idea that mitochondria and chloroplasts
evolved symbiotically.
Another of Margulis's current theories that has not yet been accepted is that the
Earth as a whole is alive. This idea is popularly known as "the Gaia hypothesis,"
named for the Greek goddess of the Earth and first proposed by the chemist James
Lovelock. Margulis provided evidence for this theory in her research on protozoa,
Marlatt, Abby Lillian | 657
algae, seaweeds, molds, and microbes that prompted Omni magazine to dub her "the
wizard of ooze" in 1985. When Margulis was elected to membership in the National
Academy of Sciences in 1983, she viewed the honor as an indication that her
theories were being accepted by the scientific community.
Margulis has published numerous books, including Symbiotic Planet: A New
Look at Evolution (1998), and several books with her son, Dorion Sagan, such as
What Is Life? (1995), What Is Sex? (1997), and Acquiring Genomes: A Theory of
the Origins of Species (2002). In 2006, she and Dorion founded their own publish-
ing company, Sciencewriters Books. Her 2007 book, Mind, Life, and Universe:
Conversations with Great Scientists of Our Time (co-edited with Eduardo Punset),
includes profiles of several other women scientists.
In 1999, Margulis was awarded both the National Medal of Science and
the Proctor Prize for scientific achievement. In 2009, she was awarded the
Darwin-Wallace Medal of the Linnean Society of London for "major advances
in evolutionary biology." She is a fellow of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science and a member of the International Society for the Study
of the Origin of Life and International Society for Evolutionary Protistology
("protistology" refers to the taxonomic kingdom of protists such as protozoans,
eukaryotic algae, and slime molds). She was married to physicist and popular
author Carl Sagan, and her early work was published under the name Lynn Sagan.
She was married a second time, to crystallographer Thomas Margulis, but the
couple later divorced.
Further Resources
University of Massachusetts. Faculty website, http://www.geo.umass.edu/faculty/margulis/.
Marlatt, Abby Lillian
1869 1943
Home Economist and Educator
Education: B.S., Kansas State Agricultural College, 1888, M.S., chemistry, 1890
Professional Experience: head, domestic economy, Utah State Agricultural Col-
lege, 1890-1894; high school teacher, home economics, 1894-1909; director,
home economics department, University of Wisconsin, 1909-1935
Abby Marlatt helped develop the profession of home economics by insisting upon
broad training and high standards. Her department at the University of Wisconsin
became the model for other home economics programs around the country. After
658 | Marrack, Philippa Charlotte
she received her master's degree from Kansas State Agricultural College, Marlatt
was invited to establish a program in domestic economy at Utah State. In 1894,
she accepted a position to establish a program at the Manual Training High School
in Providence, Rhode Island. She took advantage of the location by enrolling in
advanced studies at Clark University and Brown University. In 1909, the dean of
agriculture at the University of Wisconsin invited her to revitalize the school's home
economics program. Under her management, the department rapidly expanded in
number of courses, students, and faculty. She also established high academic stan-
dards for her students, requiring courses in English, foreign languages, and science,
and offering technical courses including bacteriology, physiology, and journalism.
Her program greatly broadened the training available to home economics majors
beyond the domestic skills courses that many colleges offered.
During World War I, Marlatt served in the food-conservation division of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture and on several other federal committees. In
1903, she was chair of the Lake Placid Conference on Home Economics and was
instrumental in continuing the conference series. After the group was established
as the American Home Economics Association, she was vice president from
1912 to 1918. She also directed two fundraising campaigns for the association.
She was a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science. She received honorary degrees from Kansas
State in 1925 and from Utah State in 1938.
Marrack, Philippa Charlotte
b. 1945
Immunologist
Education: B.A., Cambridge University, 1967, Ph.D., biological sciences, 1970
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, molecular biology, Cambridge
University, 1970-1971; postdoctoral fellow, biology, University of California, San
Diego, 1971-1973; postdoctoral fellow, microbiology, University of Rochester,
New York, 1973-1974, associate, 1974-1975, assistant professor, microbiology,
1975-1976, assistant professor, oncology, microbiology and cancer center, 1976-
1979, associate professor, 1979-1982; associate professor, biophysics, biochemistry,
and genetics, University of Colorado Health Science Center, 1980-1985, professor,
biochemistry and molecular genetics, 1985-, professor, microbiology and
immunology, 1988-1994, professor, immunology, 1994-
Marrack, Philippa Charlotte | 659
Concurrent Positions: investigator, American Heart Association, 1976-1981;
member, Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health Center, 1979-; head,
Division of Basic Immunology, National Jewish Center of Immunology and
Respiratory Medicine, 1988-1990 and 1998-1999; investigator, Howard Hughes
Medical Institute, 1986-; advisory head, research in allergy/asthma, National
Jewish Health Center, 2004-2006
Philippa Marrack is renowned for her research on the body's immune system and
the intricate web of defenses it raises against viruses, bacteria, and other trespass-
ers. Her particular interest is how the body accepts or rejects its own tissues, which
is the study of the "T cells" formed in the thymus gland that control the immune
system, and her work has implications for the development of vaccines. Very little
was known about the T cells in the immune system until the late 1960s, and
Marrack and her husband, John Kappler, who have worked together for more than
30 years, became the leading scientists conducting this research.
Born in England, Marrack began her research while still a graduate student at
Cambridge University. After receiving her doctorate, she moved to the University
of California, San Diego as a fellow in immunology. She joined the cancer
research laboratory of R. W. Dutton, who had recently learned to grow cultures
of T lymphocytes, and there she met John Kappler, who also was working in the
laboratory. They married in 1974 and moved to the University of Rochester, where
she was a postdoctoral fellow in immunology. After she won an American Heart
Association investigatorship to do basic research, she was recognized as an equal
partner with Kappler and the two began to pursue joint projects and publish
together. They established a system whereby the person who performed the princi-
pal experiments is always the first listed author, and the one who primarily wrote
the paper is named second. They moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1979, where they
both hold joint appointments with the University of Colorado Health Sciences
Center and National Jewish Health. They are also investigators for the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute.
Marrack and Kappler have received numerous awards and honors from
international organizations and universities for their research; most recently, she
is the recipient of the American Association of Immunologists Lifetime Achieve-
ment Award (2002), the L'Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Award (2004), and
the National Jewish Health Presidential Award (2004). She is a member of the
Royal Society, the American Association of Immunologists (vice president,
1999-2000; president, 2000-2001), and the Science Council of the American
Heart Association. She was elected to the National Academy of Science in 1989
and to the Institute of Medicine in 2008.
660 | Martin, Emily
Further Resources
Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "Philippa Marrack, Ph.D." http://www.hhmi.org/
research/investigators/marrack bio. html.
Martin, Emily
b. 1944
Anthropologist
Education: B.A., anthropology, University of Michigan, B.A., 1966; Ph.D.,
Cornell University, 1971
Professional Experience: assistant professor, anthropology, Program in Compa-
rative Culture, University of California, Irvine, 1971-1972; assistant professor,
anthropology, Yale University, 1972-1974; associate professor, Johns Hopkins
University, 1974-1976, professor, 1976-, Mary Elizabeth Garrett Professor of
Arts and Sciences, 1981-1994; professor, anthropology, Princeton University,
1994-2001; professor, anthropology, New York University, 2001-
Emily Martin is a cultural anthropologist whose research interests include religion,
ideology, politics, models and explanations in social anthropology, political
economy of health, gender, anthropology of science, rationality, psychiatry, the
unconscious, anthropology of science and medicine, gender, cultures of the mind,
emotion and rationality, history of psychiatry and psychology, and both Chinese
and U.S. culture and society. Martin began her anthropological research in China
and published several books on Chinese religion, ritual, and rural society. She
became interested in issues related to science and gender, and her 1987 book,
The Woman in the Body: A Cultural Analysis of Reproduction, won the Eileen
Basker Memorial Prize. She continued this work in a pathbreaking 1991 article,
"The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on
Stereotypical Male-Female Roles," which highlighted how the language of gender
influences scientific research and findings; the article has become a classic in femi-
nist science criticism. Her interest in the cultural anthropology of science and
medicine led to the publication in 1994 of Flexible Bodies: Tracking Immunity in
American Culture from the Days of Polio to the Age of AIDS, and her 2007 book,
Bipolar Expeditions: Mania and Depression in American Culture.
Martin taught at Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Princeton universities; since 2001,
she has been a professor of anthropology at New York University (NYU) and is
affiliated with the NYU Institute for the History of the Production of Knowledge.
Always interested in the connections between science and culture, Martin has been
Marvin, Ursula Bailey | 661
involved in a variety of projects linking academic anthropology to broader issues
of interest to the general public and to practitioners in other sciences. She is found-
ing editor of the magazine Anthropology Now and is one of the organizers of an
interdisciplinary program called the Psycences Project, which brings together
scholars in the humanities and social sciences with clinicians in psychology and
psychiatry to discuss research on the human mind across these fields.
Martin has been a distinguished invited lecturer and visiting scholar at many
institutions and is a member of the American Anthropological Association,
American Ethnological Society, Royal Anthropological Institute, Society for
Medical Anthropology, and Association for Feminist Anthropology. Some of her
early works were published under the name Emily Martin Ahern.
Further Resources
New York University. Faculty website, http://anthropology.as.nyu.edu/object/emilymartin
.html.
Marvin, Ursula Bailey
b. 1921
Planetary Geologist
Education: B.A., history, Tufts University, 1943; M.S., geology, Harvard Univer-
sity-Radcliffe, 1946, Ph.D., 1969
Professional Experience: assistant silicate chemist, University of Chicago, 1947-
1950; mineralogist, Union Carbide Ore Company, 1953-1958; instructor, mineral-
ogy, Tufts University, 1958-1961; geologist, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observa-
tory (now the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), Harvard University,
1961-1998, senior geologist emeritus
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, Tufts University, 1968-1969; lecturer, geology,
Harvard University, 1974-1977
Ursula Marvin has been a prominent planetary geologist whose research interests
include mineralogy and petrology of meteorites and lunar samples, history of
geology, and geological mapping of Galilean satellites. She received a master's
degree in 1946, and for many years, she and her husband, Thomas Crockett
Marvin, were independent geologists and mineralogists who worked throughout
the world. She did not return to Harvard to complete her Ph.D. until 23 years after
completing the required course work at Harvard. One of her early projects
involved traveling to Brazil to locate manganese oxide to be used in batteries
662 | Marvin, Ursula Bailey
manufactured by the Union Carbide Company. She also worked as a chemist at the
University of Chicago and as an instructor in mineralogy at Tufts University. She
has had concurrent positions with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (or
SAO; now the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, or CfA), the Harvard
College Observatory, and as a lecturer with Tufts and Harvard, where she was
the first female faculty member in geology. She began studying meteorites at
the Harvard-Smithsonian CfA in 1961, and remained there until her retirement
in 1998.
At the CfA, Marvin worked on a NASA study of the mineral makeup of lunar
rocks brought back by the Apollo astronauts. Her space work also included the
geological mapping of Jupiter's largest satellite or moon, Ganymede. During two
polar expeditions as part of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Antarctic
Search Meteorites Team in 1978-79 and 1981-82, she collected and studied mete-
orites, sending samples to other scientists around the world. She returned to Ant-
arctica in 1985 as part of an NSF team to research the boundary and impact of
the meteor that may have led to the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years
ago. Her work on these various projects was acknowledged with both an asteroid
(1991) and an ice mountain, or "nunatak," (1992) named in her honor.
Even after her formal retirement in 1998, Marvin has remained affiliated with
the CfA as a consultant, senior geologist emeritus, and consulting expert. She
has been particularly involved in advancing the careers of women in science.
Between 1974 and 1977, she was the first coordinator of the Federal Women's
Program (now the Women's Program Committee) at the SAO. She served on the
American Geological Institute's Committee of Women in the Geosciences, for
which she compiled and edited the annual Roster of Women in the Geosciences
Professions. She has dedicated her time to a variety of academic and professional
committees dedicated to science education, including as a trustee of Tufts
University (1975-1985), a trustee of the Universities Space Research Association
(USRA) (1979-1984), and secretary-general of the International Commission
on the History of Geological Sciences (1989-1996; vice president for North
America, 1996).
Marvin was the honored recipient of the History of Geology Award in 1986
from the Geological Society of America (GSA). In 1997, Marvin received Life-
time Achievement Awards from Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) and
the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In 2005, she received the Sue
Tyler Friedman Award of the GSA for work in recording the history of geology.
She has been a member of the Mineralogical Society of America, the Meteoritical
Society (president, 1975 and 1976), History of Earth Sciences Society (president,
1991), American Association for the Advancement of Science, and American
Geophysical Union.
Mathias, Mildred Esther | 663
Further Resources
'Ursula Marvin Honored by 'Wise' Award for Lifetime Achievement in Science." CfA
Almanac. (July 1997). http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/lib/online/almanac/797.htm.
Mathias, Mildred Esther
1906 1995
Botanist
Education: A.B., Washington University, St. Louis, 1926, M.S., 1927, Ph.D.,
botany, 1929
Professional Experience: assistant, Missouri Botanical Garden, 1929-1930;
research associate, New York Botanical Garden, 1932-1936; research associate,
University of California, Berkeley, 1937-1942; herbarium botanist, University of
California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1947-1951, lecturer, botany, 1951-1955, assis-
tant professor to professor, 1955-1974; director, Botanical Garden, UCLA,
1956-1974
Concurrent Positions: assistant specialist, experiment station, UCLA, 1951-1955,
assistant plant systematist, 1955-1957, associate plant systematist, 1957-1962
Mildred Mathias was a prominent, award-winning botanist whose research
included classification of plants of the western United States, subtropical orna-
mental plants, and tropical medicinal plants. She was an expert on Umbelliferae,
or the carrot family, of which she discovered 100 new species or combinations;
the genus Mathiasella is named in her honor. Mathias had originally planned to
study mathematics, but few courses were available to women when she began
her studies in the early 1920s. She went on to complete her bachelor's, master's,
and doctorate in botany at Washington University in St. Louis. She worked at the
Missouri Botanical Garden and the New York Botanical Garden before moving
to California as a research associate at Berkeley in 1937. She began her work at
UCLA in 1947 as a herbarium botanist, then serving on the faculty until her retire-
ment in 1974. Mathias was married and the mother of four children, which was
unusual for a career woman of her generation.
Beyond her research and teaching, Mathias was committed to educating the
public about horticulture and to conservation. She was director of the UCLA
botanical garden for almost 20 years, and in 1979, it was renamed the Mildred E.
Mathias Botanical Garden in her honor. In addition to her work at the botanical
garden, she co-hosted a weekly gardening show on television and wrote articles
664 | Matson, Pamela Anne
on horticulture and gardening for popular magazines. She worked to protect lands
from development at the local, national, and international level, helping to estab-
lish the U.S. Natural Reserve System and founding the Organization for Tropical
Studies to preserve lands in Costa Rica. She was the author of Color for the Land-
scape: Flowering Plants for Subtropical Climates (1973).
Mathias was named Woman of the Year by the Los Angeles Times in 1964, and
her numerous other honors include the Nature Conservancy National Award, the
California Conservation Council Merit Award, the UCLA Medical Auxiliary
Woman of Science Award, a Merit Award from the Botanical Society of America
(1973), the Liberty Hyde Bailey Medal from the American Horticultural Society
(1980), a Medal of Honor from the Garden Club of America (1982), and the
UCLA Emeritus of the Year Award (1990). She served as executive director of
the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboretums, and was a
member and president of both the American Society of Plant Taxonomists
(president, 1964) and the Botanical Society of America (president, 1984). She
was also a member of the Society for the Study of Evolution, American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science, and the American Society of Naturalists.
In 1996, the Botanical Garden at UCLA produced a video about her life and work
entitled Mildred Mathias: A Lifetime of Memories.
Further Resources
University of California, Los Angeles. "Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden." http://
www.botgard.ucla.edu/bg-home.htm.
Matson, Pamela Anne
b. 1953
Soil Scientist, Environmental Scientist
Education: B.S., biology and English, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, 1975;
M.S., environmental science, Indiana University, 1980; Ph.D., forest ecology,
Oregon State University, 1983
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, entomology, North Carolina State
University, 1983; research scientist, Ames Research Center, National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA), 1983-1993; professor, ecosystem ecology,
University of California, Berkeley, 1993-1997; professor, geological and environ-
mental studies, Stanford University, 1997-
Pamela Matson is renowned for her pioneering research into the role of land-use
changes on global warming. She has analyzed greenhouse gas emissions resulting
Matson, Pamela Anne | 665
from tropical deforestation and inves-
tigated the negative effects of inten-
sive agriculture on the atmosphere,
especially the effects of tropical
agriculture and cattle ranching. After
receiving her doctorate in biology in
1975, her early research focused on
forest ecology and then broadened
to include many other areas in the
global environment. She worked as a
research scientist for NASA for
10 years before entering academia as
a full professor at the University of
California, Berkeley. In 1997, she
moved to Stanford as professor of
environmental studies, where she has
served as Dean of Earth Sciences
since 2002.
Matson has served on numerous
boards and committees dedicated to
conservation, ecology, and the study
of the environment and global climate
change. She is the founding editor-in-
chief of the Annual Review of Environment and Resources (2002-present) and has
served on the editorial board of numerous other journals, including Ecosystems,
Bio geochemistry, and Global Change Biology. She has published nearly 100
papers and book chapters, and is co-editor of Biogenic Trace Gases: Measuring
Emission from Soil and Water (1995) and Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem
Ecology (2002).
In 1994, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and in 1995 she
received the prestigious five-year MacArthur fellowship. Among her numerous
other awards and honors are the NASA Exceptional Service Award (1993), the
University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire Distinguished Alumni Award (1996), the
Oregon State University Distinguished Alumni Award (1998), and a McMurtry
Fellowship in Undergraduate Education at Stanford (2002). She has served on
numerous professional boards and government committees on sustainability and
environmental issues, and has been named a National Associate of the National
Academy of Sciences (2002). She is a member of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, Ecological Society of America (president, 2001), American Associ-
ation for the Advancement of Science, American Geophysical Union, American
Environmental scientist Pamela Anne Matson.
(Courtesy of Stanford University News Service
Library)
666 | Matthews, Alva T.
Institute of Biological Sciences, and American Association of University Women.
In 2000, she was named a Fellow of the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program at
Stanford University.
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Stanford University. Faculty website, http://pangea.stanford.edu/research/matsonlab/
members/Matson .htm.
Matthews, Alva T.
b. 1933
Engineer
Education: B.S., Columbia University, 1955, M.S., 1957, Ph.D., engineering
science, 1965
Professional Experience: design and research engineer, Weidlinger Associates,
1957-1983; senior research engineer, Rochester Applied Science Associates,
1957-1983; independent consultant, 1983-
Concurrent Positions: instructor, civil engineering, Columbia University; adjunct
associate professor, mechanical and aerospace sciences, University of Rochester;
instructor, engineering, Swarthmore
Alva Matthews is a research engineer recognized for her work in the field of structural
analysis and wave propagation in solids. She designed helicopter blades and satellite-
tracking antennae, and analyzed auto accidents in order to learn how to build safer
cars. As a wave-propagation specialist, she has studied earthquakes to see how shock
waves are transmitted through soil and rocks, and how buildings can be designed
to withstand earth tremors. Her work had implications for studies of the effect of
nuclear weapons on structures such as buildings. After receiving her master's degree,
she was employed at Weidlinger Associates, a construction engineering firm in New
York. She was concurrently a senior research engineer with Rochester Applied Science
Associates in Rochester, New York. At the same time, she was an instructor of civil
engineering at Columbia and lectured in the evenings at the University of Rochester.
Matthews decided to become an engineer while still a teenager when she
accompanied her father, an industrial builder, to construction sites. She began
her college education at Middlebury College in Vermont, then transferred to
Barnard before moving on to Columbia University. As a student worker in a
Maury, Antonia Caetana de Paiva Pereira | 667
contractor's field office, she was prohibited from entering the tunnels with the
men, and an early advisor at Middlebury told her engineering was too difficult
for a girl and she would never find a job. She ignored this advice, and went on to
earn three engineering degrees from Columbia, including becoming the first
woman to receive a doctorate in civil engineering from that institution. She dedi-
cated herself to promoting engineering education and careers for women; in
1973, she spoke before the Society of Women Engineers on "Engineering as an
Ideal Woman's Career." After starting her own family in the late 1970s, Matthews
retired from her full-time engineering position, but remained a private consultant
and adjunct instructor of engineering sciences at various colleges.
Matthews is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and
has been honored with the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award
(1971) and the Engineering Award of the Federation of Engineering and Scientific
Societies of Drexel University (1976). In 2005, she was appointed to the Dean's
Engineering Council at Columbia. She is identified in some sources by her married
name, Alva Matthews Solomon.
Further Resources
Alva Matthews. The Society of Women Engineers. http://societyofwomenengineers
.swe.org/index.php?option=com content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=55.
Hatch, Sybil E. 2006. Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers. Reston,VA:
American Society of Civil Engineers.
Maury, Antonia Caetana de Paiva Pereira
1866 1952
Astronomer
Education: B.A., Vassar College, 1887
Professional Experience: staff member, Harvard College Observatory, 1888-1896;
teacher and lecturer, physical science and astronomy, various institutions, 1896—
1918; staff member, Harvard College Observatory, 1918-1935; curator, Draper Park
Observatory Museum, 1935-1938
Antonia Maury was an astronomer whose research interests were spectra of bright
Northern stars and spectroscopic binaries. She was one of the first women to
receive a professional appointment at the Harvard College Observatory. She
started working at Harvard in 1888 after she graduated with honors from
Vassar. In her research, she developed a new, two-dimensional system of stellar
668 | Maury, Carlotta Joaquina
classification that included the width and sharpness of lines. It turned out that the
differences in width and sharpness resulted from differences in the size and lumi-
nosity of stars. During that time, she also confirmed the observatory director
Edward C. Pickering's discovery of a double star and then discovered a second star
system. She left the observatory in 1896 due to conflicts with Pickering, who
wanted his staff to gather data quickly under another system, while Maury wanted
to develop a classification that yielded a wider range of data. Maury lectured and
taught at several schools in the interim, but returned to the observatory in 1918
after Pickering retired. Her other significant work was on spectroscopic binaries,
including some very complex systems, but she did not work steadily on this area
of research. After retiring from Harvard in 1935, she spent three years as curator
of the Draper Park Observatory Museum in New York.
Although Maury's contributions were not fully appreciated at Harvard, they had
a significant influence on scientists elsewhere. Her early studies are now widely
recognized as an essential step in the development of theoretical astrophysics,
and she received the Annie J. Cannon Prize of the American Astronomical Society
in 1943. Although she worked chiefly as an astronomer, she also was an active
ornithologist, a naturalist, and a conservationist who participated in the campaign
to save the redwood forests. She was a member of the American Astronomical
Society, the Royal Astronomical Society, and the National Audubon Society. Her
younger sister was paleontologist Carlotta Maury.
Maury, Carlotta Joaquina
1874 1938
Paleontologist
Education: Radcliffe College, 1891-1894; Ph.B., Cornell University, 1896, Ph.D.,
Cornell University, 1902
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1900-1901; assistant, paleontology,
Columbia University, 1904-1906; paleontologist, Louisiana Geological Survey,
1907-1909; lecturer, geology, Barnard College, 1909-1912; professor, geology and
zoology, University of the Cape of Good Hope, 1912-1915; paleontologist, Brazil
Survey, 1918-1938
Carlotta Maury was a paleontologist whose research interests were in the recent
and Pleistocene eras of New York and the Gulf of Mexico, the Tertiary period of
Florida and the West Indies, and stratigraphy of Venezuela. She received degrees
from Radcliffe and Cornell, and studied at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris for one
year before receiving her doctorate from Cornell University in 1902.
McCammon, Helen Mary (Choman) | 669
Maury participated in several research expeditions and published numerous
reports of her work on Antillean, Venezuelan, and Brazilian stratigraphy and fossil
faunas. Many of these reports were sent to the American Museum of Natural
History. She was the author of A Comparison of the Oligocene of Western Europe
and the Southern United States (1902). She was the paleontologist for a geological
expedition to Venezuela in 1910 and 1911, organized and conducted the Maury
expedition to the Dominican Republic in 1916, was consulting paleontologist and
stratigrapher for the Venezuelan division of the Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum Com-
pany from 1910 to 1938, and was official paleontologist to Brazil from 1918 to 1938.
Maury was elected a fellow of both the Geological Society of America and the
American Geographical Society. She also was a member of the American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science and a corresponding member of the Brazilian
Academy of Sciences. Her older sister was astronomer Antonia Maury.
McCammon, Helen Mary (Choman)
b. 1933
Geologist, Marine Biologist
Education: B.Sc, University of Manitoba, 1955; M.S., University of Michigan,
1956; Ph.D., geology, Indiana University, 1959
Professional Experience: research technician, stratigraphy, Manitoba Department
of Mines and Natural Resources, 1952-1959; lecturer, geography, University of
North Dakota, 1961; assistant professor, geology, Department of Earth Science,
University of Pittsburgh, 1963-1968, associate professor, 1968; visiting associate
professor, geology, Department of Geology, University of Illinois, Chicago,
1968-1970; research associate, geology, Field Museum of Natural History,
Chicago, 1969-1972; director of environmental science, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1973-1976; senior oceanography and marine scientist, Environmental
Research Division, U.S. Department of Energy, 1977-1979, director, 1979-1991,
deputy director, Environmental Science Division, 1991-retired
Helen McCammon is a geologist who is also known for her work in marine physi-
ology and ecology. Like many environmental scientists, her research has required
broad interdisciplinary knowledge and includes the impact of energy activities in
coastal and terrestrial environments ranging from arctic tundra to temperate forest
and desert regions, as well as marine physiology and ecology. As deputy director
of the Environmental Science Division of the U.S. Department of Energy, her
responsibilities included overseeing ecological research and overseeing the divi-
sion's budget. Her background also includes considerable experience in research
670 | McClintock, Barbara
and teaching geology in several universities, plus a stint as a geologist at the Field
Museum of Natural History in Chicago. However, her research included studies of
living animals as well as terrestrial and marine physical environments, the usual
subjects of geologists.
After she completed her dissertation on paleontology for her doctorate in geology,
McCammon decided to study how marine organisms live today and began to
research living invertebrates, especially brachiopods. These lampshells were
common 300 million years ago and can still be found in New Zealand, the Antarctic,
and other cold-water regions. Her fieldwork took her to many of these places, but
because geology is a male-dominated field, she had problems in obtaining funding
and having her papers published. She also faced discrimination at the University of
Illinois, Chicago when the department head decided to discontinue her salary in
order to hire a man, and asked her to continue teaching as an unsalaried faculty
member. Her husband was a faculty member at the university at the time, but her
position had been only that of a visiting associate professor. She refused to accept
the arrangement and accepted a position at the Field Museum instead. Her own hus-
band was supportive of her research, sharing household duties, involving the chil-
dren in their sample-collecting and research, and supporting their long-distance
relationship when he still worked in Chicago and Helen took a position with the
U.S. government in Boston and then Washington, D.C. In 1973, she joined the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency, beginning her long career with the federal government
as chief scientist and administrator in various departments.
McCammon is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence and a member of the American Geological Institute, American Society of Zool-
ogists, Oceanic Society, and American Society of Limnology and Oceanography.
McClintock, Barbara
1902 1992
Geneticist
Education: B.S., botany, Cornell University, 1923, M.A., botany, 1925, Ph.D.,
botany, 1927
Professional Experience: instructor, botany, Cornell University, 1927-1931,
research associate, 1934-1936; fellow, National Research Council, 1931-1933;
fellow, Guggenheim Foundation, 1933-1934; assistant professor, botany, Univer-
sity of Missouri, 1936-1941; staff member, Carnegie Institution of Washington,
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1942-1967, distinguished member, 1967-1992;
Andrew White Professor at Large, Cornell University, 1965-1992
McClintock, Barbara | 671
Barbara McClintock received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983
for her pioneering work on the mechanism of genetic inheritance. She discovered
early on that genes can move from one area on the chromosomes to another, a
finding known as "jumping genes" that now helps molecular biologists identify,
locate, and study genes. She observed the changes in color patterns in kernels of
Indian corn and correlated these changes with changes in the chromosome
structure. She received the Nobel Prize for this discovery more than 32 years after
publishing her findings. In spite of early recognition for her work, she was rela-
tively unknown in the scientific community for decades until she was awarded
the Nobel Prize. Her work was largely outside the mainstream of science at that
time, and few were able to comprehend the significance of her research until other
scientists' work on DNA in the 1960s was used to verify her experiment and sup-
port her theories.
After she received her doctorate in botany in 1927, McClintock stayed on at
Cornell as an instructor for five years, and then worked in research for another
six years under fellowships from the National Research Council and the
Guggenheim Foundation. Since Cornell was not appointing women to faculty
positions, she had to find other sources for income. Research positions were very
scarce for women during the Depression, but she accepted an appointment as
assistant professor of botany at the University of Missouri for five years. That
was the last teaching position she held, as she preferred to focus exclusively on
research. Starting in 1942, she worked at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on
Long Island, where she maintained a small apartment on the grounds of the labo-
ratory. In 1981, she was awarded a lifetime tax-free annual fellowship of
$60,000 from the MacArthur Foundation, and she continued to work her accus-
tomed schedule of long hours seven days a week in the lab until just shortly before
her death.
McClintock was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in
1944 and was the first woman president of the Genetics Society of America in
1945. She received the Kimber Genetics Award (1967), the National Medal of
Science (1970), the Rosenstiel Award (1978), and the Lasker Award (1981). She
was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society,
the American Society of Naturalists, and the Royal Society of England. In 2005, the
U.S. Postal Service issued a postage stamp featuring McClintock as part of their
American Scientists series.
Further Resources
Keller, Evelyn Fox. 1983. A Feeling for the Organism: The Life and Work of Barbara
McClintock. San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman.
672 | McCoy, Elizabeth Florence
Fedoroff, Nina V. and David Botstein. 1992. The Dynamic Genome: Barbara McClintock's
Ideas in the Century of Genetics. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory Press.
The Barbara McClintock Papers, Profiles in Science, National Library of Medicine, http://
profiles.nlm.nih.gov/LL/.
McCoy, Elizabeth Florence
1903 1978
Soil Microbiologist
Education: B.S., University of Wisconsin, 1925, M.S., 1926, Ph.D., bacteriology,
1929
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, National Research Council,
Rothamsted Experimental Station, England, and Botanical Institute, Karlova
University, Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1929-1930; assistant to associate professor,
agricultural bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, 1930-1943, professor,
1943-1973
Elizabeth McCoy was a microbiologist whose research included anaerobes, serology,
freshwater bacteria, water quality and waste disposal, and industrial fermentations.
She was notable for her work in soil microbiology and for detecting a high-
yielding strain of penicillium as part of a World War II-era government project with
the Office of Scientific Research and Development. She discovered another antibi-
otic, oligomycin, which is still used to research and treat fungal diseases in plants
and was also under development at that time by the pharmaceutical company
Pfizer. McCoy was granted patents for her methods of isolating oligomycin and for
processing butyl alcohol. She gained national attention as a female scientist when
the New York Times reported in 1946, "Wisconsin University Girl Wins Patent
on an Industrial Solvent"; at the time, McCoy was hardly a "girl," as she was a
43-year-old professor of bacteriology.
McCoy was born and raised on a Wisconsin farm, and she developed an early inter-
est in agricultural science and diseases. She received her bachelor's, master's, and
doctoral degrees in agricultural bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin, where
she was then employed as a faculty member for more than 40 years, one of the few
women of that time to advance to full professor. Over the years, she conducted
research experiments in California, Puerto Rico, England, and Czechoslovakia,
and was involved in notable studies related to botulinum food poisoning, vaccine
development, and microbial ecology (pollution) of rivers and lakes. She oversaw
McCracken, (Mary) Isabel | 673
bacteriological and water-quality research projects at Trout Lake Station in northern
Wisconsin, at nearby Lake Mendota, and at Lake Michigan. She published numerous
scientific papers and articles, and authored or co-authored books on Root-nodule
Bacteria and Leguminous Plants (1932) and Anaerobic Bacteria and Their Activities
in Nature and Disease (1939).
McCoy was elected a fellow of the American Public Health Association and
was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the
American Academy of Microbiologists, the Society for Experimental Biology
and Medicine, and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, for
which she served as president. She served as editor of Biological Abstracts and
of the Journal of Bacteriology. She received a posthumous honorary doctorate
from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. After her death, her patents, as well
as her family farm, were donated to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
Further Resources
Fisher, Madeline. 2003. "Discovery Provides Reminder of Bacteriology Prof and WARF
Inventor." Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. (November 5, 2003). http://www.warf
.org/news/news.jsp?news id=138.
McCracken, (Mary) Isabel
1866 1955
Entomologist
Education: A.B., Stanford University, 1904, A.M., 1905, Ph.D., 1908; University
of Paris, 1913-1914
Professional Experience: teacher, public schools, 1890-1900; assistant in physi-
ology and entomology, Stanford University, 1903-1904, instructor, entomology
and bionomics, 1904-1909, assistant professor, entomology and zoology, 1909-
1918, associate professor, 1918-1930, professor, 1930-1931; research associate,
California Academy of Sciences, 1931-1945
Isabel McCracken was an entomologist who conducted research on a variety of
topics, including bees, beetles, birds, mosquitoes, and silkworms, and taught in the
area of economic entomology. Her career followed the pattern of many women of
her generation in that she first taught in the public schools of her native
Oakland, California, for more than a decade before entering college. She attended
Stanford University and was employed as a staff assistant while working toward her
advanced degrees, with studies in physiology, natural history, and entomology.
674 | McFadden, Lucy-Ann Adams
Entomologist Isabel McCracken. (National
Library of Medicine)
She conducted field research and pub-
lished scientific papers on the genetics
of beetles and on birds of the Sierra
Nevada mountains. She received her
Ph.D. in 1908, at the advanced age of
42. She became an assistant professor
of entomology and zoology after
receiving her doctorate, and spent the
remainder of her career at Stanford,
finally advancing to full professor in
1930, just one year before she retired.
After her retirement from teaching,
McCracken worked as a research asso-
ciate at the California Academy of Sci-
ences. Her research there concentrated
on her long-term interest in birds and
their relationship to insects.
In addition to her scientific papers,
McCracken co-authored a textbook
called The Animals and Man (1911).
She was elected a fellow of the
California Academy of Sciences, and
she was a member of the Entomological
Society of America.
McFadden, Lucy-Ann Adams
b. 1952
Astronomer, Geophysicist
Education: B.A., natural sciences, Hampshire College, Massachusetts, 1974;
M.S., earth and planetary science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1977;
Ph.D., geology and geophysics, University of Hawaii, 1983
Professional Experience: research associate, geography, University of Maryland
and Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), 1983-1984, research associate, astronomy, University of Maryland,
1984-1986, assistant research scientist, astronomy, 1986-1987; assistant research
physicist, California Space Institute, University of California, San Diego, 1987-
1991, associate research physicist, 1991-1995; associate research scientist, graduate
faculty, astronomy, University of Maryland, 1996-2007, research professor, 2007-
McFadden, Lucy-Ann Adams | 675
Concurrent Positions: National Science Foundation visiting professor, University of
Maryland, 1992-1995; Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Mission Science
Team Multispectral Imager/Near-Infrared Spectrometer, 1994-2000; visiting scien-
tist, Space Telescope Science Institute, 1995; faculty director, College Park Scholars,
Science, Discovery & the Universe program, 1997-2001; Deep Impact Discovery
Mission Co-Investigator, Education/Outreach Manager, NASA, 1999-2006; Dawn
Discovery Mission, 2002-2015; Deep Impact Extended Mission, 2007-2011
Lucy-Ann McFadden is a planetary scientist who has specialized in searching for
Earth-approaching asteroids and dead comets. She has estimated that between
1 ,500 and 2,000 asteroids and dead comets roam space near the Earth. Most aste-
roids and comets pass Earth at high speed millions of miles away, but those that
come closer provide astronomers with insight into the solar system's past. The
small bodies in the inner solar system contain primarily rock and metal, while
those in the outer solar system contain ices and dark, carbon-based compounds.
The difference in composition among various types indicates how material was
spread through the solar system while it was forming, and by bouncing radar
beams off their surfaces, astronomers can determine the sizes, shapes, and compo-
sitions of the objects. McFadden's research involves determining the surface com-
position of asteroids to understand their nature, source, and evolution. She uses the
Hubble Space Telescope to study the relationship between asteroids and comets
based on the composition of solid components and the reflectance properties
of meteorites. She has published numerous papers on the characteristics of the
objects that she has studied and also participated in the observations of the
Shoemaker-Levy comet (named for Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker, who first
identified the comet that impacted Jupiter).
In addition to her position as a faculty research scientist at the University of
Maryland, McFadden has been a principal investigator and educational and out-
reach director of several NASA missions that have included observations of Mars,
the moon, and other planets. Through her work at NASA, in her local community,
and through the Internet, she has been heavily involved in promoting educational
programs that inspire students to pursue careers in the sciences. She is also the
co-editor of the Encyclopedia of the Solar System (2006).
McFadden has received numerous awards and honors from NASA and other
institutions. She is a member of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, American Astronomical Society, American Geophysical Union, and
Meteoritical Society.
Further Resources
University of Maryland. Faculty website, http://www.astro.umd.edu/~mcfadden/.
676 | McNutt, Marcia Kemper
McNutt, Marcia Kemper
b. 1952
Marine Geophysicist
Education: B.A., physics, Colorado College, 1973; Ph.D., earth science, Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 1978
Professional Experience: postdoctoral research associate, Scripps Institution of
Oceanography, 1978; visiting assistant professor, University of Minnesota,
1978-1979; geophysicist, tectonphysics, Office of Earthquake Studies, U.S. Geo-
logical Survey (USGS), 1979-1982; assistant professor, geophysics, Massachu-
setts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1982-1986, associate professor, 1986-1988,
professor, 1989-1998; president and chief executive officer, Monterey Bay Aquar-
ium Research Institute, 1997-2009; director, USGS, 2009-
Concurrent Positions: secretary, John Muir Geophysical Society, 1979-1983; asso-
ciate editor, Journal of Geophysical Research, 1980-1983; associate director, MIT
SeaGrant College, 1993-1995; director, Joint Program in Oceanography and Applied
Ocean Science and Engineering, MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
1995-1997; affiliated professor, geophysics, Stanford University, 1998-; affiliated
professor, earth sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1998—
Marcia McNutt is renowned for her research on plate tectonics using a variety of
techniques, including the Geosat global-positioning satellite. She is particularly
known for her work on mapping the ocean floor and measuring the depth of the
ocean. Her research includes studies of long-term rheology of the Earth's crust
and upper mantle using gravity and topography data, isotasy, paleomagnetism of
seamounts, and thermal modeling of the lithosphere. Plate tectonics, a science that
developed around 1965 to 1970, is the theory of global tectonics in which the
lithosphere is divided into a number of crustal plates, each of which moves on
the plastic asthenosphere more or less independently to collide with, slide under,
or move past adjacent plates. The study of plate tectonics seeks to explain how
the continents were formed and to predict how the plates will move into new pat-
terns. Although geologists have mapped much of the land portion of the Earth,
data on the oceans are still being revealed and much of it has remained classified
by the U.S. government for strategic reasons. The data that have been released
can indicate new locations for fishing or for oil drilling as well as predicting the
future activity of underwater volcanoes.
McNutt has worked particularly on mapping areas of the southern oceans,
which had remained uncharted because they are far from shipping lanes and not
of strategic importance from a military standpoint. The standard method has been
McSherry, Diana Hartridge | 677
to use echo sounders by deploying entire arrays of acoustic transceivers on the
hulls of ships to measure the ocean depth in a swath several kilometers wide.
McNutt has improved this research by using highly sensitive radar altimeters in
Earth orbit to sense minute changes in sea level caused by the gravitational attrac-
tion of topography on the seafloor; the radar altimeters measure the water density
by hitting the water/rock interface on the ocean floor. The measurements obtained
by the echo sounders and by the radar altimeters provide similar readings, but the
orbiting altimeters provide a much higher resolution than the echo sounders. In
addition to her faculty appointments, in 1997, McNutt became Director of the Mon-
terey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in Moss Landing, California, a
position she held for more than 10 years. In 2009, she was chosen by President
Obama as the new head of USGS and science advisor to the U.S. Secretary of the
Interior.
McNutt was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005. She has been
a member of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) Science
Steering Group Geopotential Research Mission, the Committee on Geodesy of
the National Research Council, and the Geodynamics Committee, and was chair of
the President's Panel on Ocean Exploration under President Clinton. She is a fellow
of the American Geophysical Union (president, 2000-2002), Geological Society of
America, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Acad-
emy of Arts and Sciences, and International Association of Geodesy. McNutt has
received numerous awards and honors for her research, including the James B.
MacElwane Medal of the American Geophysical Union (1988), Scientist of the Year
award from the ARCS Foundation (2003), and Maurice Ewing Medal from the
Society of Exploration Geophysicists (2007).
Further Resources
U.S. Geological Survey. "Marcia McNutt, Director, U.S. Geological Survey." http://www
.usgs.gov/aboutusgs/organized/bios/mcnutt.asp.
McSherry, Diana Hartridge
b. 1945
Medical Physicist, Computer Scientist
Education: B.A., physics, Harvard University, 1965; M.A., Rice University, 1967,
Ph.D., nuclear physics, 1969
Professional Experience: fellow, nuclear physics, Rice University, 1969; research
physicist in ultrasonics, Digicon, Inc., 1969-1974, executive vice president of
678 | McWhinnie, Mary Alice
medical ultrasound, 1974-1977; president, cardiology analysis systems, Digisonics,
Inc., 1977-1982; vice president, Digicon, Inc., 1980-1987; chief operating officer,
Cogniseis Development, Inc., 1987-1995, president, 1995-; president, Digisonics
Concurrent Positions: chair, Information Products Systems, Houston, 1982-1986
Diana McSherry is a research biophysicist known for her development of computer-
based cardiology analysis systems and has worked in the specific areas of echo-
cardiology, ventriculography, and hemodynamics. Echocardiology uses reflected
ultrasonic waves to examine the structure and functioning of the heart; ventriculog-
raphy involves examining the ventricles of the heart, which are the lower chambers
on each side of the heart that receive blood from the atria and in turn force it into the
arteries; and hemodynamics is the branch of physiology dealing with the forces
involved in the circulation of the blood. The system she developed uses ultrasonic
waves and computer processing to produce images of the heart and circulation
system, and it was a major breakthrough in the 1970s, when scientists were just
beginning to develop the software for medical applications. Her product permits
physicians to view the inside of a patient's body without making an incision; the
ultrasound is reflected from the heart, producing an image that is refined after being
fed into a computer.
After receiving her doctorate from Rice University, McSherry was a fellow in
nuclear physics there for one year and then spent the rest of her career working
in corporations. She started as a research physicist in ultrasonics at Digicon, Inc.,
and became executive vice president of medical ultrasound and then president of
cardiology analytical systems when the company was acquired by Digisonics,
Inc. She is currently president and manager of Digisonics, which creates ultra-
sound equipment and systems for use in cardiology, radiation, and OB/GYN appli-
cations. She also served on the board of directors as chair for Information Products
Systems, Houston.
McSherry is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, American Physical Society, and
American Heart Association.
McWhinnie, Mary Alice
1922 1980
Biologist
Education: B.S., DePaul University, 1944, M.S., biology, 1946; Ph.D., biology,
Northwestern University, 1952
McWhinnie, Mary Alice | 679
Professional Experience: assistant, biological sciences, DePaul University,
1944-1950, instructor, 1950-1952, assistant to associate professor, biology,
1952-1960, professor, 1960-1980
Mary McWhinnie was one of the first two women scientists to winter in Antarctica to
study krill. Her research involved crustacean metabolism, with special reference to
carbohydrates during the molt cycle, and her findings highlighted the importance
of krill to the ocean food chain. As a child growing up in Illinois, she developed an
interest in nature and, especially, fishing, and went on to study biology at DePaul
University. She worked as an assistant in biological sciences at the university while
also completing her master's degree, and went on to receive her Ph.D. from
Northwestern University.
She spent her entire teaching career at DePaul University, advancing through the
ranks from instructor to professor. It was while studying crayfish in Chicago that
she became interested in comparing them to their cold-water cousins, krill. She pre-
pared a proposal for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and, in 1962, embarked
on a two-month research cruise as the first American woman scientist assigned to the
U.S. Antarctic Research program. She returned again in 1972, this time as the ship's
chief scientist, and in 1974, she and her female research assistant were the first
women to spend the winter at the McMurdo research station on Antarctica.
Over the course of her career, McWhinnie made 1 1 trips to Antarctica to study
krill and became the worldwide expert on krill as an ocean food source. In the late
1970s, she became an ecological spokesperson advocating for the protection of
krill against overfishing. McWhinnie fell ill while preparing for another trip to
Antarctica in the winter of 1979-1980 and died at the age of 57 of undiagnosed
cancer of the lungs and brain.
McWhinnie received numerous NSF grants to carry on her polar biology
research, as well as other funding, such as an assistantship at Woods Hole Marine
Biological Laboratory in 1952, summers as a faculty fellow of the American
Physiological Society in 1957, and fellow of the Lalor Foundation in 1958. She
was a member of the Panel on Biological and Medical Sciences of the National
Academy of Science, and the National Science Foundation Committee on Polar
Research. She was elected a fellow of the American Physiological Society and
was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and
the Biophysical Society.
Further Resources
Land, Barbara. 1981. The New Explorers: Women in Antarctica. New York: Dodd, Mead.
Chipman, Elizabeth. 1986. Women on the Ice: A History of Women in the Far South.
Carlton, Vic: Melbourne University Press.
680 | Mead, Margaret
Mead, Margaret
1901 1978
Anthropologist
Education: B.A., Barnard College, 1923; M.A., psychology, Columbia Univer-
sity, 1924, Ph.D., anthropology, 1929
Professional Experience: assistant to associate curator, ethnology, American
Museum of Natural History, 1926-1964, curator, 1964-1969; instructor and
adjunct professor, anthropology, Columbia University, 1947-1978
Concurrent Positions: instructor, Vassar College, New York University, Fordham
University, and others; director,
Columbia University Research in
Contemporary Cultures, 1948-1950
Anthropologist Margaret Mead in Samoa, in a
photo sent to colleague Ruth Benedict, 1926.
(Library of Congress)
Margaret Mead was perhaps the fore-
most anthropologist of the twentieth
century. Through such bestselling
books as Coming of Age in Samoa
(1928), Sex and Temperament in
Three Primitive Societies (1935),
and Male and Female (1949), she
changed anthropology from an eso-
teric discipline to a subject that was
fascinating to the public at large. Her
expeditions to Samoa, New Guinea,
and Bali, and her work with Native
American tribes, provided material
for more than 1,500 books, articles,
films, and occasional pieces. She was
the first anthropologist to compare
childrearing practices and roles of
women in various cultures, topics that
had not been of interest to male
anthropologists. She was a founder
of a new school of anthropology that
examines the ways a culture shapes
an individual's personality. Along
with her third husband, Gregory
Bateson, she pioneered the use of
Medicine, Beatrice A. | 681
photography and eventually film and video to document vanishing cultures, and
thus her work was spread to the general public in new ways.
Mead's father was a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, her
mother a sociologist, and her paternal grandmother a pioneer child psychologist.
Mead received her master's degree in psychology from Columbia in 1924 and then
spent six months studying adolescents in Samoa. She came to the controversial con-
clusion, explained in Coming of Age in Samoa, that people were a product of their
environment more than heredity. In later years, she conceded that she was too inex-
perienced as a field investigator at the time she made the study, but she never revised
the book or returned to Samoa. She went on to conduct fieldwork on the Manus tribe
of the Admiralty Islands and, with her second husband, Reo Fortune, visited three
native American tribes — the Arapesh, the Mundugumor, and the Tcambuli — to
study the social conditioning of the two sexes. Later, with Bateson, she engaged in
fieldwork in Bali and New Guinea. Her book And Keep Your Powder Dry (1942)
studied American character against the background of seven other cultures.
In addition to her faculty appointments, Mead was affiliated with American
Museum of Natural History for much of her career and established a Hall of Peoples
of the Pacific there. She was the first female president of the Society for Applied
Anthropology in 1949, and also served as president of the American Anthropological
Association in 1960 and the American Association for the Advancement of Science
in 1975. She was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1975
and the American Philosophical Society in 1977. She also was a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her autobiography is Blackberry Winter:
My Earlier Years (1972), and there are numerous biographies, including a family
history by her daughter, cultural anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson.
Further Resources
Banner, Lois W. 2003. Intertwined Lives: Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict, and Their
Circle. New York: Random House.
Bateson, Mary Catherine. 1984. With a Daughter's Eye: A Memoir of Margaret Mead and
Gregory Bateson. New York: W. Morrow.
Medicine, Beatrice A.
1924 2005
Anthropologist
Education: B.S., education, art, and history, South Dakota State University,
Brookings, 1945; M.A., sociology and anthropology, Michigan State University,
1953; Ph.D., cultural anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1983
682 | Medicine, Beatrice A.
Professional Experience: lecturer, sociology and anthropology, University of
Montana, Missoula, 1967-1968; director, American Indian Research, Oral History
Project, and assistant professor, anthropology, University of South Dakota,
Vermillion, 1968-1969; assistant professor, anthropology, San Francisco State
University, 1969-1970, associate professor, 1970-1971; predoctoral lecturer,
anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, 1971-1973; visiting professor,
anthropology, Native American Studies, Dartmouth College, 1973-1974; visiting
professor, anthropology, Colorado College, 1974-1975; visiting associate professor,
anthropology, Stanford University, 1975-1976; associate professor, anthropology,
and coordinator, Interdisciplinary Program in Native American Studies, California
State University, Northridge, 1982-1985; professor, anthropology, and director,
Native Centre, University of Calgary, Canada, 1985-1988
Concurrent Positions: assistant professor, Teacher Corps, University of
Nebraska, Omaha, summer 1969; fellow, Center for the History of American Indi-
ans, Newberry Library, Chicago, 1972-1973; visiting professor, educational
anthropology, University of New Brunswick, Canada, summer 1976; visiting pro-
fessor, Education Policy Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, summer
1979; visiting professor, Graduate School of Public Affairs, University of Wash-
ington, Seattle, spring 1981; lecturer, Standing Rock College, North Dakota,
1989; visiting professor, anthropology, Humboldt State University, California,
1991; visiting professor, Colorado College, 1991; visiting professor, Saskatch-
ewan Indian Fed. College, Canada, 1991; visiting distinguished professor,
women's studies, University of Toronto, 1992; research coordinator, Women's
Perspectives, Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada,
1993-1994; visiting professor, rural sociology, South Dakota State University,
Brookings, 1993; visiting scholar, Museum of Anthropology, University of British
Columbia, Vancouver, 1995; adjunct professor, Department of Educational Foun-
dations, University of Alberta, Edmonton, 1995-2005; Buckman Professor,
Department of Human Ecology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 1996; Stanley
Knowles Distinguished Professor, Brandon University, Manitoba, Canada, 1998,
visiting professor, 1999-2005
Beatrice Medicine was a recognized expert on the study of tribal traditions among
the Dakota Indians. She was one of the few Native American women to earn an
advanced degree in anthropology, and she worked to dispel anthropological myths
that have tended to oversimplify and homogenize Native American cultures. In her
writing and teaching, she established a more realistic picture of the plurality and
diversity of Native American life from the real and complex Native American per-
spectives. Her research centered on the changing Native American family and on
women's roles, real and perceived, past and present. Much erroneous information
Meinel, Marjorie Pettit | 683
exists because the first narratives and histories were written by white men who
were the product of a patriarchal society, and they largely ignored or incorrectly
reported the role of women in Native American society. She had an already long
career as a visiting professor and fellow at numerous colleges and universities
before attending the University of Wisconsin at Madison as an Advanced Opportu-
nity Fellow to complete her doctorate in anthropology in 1983. She went on to
direct Native American studies programs at several universities, including at
California State University, Northridge, and the University of Calgary, Alberta,
Canada. Even after her formal retirement in 1988, she continued to be a visiting
or adjunct professor at several institutions in both the United States and Canada.
Although she spent a career in academia, Medicine maintained strong ties to her
reservation home. She was born and raised on the Standing Rock Sioux Reserva-
tion in northern South Dakota, and her family stressed maintaining tribal tradi-
tional cultural identity. In addition to her research on her own people, Medicine
was involved in work with the aboriginal peoples of New Zealand, Australia, and
Canada. She was extensively involved in the field of mental health, focusing on
issues such as alcohol and drug abuse among Native Americans. The title of her
doctoral thesis was "An Ethnography of Drinking and Sobriety among the Lakota
Sioux." She was an advocate for Indian leadership and helped establish a network
of Indian social service centers in urban areas. In her role as head of the Women's
Branch of Canada's Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, she helped draft
legislation protecting the legal rights of native families.
Medicine published more than 60 articles and chapters in books, including
Native American Women: A Perspective (1978) and The Hidden Half: Studies of
Plains Indians Women (1983). A collection of her writings, entitled Learning to
Be an Anthropologist and Remaining "Native," was published in 2001. She was
a member of the American Anthropological Association and Society for Applied
Anthropology.
Further Resources
Medicine, Beatrice and Sue-Ellen Jacobs, eds. 2001. Learning to Be an Anthropologist
and Remaining "Native": Selected Writings. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Meinel, Marjorie Pettit
1922 2008
Astronomer
Education: B.A., Pomona College, 1943; M.A., astronomy, Claremont College,
1944
684 | Meinel, Marjorie Pettit
Professional Experience: researcher and associate editor, rocket programs,
California Institute of Technology, 1944-1945; research associate, solar energy,
University of Arizona, 1974-1984; visiting scientist, optics, Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 1984-2000
Concurrent Positions: consultant, Office of Technological Assessment, U.S.
Congress, 1974-1980; consultant, Arizona Solar Energy Research Commission,
1975-1981
Marjorie Meinel was recognized for her work on solar energy applications, upper
atmospheric phenomena, volcanic eruptions, solar and variable stars, and astro-
nomical optics. As a graduate teaching assistant during World War II, she taught
navigation to Army airmen. After receiving her master's degree from Claremont
College, she obtained employment on secret military rocket programs at the
California Institute of Technology. Throughout her career, she conducted collabo-
rative research with her husband, astronomer Aden Meinel, on solar optics, solar
energy, volcanic eruptions, and cosmic radiation. They co-authored several papers
and books and, in their later post-retirement years, the couple continued to expand
their diverse interests into topics such as paleoanthropology and global warming,
pursuing their research and giving public lectures.
Both of Meinel's parents were pioneering astronomers; her father, Edison Pettit,
was one of the founding astronomers at Mt. Wilson Observatory in Los Angeles,
and her mother, Hanna Steele Pettit, was one of the first women to receive a doc-
torate in astronomy from the University of Chicago. Marjorie met Aden Meinel
when they both enrolled in a program for gifted high school students at Pasadena
Junior College. Aden Meinel became the first Director of the Kitt Peak National
Observatory (1958-1960) and was the founder and first Director of the Optical
Sciences Center at the University of Arizona. Marjorie took time off from her
career to raise seven children, but she remained professionally active in collabora-
tion with and support of Aden's research. Once her children were grown, she spent
10 years as a research associate in solar energy at the University of Arizona and
was active in the 1970s as a member of state and national solar energy committees.
In 1984, the couple returned to California as Distinguished Visiting Scientists at
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where they researched solar optics and helped
launch the Hubble Space Telescope.
Among Meinel's numerous awards and acknowledgements, she was named one
of five outstanding "Women in Physics" by the American Physical Society (1980)
and received the Goddard Award (1984), the George van Biesbroeck Award for
Services in Astronomy (1990), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (1993), and the Kingslake
Medal of the Optical Society of America (1994 and 2001). The Meinels also
Mendenhall, Dorothy Reed | 685
received many awards for their joint work, including a Gold Medal Award of the
Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) (1997). She was a
member of SPIE and of the New York Academy of Sciences and the Society of
Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
Further Resources
LaFee, Scott. "Astronomers Link Human Evolution, Cosmic Radiation." http://www
.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20060607-9999-lzlc07meinel.html.
Mendenhall, Dorothy Reed
1874 1964
Research Physician
Education: B.L., Smith College, 1895; student, chemistry and physics, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology; M.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1900
Professional Experience: fellow, Johns Hopkins University, 1901-1902; resident
physician, Babies Hospital, New York, 1903-1906; lecturer, home economics,
University of Wisconsin, 1914-1936
Concurrent Positions: medical officer, United States Children's Bureau,
1917-1936
Dorothy Reed Mendenhall was recognized first for her early work on Hodgkin's
disease and later for her pioneering efforts in obstetrics. In 1900, she was one of
the first women to receive a medical degree at Johns Hopkins after the school lifted
its ban on admitting women students. More than 50 years later, she would establish
a scholarship fund at Johns Hopkins for female medical students. While working as
an intern and fellow in pathology and bacteriology at Johns Hopkins, she earned an
international reputation for her recognition of the Reed (or Reed-Sternberg) cell,
named in her honor, as the distinctive characteristic of Hodgkin's disease. Prior to
her work, Hodgkin's disease was believed to be a form of tuberculosis. Since there
were few opportunities for women to advance at Johns Hopkins, she moved to
New York, where in 1903 she was appointed the first resident physician at Babies
Hospital. After losing her own first child at birth, she changed her research interests
to improving obstetrics and infant mortality in the United States.
In 1906, she moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where her husband was a faculty
member in physics. After an interval of several years to care for her growing fam-
ily, she became a lecturer in home economics at the University of Wisconsin and
686 | Menken, Jane Ava (Golubitsky)
began researching infant mortality, nutrition, and public health. After conducting a
campaign of lectures and pamphlets, she organized Wisconsin's first infant wel-
fare clinic in 1915. In 1917, she served as a medical officer for the U.S. Children's
Bureau while her husband was on war duty in Washington, D.C. She continued her
affiliation with the Children's Bureau until 1936 while maintaining her position at
the University of Wisconsin. She studied European countries with low infant mor-
tality rates and used the information to produce numerous bulletins on nutrition
and childcare for the university, the Wisconsin State Board of Health, and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. She advocated the use of midwives for healthy
pregnancies and specialized training in obstetrics for physicians. Her work also
led to the creation of height and weight standards to improve infant and child
nutrition and health. She focused not only on the role of doctors, however, also
reaching out to women and prospective mothers with correspondence courses on
nutrition and hygiene.
Further Resources
National Institutes of Health. "Dr. Dorothy Reed Mendenhall." Changing the Face of
Medicine: Celebrating America's Women Physicians. National Library of Medicine,
National Institutes of Health, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/
physicians/biography 221.html.
Menken, Jane Ava (Golubitsky)
b. 1939
Demographer, Sociologist
Education: A.B., mathematics, University of Pennsylvania, 1960; M.S., biostatistics,
School of Public Health, Harvard University, 1962; Ph.D., sociology and demography,
Princeton University, 1975
Professional Experience: assistant, biostatistics, School of Public Health,
Harvard University, 1962-1964; mathematical statistician, National Institute of
Mental Health, 1964-1966; research associate, biostatistics, School of Public
Health and Administrative Medicine, Columbia University, 1966-1969; research
staff, Office of Population Research, Princeton University, 1969-1971, research
demographer, 1975-1980, assistant to associate director, 1978-1987; associate
professor, sociology, Princeton University, 1977-1980, professor, sociology and
public affairs, 1980-1987, visiting professor, public and international affairs,
1987-1988; professor, social sciences, and research associate, Population Studies
Menken, Jane Ava (Golubitsky) | 687
Center, University of Pennsylvania, 1987-2001, director, 1989-1995; professor,
sociology, University of Colorado, Boulder, 1997-, and director, Institute of
Behavioral Science, 2001-
Concurrent Positions: fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sci-
ences, Stanford University, 1995-1996; honorary professor, School of Public
Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2006-
Jane Menken is recognized as one of the top demographers in the United States.
Demography is the science of vital and social statistics, such as birth, death, dis-
eases, and marriage. It differs from statistics, which is the science that deals with
numerical facts or data, in that demography is centered on the populations — the
people — and the interpretation and forecasting of trends. Menken's work has often
involved controversial social issues, such as the effects of government policy on
fertility, breastfeeding rates, and birth control and abortion access. In particular,
her work has focused on women's and children's health and on the study of aging.
In addition to her numerous scholarly articles and papers, she is the co-author of
the book Mathematical Models of Conception and Birth (1973), and co-editor of
Natural Fertility (1979), Teenage Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing
(1981), World Population and U.S. Policy: The Choices Ahead (1986), and, most
recently, Aging in Sub-Saharan Africa (2006). She is a founding member of the
editorial board of two journals, Demographic Research and Southern African
Journal of Demography.
Menken worked for the federal government for a short time as a statistician for
the National Institute of Mental Health, but has primarily been employed by major
universities with distinguished reputations in demography. She has been a visiting
scholar, invited lecturer, and conference participant at institutions around the
world, and has served on numerous panels and commissions including, but not
limited to, as a member of the population advisory committee for the Rockefeller
Foundation (1981-1993), member of the committee on AIDS research of the
National Academy of Sciences (1987-1994), chair of Family Health Internation-
al's project on The Impact of Family Planning Programs on Women's Lives
(1994-1998), and member of the World Health Organization Study on Global
Aging and World Health (2004-2006). She has also served in numerous advisory
roles for National Research Council and National Institutes of Health (NIH) stud-
ies on population and fertility.
Menken is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences (1989) and
the Institute of Medicine (1995). She is a former Guggenheim fellow (1992-
1993), a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Population
Association of America (president, 1985), American Public Health Association,
688 | Michel, Helen (Vaughn)
Sociological Research Association (president, 1995-1996), American Sociological
Association, American Statistical Association, Society for the Study of Social
Biology, and International Union for the Scientific Study of Population.
Further Resources
University of Colorado. Faculty website. http://www.colorado.edu/ibs/PP/menken/.
Michel, Helen (Vaughn)
b. 1932
Nuclear Chemist
Education: B.S., chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, 1955; student,
Indiana University, 1955-1956
Professional Experience: chemist, University of California, Berkeley, Radiation
Laboratory (later Lawrence Radiation Laboratory), 1956-1990
Helen Michel is a nuclear chemist who achieved great success and worldwide rec-
ognition for her expertise in operating the complex electronic instruments in the
Lawrence Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California. Her analyses led to many
important scientific discoveries in the fields of nuclear science, geochemistry,
plant biology, and archaeometry, the dating of archaeological specimens through
specific techniques such as radiocarbon dating. One study of the mid-1970s that
attracted a vast amount of publicity involved her group's role in determining the
authenticity of an artifact called the Plate of Brass. Historical evidence indicated
it had been left by English explorer Sir Walter Drake in the sixteenth century when
he landed on the coast of what is now California. The plate had been discovered in
1936 in San Francisco, and was kept at Berkeley. After examining samples of the
metal as well as the plate itself by x-ray fluorescence, atomic absorption, and
emission spectroscopy, Michel determined that the Plate of Brass was not authen-
tic and that it had probably been made in the last half of the nineteenth century or
the early part of the twentieth. Similar studies conducted at Oxford University
verified her conclusions. She was also involved in another news story of the
1980s when her expertise in chemical soil analysis was crucial in a long-term
project that substantiated the theory that an asteroid impact resulted in the extinc-
tion of the dinosaurs some 65 billion years ago. Michel's contributions to the work
that proved the asteroid theory are described in Luis Alvarez's book, Adventures of
a Physicist (1987), and Walter Alvarez's T-Rex and the Crater of Doom (1997),
among other reports.
Micheli-Tzanakou, Evangelia | 689
Michel decided on a career in chemistry while still in elementary school, but by the
time she completed her college education in the 1950s, it was difficult for a woman to
obtain any job, much less in the sciences. She secured a part-time job at the Radiation
Laboratory in Berkeley in the Division of Nuclear Chemistry while she was still an
undergraduate. She spent a year in graduate work at Indiana University before
returning to Berkeley for a full-time position as a chemist. Even without an advanced
degree, she earned the respect of her colleagues and was always included as a
co-author on all of the papers describing research in which she participated.
In the 1960s, she and her husband expanded their scientific interests to the
hobby of breeding orchids. They established a business as part of the Orchid
Ranch in Livermore, California, and after retiring from Lawrence Laboratory in
1990, Helen took over much of the daily supervision of the business.
Further Resources
Rogers, Phila W. 1979. "Investigating a Mass Extinction Occurring 65 Million Years
Ago." http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/fingerprinting-past.html.
Micheli-Tzanakou, Evangelia
b. 1942
Neurophysicist, Biomedical Engineer, Biophysicist
Education: B.S., University of Athens, 1968; M.S., Syracuse University, 1974,
Ph.D., physics, 1977
Professional Experience: fellow, biophysics, Syracuse University, 1977-1980, con-
sultant, 1980-1981; assistant to associate professor, biomedical engineering, Rutgers
University, 1981-1990, professor and department chair, 1990-2000, professor and
director, Computational Intelligence Laboratories, Department of Biomedical
Engineering, 2000-
Concurrent Positions: consultant, Eye Defect and Engineering Research
Foundation, 1978-1980; adjunct instructor, University of Medicine and Dentistry of
New Jersey
Evangelia Micheli-Tzanakou is a physicist who does extensive research on brain
function, including pattern recognition; digital signal processing of biological sig-
nals; neural networks, data compression, and image reconstruction; hearing aids;
and neural network modeling of the brain. She is renowned for her research
in using optimization techniques to understand to problems of brain functions
and dysfunctions, and she has pursued a multiphase quest in order to gain this
690 | Mielczarek, Eugenie Vorburger
understanding. Some of the methods she developed are used in cardiology to pre-
dict the prognosis of heart-attack patients, and she has compared people who age
normally with patients who have Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. She has
developed a set of algorithms for modeling the visual system and applied this tech-
nique to other functions of the nervous system and to research other brain func-
tions, such as pattern recognition. In 1994, her research indicated that people
with advanced educational and occupational attainment are able to cope longer
before the onset of Alzheimer's, a finding that has proved controversial.
Biomedical engineering, or bioengineering, is a relatively new discipline that
developed in the 1960s and involves the application of engineering principles
and techniques to problems of medicine and biology. In many institutions, it is
an interdisciplinary effort on the part of physicians, biophysicists, electrical engi-
neers, and computer scientists. Some researchers have expertise in several or all
of these disciplines. In Micheli-Tzanakou's work, information processing by the
visual system is examined by computer-controlled techniques, and recordings are
done both in animals and in humans. In 1996, she and her co-author described
designing a neuromime circuit to be used for modeling nerve networks from living
organisms by using very large-scale integration (VLSI) technology.
Micheli-Tzanakou is a founding fellow of the American Institute for Medical
and Biological Engineering. She is also a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE ) and has served on numerous boards and committees
for that group. She is a member of the Society for Neuroscience, Association for
Research in Ophthalmology, and Biophysical Society.
Further Resources
Rutgers University. Faculty website. http://cil.rutgers.edu/tzanakou/BriefCV.htm.
Mielczarek, Eugenie Vorburger
b. 1931
Solid-state Physicist, Biophysicist
Education: B.S., Queens College, 1953; M.S., Catholic University, 1957, Ph.D.,
physics, 1963
Professional Experience: physicist, U.S. National Bureau of Standards, 1953-
1957; research assistant, Catholic University, 1957-1959, research associate,
1959-1962, assistant research professor, 1962-1965; professor, physics, George
Mason University, 1965-, emerita
Concurrent Positions: visiting scientist, National Institutes of Health, 1965-
Miller, Elizabeth Cavert | 691
Eugenie Mielczarek is known for her work in biophysics, which is the conjunction
between biology and physics. Her research includes solid-state low-temperature
physics, semiconductors, Mossbauer spectroscopy of metal and biological
compounds, biophysics, and Fermi surfaces of metals. Working with Mossbauer
spectroscopy, she is applying the techniques of nuclear physics to biological materi-
als in order to probe the molecular environment around iron atoms. She explains that
our bodies contain iron. Persons who have sickle-cell anemia or Cooley's anemia
suffer from damaged kidneys and spleens. The red blood cells break down more rap-
idly in these persons than in healthy individuals, and this breakdown dumps iron into
those major organs. Iron chelators, or iron-grabbing compounds, are needed to clean
up the excess iron, and we need to understand the atomic environment of iron in
iron-chelating compounds in order to prevent the damage caused by the iron buildup.
Her early research was in solid-state metals physics, but she has moved into
studies of metal in biological environments. Solid-state physicists increasingly are
studying more complex biological systems, looking at hemoglobin, cell membranes,
and brain waves, work that has application to living systems. For example, she has
also studied the dangerously high noise levels from music played in aerobic exercise
classes, making recommendations for how to protect the hearing of both instructors
and participants in such situations.
She initially found it difficult to find employment as a female physicist, but finally
obtained a position at the U.S. National Bureau of Standards, where she worked while
completing her graduate degrees. Later, she was the founding chair of the physics
department at George Mason University, a department that still maintains a higher-
than-average number of female professors. Mielczarek is a member of the American
Physical Society, Biophysical Society, American Association of Physics Teachers,
and Association of Women in Science. She was co-editor (with Robert S. Knox) of
Biological Physics and co-author (with Sharon Bertsch McGrayne) of Iron, Life's
Universal Element: Why People Need Iron and Animals Make Magnets (2000).
Miller, Elizabeth Cavert
1920 1987
Biochemist
Education: B.S., biochemistry, University of Minnesota, 1941; M.S., biochemistry,
University of Wisconsin, 1943, Ph.D., biochemistry, 1945
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer
Research, University of Wisconsin, 1945-1947, instructor, department of oncology,
1947-1949, assistant to associate professor, 1949-1969, professor, 1969-1987
692 | Mintz, Beatrice
Concurrent Positions: associate director, McArdle Laboratory for Cancer
Research, University of Wisconsin, 1973-1987; senior research professor and emeri-
tus professor, oncology, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, 1980-1987
Elizabeth C. Miller was a biochemist recognized for her research on cancer and
chemical carcinogens. She spent her entire career at the University of Wisconsin,
where she collaborated with her husband, James A. Miller. The Millers were the
first researchers to discover that an outside chemical could cause cancer in rats.
They went on to research how carcinogens bind to DNA and, in the 1960s, worked
on growing tumors in live tissue to understand how cancers spread. Their path-
breaking research provided insight into later studies and public awareness about
potential cancer-causing toxins in the environment such as pollution, industrial
chemicals, food additives, and drugs. Together, the Millers published more than
300 papers on chemical carcinogens.
Elizabeth Miller began her graduate research with a scholarship for joint work
in biochemistry and home economics. After she received her doctorate at Wisconsin,
she held a postdoctoral fellowship and then joined the faculty in 1947 as an
instructor in oncology. She advanced through the tenure ranks, becoming a full
professor in 1969. At the University of Wisconsin, she also served as associate
director of the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research from 1973 until her
retirement in 1987. She was the editor of Cancer Research (1954-1964) and
president of the American Association for Cancer Research (1976 and 1978).
Between 1978 and 1980, she served on President Carter's Panel of the National
Cancer Institute.
Both Elizabeth Miller and James Miller were elected to the National Academy
of Sciences in 1978. They received numerous awards and honors for their work,
including the National Award in Basic Science of the American Cancer Society
(1977), the first Founder's Award from the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicol-
ogy (1978), and a Mott Award from General Motors Cancer Research Foundation
(1980). Elizabeth Miller was a member of the American Society of Biological
Chemists, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences. She died of kidney cancer in 1987.
Mintz, Beatrice
b. 1921
Biologist
Education: A.B., Hunter College, 1941; student, New York University, 1941-
1942; M.S., University of Iowa, 1944, Ph.D., zoology, 1946
Mintz, Beatrice | 693
Biologist Beatrice Mintz. (Courtesy of the Fox
Chase Cancer Center)
Professional Experience: assistant,
Guggenheim Dental Clinic, 1941—
1942; assistant, zoology, University
of Iowa, 1942-1946, instructor, 1946;
instructor, biological science, Univer-
sity of Chicago, 1946-1949, assistant
to associate professor, 1949-1960;
associate member, Institute for Cancer
Research (now Fox Chase Cancer
Center), Philadelphia, 1960-1965,
senior member, 1965-
Beatrice Mintz has been recognized
for her research on cellular biology
and developmental genetics, and she
particularly investigated inherited
susceptibility to certain tumors. Her
research has focused on gene control
of differentiation and disease in mam-
mals, including, most recently, the
hereditary basis of melanoma or skin
cancer. Melanoma is a highly dangerous form of skin cancer, but is difficult to
detect early and treat. She is renowned for her techniques in manipulating the
genetic makeup of mouse embryos and for new methods for freezing cells. After
receiving her undergraduate degree, she accepted a position at the University of
Iowa as assistant and instructor while she completed her doctorate. She was hired
at the University of Chicago as an instructor in 1946 and advanced to associate
professor in 1955. During this time, she was awarded a Fulbright research fellow-
ship to study in France. She left Chicago in 1960 to become an associate member
of the Institute for Cancer Research, now the Fox Chase Cancer Center, where she
is still a senior member and researcher, and holds an endowed chair.
Mintz was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1973 and was named
an Outstanding Woman in Science by the New York Academy of Sciences in
1993. She has received numerous awards, including the Papanicolaou Award for
Scientific Achievement (1979), the first medal of the Genetics Society of America
(1981), Germany's first Ernst Jung Gold Medal for Medicine (1990), the first
March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology (1996), and a National Medal
of Honor for Basic Research from the American Cancer Society (1997). She is a fel-
low of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. She is also
694 | Mitchell, Helen Swift
a member of the Genetics Society of America, the Society for Developmental
Biology, the International Society of Developmental Biology, the American Institute
of Biological Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.
Further Resources
Fox Chase Cancer Center. "Beatrice Mintz, PhD." http://www.fccc.edu/research/pid/
mintz/.
Mitchell, Helen Swift
1895 1984
Nutritionist
Education: B.A., Mount Holyoke College, 1917; Ph.D., physiological chemistry,
Yale University, 1921
Professional Experience: high school instructor, 1917-1918; director, nutrition
research, Battle Creek Sanitarium, 1921-1932; professor, nutrition, Battle Creek
College, 1924-1935; research professor, nutrition and home economics, Massachu-
setts State College, 1935-1941; principal nutritionist, Office of Defense, Health,
and Welfare Services, Washington, D.C., 1941-1943; chief nutritionist, Office
of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations, U.S. Department of State,
1943-1944; professor, nutrition, Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1946; dean,
home economics, University of Massachusetts, 1946-1960
Concurrent Positions: exchange professor, Hokaido University, Japan, 1960-1962;
research consultant, Harvard School of Public Health
Helen Mitchell was an authority on nutrition and vitamins who helped develop the
idea of Recommended Dietary Allowances (or RDA), now required on all food
labeling. After receiving her doctorate at Yale University, she became research
director of nutrition at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in 1921 and then, beginning
in 1924, served simultaneously as professor of physiology and nutrition at Battle
Creek College. She was appointed a research professor at Massachusetts State
College in 1935. During World War II, she took a leave from teaching to be chief
nutritionist for the U.S. Office of Defense, Health, and Welfare, and then for the
Department of State. It was during her tenure working for the government that
Mitchell and other researchers prepared a report on nutrition and vitamin needs
of enlisted men; their work led to the RDA recommendations for different groups,
which eventually were applied to the population at large.
Mitchell, Joan L. | 695
After the war, Mitchell returned to academia, first at the Carnegie Institute of
Technology for a year, and then in an appointment as dean of home economics
at the University of Massachusetts in 1946. She traveled widely to conduct
research and attend international congresses, visiting Newfoundland, Russia,
Scandinavia, Scotland, and the Middle East. She received an honorary degree from
the University of Massachusetts at the time of her retirement in 1960. Even after
her retirement, she was active as a consultant to the Harvard School of Public
Health and as an exchange professor in Japan for two years. She was also a co-
author of Nutrition in Nursing and of the fifteenth edition of Nutrition in Health
and Disease, a standard textbook that has been regularly updated and reprinted
for more than 70 years.
Mitchell was elected a fellow of the American Public Health Association, and
was also a member of the American Dietetic Association, the American Home
Economics Association, the American Institute of Nutrition, and the Institute of
Food Technologists.
Mitchell, Joan L.
b. 1947
Physicist
Education: B.S., physics, Stanford University, 1969; M.S., University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign, 1971, Ph.D., physics, 1974
Professional Experience: research staff member, International Business
Machines (IBM) J. Watson Research Center, 1974-1994, research staff member,
Image Applications, 1996-2007; fellow, Ricoh/IBM InfoPrint Solutions
Company, 2007-
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, University of Illinois
Joan L. Mitchell is a physicist whose work has had applications in computer
science over the course of her long career in photographic image processing and
technologies with IBM. She was a member and editor of the Joint Photographic
Experts Group (JPEG) that developed and standardized the algorithm for color
image compression, and she co-authored books in the mid-1990s on the JPEG
and MPEG formats, both now standard international data compression formats.
Mitchell received her doctorate in physics from the University of Illinois in 1974
and worked in various departments of the IBM T. J. Watson Research center for
more than 30 years before joining the new Ricoh-IBM collaboration, InfoPrint
696 | Mitchell, Mildred Bessie
Solutions, as a fellow in 2007. She holds or shares more than 100 patents related to
processes for photographic facsimile (fax) and image data compression.
Mitchell was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2004. She has
received several IBM Outstanding Innovation Awards, including for Two-
Dimensional Data Compression (1978), Teleconferencing (1982), Image View
Facility (1985), Resistive Ribbon Thermal Transfer Printing Technology (1985),
Speed-Optimized Software Implementations of Image Compression Algorithms
(1991), and Q-Coder (1991), and an Outstanding Technical Achievement Award
for Algorithms for Improved Printer Performance (2001). She was elected to the
IBM Academy of Technology in 1997 and was named an IBM Fellow in 2001.
Mitchell is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
She also wrote a career-advice book, Dr. Joan's Mentoring Book: Straight Talk
about Taking Charge of Your Career (2007).
Further Resources
"10 Minutes with Dr. Joan Mitchell, InfoPrint Fellow and Master Inventor." InfoPrint Insights.
8. (June 2009). Ricoh-IBM InfoPrint Solutions. http://www.infoprintsolutionscompany
.com/internet/wwsites.nsf/vwWebPublished/ii 060109 us?OpenDocument# 18.
"Joan Mitchell." IBM Women in Technology. IBM Women Fellows. http://www-03
.ibm.com/ibm/history/witexhibit/wit fellows mitchell.html.
Mitchell, Mildred Bessie
1903 1983
Clinical Psychologist
Education: B.A., Rockford College, 1924; M.A., Radcliffe College, 1927; Ph.D.,
psychology, Yale University, 1931
Professional Experience: professor, education and mathematics, Lees College,
1927-1928; psychologist, George School, 1931-1933; chief psychologist, New
Hampshire State Hospital, 1933-1936; vocational director, U.S. Employment
Service in New Hampshire, 1936; psychologist, Bellevue Hospital, New York
City, 1937; chief psychologist, Psychopathic Hospital, Iowa State University,
1938-1939; psychologist, Mt. Pleasant and Independence Street Hospitals,
1939-1941; clinical psychologist, State Bureau of Psychological Services, Minne-
sota, 1941-1942; member of Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Services
(WAVES), 1942-1945; vocational appraiser, Veterans Guidance Center, City
College New York, 1945-1946; psychologist, Domestic Relations Court,
Mitchell, Mildred Bessie | 697
New York City, 1946-1947; chief psychologist, Veterans Administration Center,
Dayton, Ohio, 1951-1958; clinical psychologist, Aerospace Medical Laboratory,
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 1958-1960, research psychologist, Bionics Sec-
tion, Aeronautical Systems Division, 1960-1963; associate professor, psychology,
University of Tampa, 1965-1967; lecturer, behavioral science, University of South
Florida, 1967-1970
Mildred Mitchell had a distinguished career as a clinical psychologist, but she is
best known for her early contributions to the development of the science of bion-
ics. Bionics involves utilizing electronic devices and mechanical parts to assist
humans in performing difficult, dangerous, or intricate tasks by supplementing or
duplicating parts of the body. Tasks can range from the design of glove boxes to
handling radioactive material in clean rooms to the design of artificial limbs to
replace those lost to accident or disease. Bionics was a new science in the 1960s,
and psychologists, biologists, physicians, chemists, physicists, mathematicians,
and engineers teamed up to duplicate electronically the functions of people,
animals, and plants.
Mitchell became involved in bionics in the late 1950s when she was asked by
the U.S. Air Force to assist in the psychological evaluation of men competing for
the astronaut training program. Initially, she was asked only to test the applicants'
reaction to isolation, but later she was appointed to the selection team. The selec-
tion committee chose experienced pilots, and devised tests that simulated the pres-
sures of high altitude and the resultant stresses on the body. The scientists knew
that even experienced pilots had difficulty performing some actions such as
manipulating the controls during takeoffs and landings because of high gravity
(G) forces. When Mitchell was head of bionics at the Aerospace Medical Labora-
tory, she designed an artificial muscle that could take over such operations and
could also assist if an astronaut who had experienced long periods of weightless-
ness found his muscles had become weak or impaired. She also designed a "nail
bender" that can bend an iron nail with a puff of air. Her group designed a man-
made "biological clock," which duplicates through machinery the natural mecha-
nism that tells animals whether it is day or night, even if their environment has
been artificially altered. There have been significant advances in materials, in
computer simulation of muscle action, and in the need for specific bionic equip-
ment since the beginnings of the space program. However, Mitchell and her teams
early and made significant contributions to this new science.
After working with the Air Force, Mitchell accepted positions teaching at sev-
eral academic institutions and, throughout her career, she was involved in improv-
ing the status of women psychologists. In 1951, she published a landmark report in
the journal American Psychologist on the status of women psychologists who were
698 | Moore, Emmeline
members of the American Psychological Association. The data indicated that
women had not been elected as fellows or officers, nor had they been appointed
to committees in proportion to their numbers and qualifications. She also noted
that women (such as herself) changed jobs frequently due to lack of opportunities
for advancement. Her report garnered some criticism, but also resulted in reforms
within the profession.
Mitchell was honored with distinguished technical achievement awards of the
U.S. Air Force (1962 and 1964). She was a fellow of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association, and
the International Council of Women Psychologists.
Moore, Emmeline
1872 1963
Aquatic Biologist
Education: A.B., Cornell University, 1905; A.M., Wellesley College, 1906; Ph.D.,
Cornell University, 1914
Professional Experience: teacher, public schools, 1895-1903; instructor, biology,
normal school, 1906-1910; substitute professor, botany, Huguenot College, South
Africa, 1911; instructor and assistant professor, Vassar College, 1914-1919;
research biologist and director of biological survey, New York Conservation Com-
mission, 1919-1944
Emmeline Moore was an aquatic biologist and one of the few women to be
appointed the director of a state fisheries department. Her research focused on
the effect of fishing, disease, and pollution on fish in freshwater lakes, ponds,
and rivers. Her career followed the pattern of many women in that she taught pub-
lic school for several years before receiving her undergraduate degree. She was
appointed an instructor in biology at a normal school after receiving her master's
degree from Wellesley and substituted as a botany professor in South Africa for
a year before returning to Cornell to complete her doctorate in 1914. She was
appointed instructor and then assistant professor at Vassar, but joined the New
York State Conversation Department in 1919 as its first female research biologist.
She became chief aquatic biologist and was eventually appointed director of the
survey. While her main focus was on the waterways and lakes of New York, she
also conducted research projects throughout the United States and Canada, as well
as in Europe and Africa. In 1926, she published a study on Problems in Fresh
Water Fisheries. Even after her formal retirement in 1944, Moore served as an
Morawetz, Cathleen (Synge) | 699
honorary fellow at the University of Wisconsin and as a research assistant at the
Yale University oceanography lab.
Moore received the Walker Prize of the Boston Society of Natural History in
both 1909 and 1915. She was the first woman president of the American Fisheries
Society in 1928 and was a member of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science and the Ecological Society of America. In 1958, a state marine
research ship, the Emmeline M. , was named after her.
Further Resources
Hennigan, Robert D. 2004. "Emmeline Moore: Pioneer Biologist and Fisheries Scientist."
Clearwaters. 34(3). (Fall 2004). New York Water Environment Association, Inc. http://
www.nywea.org/clearwaters/04-3-fall/EmmelineMoore.cfm.
Brown, Patricia Stocking. 1994. "Early Women Ichthyologists." Environmental Biology of
Fishes 41: 9 30. (1994). http://swfsc.noaa.gov/uploadedFiles/Education/Women%20in
%20Ichthyology.pdf.
Morawetz, Cathleen (Synge)
b. 1923
Applied Mathematician
Education: B.S., University of Toronto, 1944; M.S., Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 1946; Ph.D., mathematics, New York University, 1951
Professional Experience: research associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technol-
ogy (MIT), 1951-1952; research associate, Courant Institute of Mathematical
Science, New York University, 1952-1957, assistant to associate professor, math-
ematics, 1957-1966, professor, 1966-1993, associate director, Courant Institute,
1978-1984, director, 1984-1988, emerita
Cathleen Morawetz is renowned for her research in applied mathematics. She is
the first woman in the United States to head a mathematical institution, the Cou-
rant Institute of Mathematical Science at NYU. Her early work involved the
mathematical analysis of transonic flow, which has practical applications in the
design of aircraft as it involves the study of flow past an airfoil, such as the wing
of an airplane. At very fast speeds, shock waves will develop and will increase
the drag on an aircraft, which has important implications for the design of super-
sonic aircraft. In the 1960s, her research indicated that the equations of transonic
flow show that a shock wave must occur if a plane goes fast enough, no matter
how the wings are designed; engineers now settle for designing airfoils with small
700 | Morawetz, Cathleen (Synge)
Mathematician Cathleen Morawetz is former director of the Courant Institute at NYU. (New
York University Archives)
shocks. Later, she concentrated on the mathematics associated with the scattering
of waves — electromagnetic, sound, or elastic — upon hitting a barrier. The problem
was how to observe and analyze the interaction of the wave with the barrier,
whether it was reflected, absorbed, or transmitted. Some applications of scattering
theory are in x-ray diffraction, and mathematical analyses of high-frequency
waves are the basis of techniques used in medicine to visualize internal organs as
well as techniques used in geology to search for oil fields.
Morawetz's father was the mathematician John Synge, renowned for his work
in tensor analysis. He did not push his daughter toward a career in mathematics,
and she originally wanted to study engineering at the California Institute of Tech-
nology, but the school did not accept women at that time. She therefore concen-
trated on applied mathematics because she found it esthetically appealing to use
mathematics to describe natural phenomena. She later obtained a temporary job
at New York University in the Mathematics Department to edit mathematician
Richard Courant's book Supersonic Flow and Shock Waves (1948). She never
formally applied to the graduate school but began taking classes and eventually
wrote a thesis on imploding shock waves. She gave birth to four children
during her graduate and early career years and spent several years working as a
Morgan, Agnes Fay | 701
part-time researcher supported by government contracts before joining the faculty
at the Courant Institute. She eventually became assistant director and then, in
1984, director of the school.
Morawetz has received eight honorary degrees, including an honorary doctorate
from her own institution, New York University, in 2007. She was elected to mem-
bership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1990, the first woman member of
the Applied Mathematics Section. She was named Outstanding Woman of Science
by the Association for Women in Science (1993), and is a recipient of a National
Medal of Science (1998), the Leroy P. Steele Prize for Lifetime Achievement by
the American Mathematical Society (2004), and the Birkhoff Prize in Applied
Mathematics (2006), awarded jointly by the AMS and the Society for Industrial
and Applied Mathematics. She is a fellow of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and
a member of the American Mathematical Society (president, 1995-1997),
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and Mathematical Association of
America.
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Murray, Margaret Anne Marie. 2000. Women Becoming Mathematicians: Creating an
Identity in Post World War II America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Morgan, Agnes Fay
1884 1968
Biochemist and Nutritionist
Education: B.S., University of Chicago, 1904, M.S., 1905, Ph.D., chemistry,
1914
Professional Experience: instructor, chemistry, Hardin College, 1905-1907;
instructor, chemistry, University of Washington, 1910-1913; assistant to associate
professor, nutrition, University of California, Berkeley, 1915-1923, professor,
nutrition, 1923-1928, professor, home economics and biochemistry, 1938-1954
Concurrent Positions: biochemist, experiment station, University of California,
Berkeley, 1938-1954
702 | Morgan, Ann Haven
Agnes Fay Morgan was recognized as one of the pioneers in the development of
home economics as a scientific discipline, and as one of the pioneers in nutrition
research. The home economics department at Berkeley under Morgan had one
of the outstanding programs in the country due to her emphasis on research
and her insistence on chemistry as an integral part of the home economics cur-
riculum. Between 1951 and 1954, she served as chair of departments at both
Berkeley and Davis. She founded Iota Sigma Pi, a national society for women
in chemistry. Although she had a fine record of research and teaching, she was
proudest of her administrative skills in establishing a department of Household
Science and Arts at Berkeley and in playing a major role in the growth of the
science of home economics. Her research included the effect of heat on the bio-
logical value of proteins and the mechanism of action of vitamins. She was rec-
ognized for her pioneering work on the biochemistry of vitamins, which has had
a lasting influence on research today. She was the first to produce graying of
hair through vitamin deficiency and the first to note certain supplementary
effects of vitamin D.
Morgan received the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society in 1949
for her work on vitamins, and she received the Borden Award in 1954. In 1961, the
Berkeley campus named the home economics building in her honor. She received
an honorary degree from the University of California in 1959. She published
Experimental Food Study (1927 ', 1940). She was elected a fellow of the American
Institute of Nutrition and was a member of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science and the American Society of Biological Chemists.
Further Resources
King, Janet C. 2003. "Contributions of Women to Human Nutrition." Journal of Nutrition.
133: 3693 3697. (November 2003). http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/133/ll/
3693.
Morgan, Ann Haven
1882 1966
Zoologist and Ecologist
Education: A.B., Cornell University, 1906, Ph.D., 1912
Professional Experience: assistant and instructor, zoology, Mount Holyoke
College, 1906-1909; assistant and instructor, Cornell University, 1909-1911;
associate professor, Mount Holyoke College, 1912-1913, professor, 1914-1947
Moss, Cynthia Jane | 703
Ann Morgan was a biologist and zoologist recognized for her pioneering research on
ecology and conservation and wrote several popular books, including Field Book of
Ponds and Streams: An Introduction to the Life of Fresh Water (1930), the source for
information on collecting and preserving specimens for many amateur naturalists,
and Field Book of Animals in Winter (1939). Her research included freshwater
biology, respiration and ecology of aquatic insects, biology of mayflies, habits and
conditions of hibernating animals, and conservation, and her students nicknamed
her "Mayfly Morgan." Morgan studied at Wellesley before transferring to Cornell
University, where she received her bachelor's degree in 1906 and her doctorate in
1912. She was a visiting scholar at numerous colleges and institutions, including
the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Harvard University, Yale Univer-
sity, and the Tropical Laboratory at Kartabo, British Guiana. In the 1940s and 1950s,
Morgan concentrated on reforming the science curriculum to include the topics of
ecology and conservation in both schools and colleges. She gave lectures and work-
shops for teachers of geography, zoology, and sociology. Her last book, Kinships of
Animals and Man: A Textbook of Animal Biology (1955), written for an introductory
course in zoology, synthesized her work on this topic.
Morgan was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, American Society of Naturalists, National Commission on Policies in
Conservation Education, New York Herpetological Society, American Society of
Zoologists, and Entomological Society of America.
Further Resources
Bonta, Marcia. 1991. Women in the Field: America's Pioneering Women Naturalists.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Moss, Cynthia Jane
b. 1940
Wildlife Biologist
Education: B.A., philosophy, Smith College, 1962
Professional Experience: reporter and researcher, Newsweek, 1964-1968; veteri-
narian research assistant, Nairobi, 1969; research assistant, Athi Plains and Tvavo
National Park, 1970; freelance journalist, 1970-1971; editor, Wildlife News, 1971—
1985; co-director, Amboseli Elephant Research Project, Kenya, 1972-
Concurrent Positions: senior associate, African Wildlife Foundation, 1985-
704 | Moss, Cynthia Jane
Cynthia Moss is one of the foremost experts on the African elephant in the world,
and, for many years, she and her associate Joyce Poole led the fight to stop the
world trade in ivory. The illegal killing of elephants for their ivory tusks has neg-
ative effects for the entire elephant community, since it is the older lead elephants
or the strongest males that are the targets of poachers. During the 1980s, Moss and
Poole temporarily set aside their research projects to work with Richard Leakey to
protect the elephants in Kenya and to stop the worldwide ivory trade. The three
worked together to have the African elephant designated an endangered species
by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 1989. Moss
and Poole created a worldwide movement to ban the ivory trade by inviting pho-
tographers and newspaper reporters to visit Amboseli to photograph the elephants
and tell their stories.
Moss's unique research on animals has been compared to the work of English
primatologist Jane Goodall. Moss developed a method of identifying elephants
by their ears, and she and her researchers have identified more than 1,400 individ-
ual elephants. Like Goodall, Moss began naming the elephants according to their
families. She also studied the elephants' family structure and social patterns and
became an authority on the subject. She is famous for her research that shows
the male African elephants experience musth, a condition of increased aggression
and increased sexual activity that had previously been attributed only to male
Indian elephants. Along with Poole, she has also conducted pioneer studies of
elephant vocalizations and identified different calls and behaviors that signal what
the elephants will do — either charge or move away. Another insight Moss discov-
ered is that, in times of drought, the elephants do not breed and therefore reduce
the number of babies that will require food.
Moss fell in love with Africa on a brief visit to the country in 1967, and after
working as a journalist for a number of years, she moved to Africa permanently to
work with several established researchers. In 1972, she helped found the Amboseli
Elephant Research Project in Kenya. Her books, Portraits in the Wild: Behaviour
Studies of East African Mammals (1975) and Elephant Memories: Thirteen
Years in the Life of an Elephant Family (1988; rev. ed., 2000), describe her work in
Amboseli National Park. She has also contributed to children's books and wildlife
documentaries on the elephants. In 2000, Moss was named one of Time magazine's
"Heroes for the Planet."
Further Resources
Amboseli Elephant Research Project. "Cynthia Moss." http://www.elephanttrust.org/node/41
Poole, Joyce. 1996. Coming of Age with Elephants: A Memoir. New York: Hyperion.
Murray, Sandra Ann | 705
Murray, Sandra Ann
b. 1947
Molecular Biologist, Cell Biologist
Education: B.S., biology, University of Illinois, Chicago, 1970; M.S., biology,
Texas Southern University, 1973; Ph.D., anatomy, University of Iowa, 1980
Professional Experience: instructor, biology, Texas Southern University, 1972-
1973; National Institutes of Health (NIH) postdoctoral research fellow, University
of California, Riverside, 1980-1982; assistant professor, anatomy, University of
Pittsburgh Medical School, 1982-1989, associate professor, cell biology and
physiology, 1989-
Concurrent Positions: researcher, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution, 1986-1990; visiting scientist, Scripps Research
Institute of Molecular Biology, 1991-1992; associate professor, Health Officers
Institute, Office of Defense, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1996—
Sandra Murray is known for her research in molecular and cell biology. She uses
molecular biological, biochemical, and morphological methods to study how cells
function, what brings about normal functions in a cell population, what controls
the rate of cell population growth if a normal population has been injured, and
how that compares with the daily process of aging and replenishing that popula-
tion. She looks at what is different in cancer cell populations and examines the
capacity of cells to send signals from one cell to an adjacent cell via structures
called "connexins" that are associated with controlling the function of cells and
the rate of cell population growth. She studies cells in culture and sometimes from
human tissue taken from donors.
Murray became interested in science at a very early age. She did not feel any
limitations on her career goals until she got to high school, when a counselor told
her that "colored girls don't become scientists." While still in high school, how-
ever, she worked as a laboratory aide at the University of Illinois Medical School
and was participating in Saturday science classes at the University of Illinois.
After earning her B.S., she went on to graduate study at Texas Southern University
and the University of Iowa, where a professor made racist comments about her
ability to keep up in class. When she made good grades, he told her that her lighter
skin probably indicated she had non- African blood that allowed her to do well. She
transferred to a different department and received her doctorate in anatomy in
1980. Soon after, she became an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh
Medical School, where she became the first African American to receive tenure.
706 | Murray, Sandra Ann
Murray remains committed to encouraging women and minority students in the
sciences. Recalling her own early interest in science, she also regularly serves as a
mentor and judge for the National Technology Association of Science and the
International Science and Engineers Fairs. She is a member of the American
Society of Cell Biology (and served on the Minorities Affairs Committee), the
American Society of Biological Chemists, American Association of Anatomists,
Tissue Culture Association, and Endocrine Society.
Further Resources
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Faculty website, http://www.cbp.pitt.edu/
fac ulty/m urray.html .
Ambrose, Susan A. 1997. Journeys of Women in Science and Engineering: No Universal
Constants. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
N
Napadensky, Hyla Sarane (Siegel)
b. 1929
Combustion Engineer
Education: B.S. and M.S., mathematics, University of Chicago, ca. 1950
Professional Experience: design analysis engineer, International Harvester
Company, 1952-1957; director of research, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)
Research Institute, Chicago, 1957-1988; vice president, Napadensky Energetics,
Inc., 1988-1994, engineering consultant, 1994-1998
Concurrent Positions: instructor, Mechanics Department, IIT, 1964-1966
Hyla Napadensky is a combustion engineer who spent her career as an expert in
explosives and propellant safety. Her research included the study of accidental
fires and explosions during the manufacture, transport, and storage of explosives,
propellants, and pyrotechnics. She also studied explosive and initiation mecha-
nisms, facility siting, and systems safety and risk analysis. After working for five
years for the International Harvester Company, she began a career as director of
research at the IIT Research Institute in Chicago, involved with research on a con-
tract basis, some of it with federal agencies. Many of the studies she conducted for
the government on materials used in explosive charges are probably classified as
secret and therefore are not included in the standard databases. Napadensky pre-
pared a 220-page book for the U.S. Army, Development of Hazards Classification
Data on Propellants and Explosives (1978), and a similar book for the same agency,
Recommended Hazard Classification Procedures for In-Process Propellant and
Explosive Material (1980). As an internal publication, she prepared data on the
TNT equivalency of black powder. She has also written about the risks of handling
explosives on ships and in harbors.
Napadensky spent 30 years at the IIT Research Institute. She then established
a consulting company, Napadensky Energetics, Inc., and formally retired in
1998. She was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering
in 1984, and has been a National Associate of the National Academies since
2001.
707
708 | Navrotsky, Alexandra A. S.
Navrotsky, Alexandra A. S.
b. 1943
Geochemist, Geophysicist
Education: B.S., University of Chicago, 1963, M.S., 1964, Ph.D., chemistry, 1967
Professional Experience: research associate, theoretical metallurgy, Technische
Hochschule, Clausthal, Germany, 1967-1968; research associate, geochemistry,
Pennsylvania State University, 1968-1969; assistant professor, chemistry, Arizona
State University, 1969-1974, associate professor, 1974-1978, professor, chemistry
and geology, 1978-1985, director, Center for Solid State Science, Arizona State
University, 1984-1985; professor, geological and geophysical science (affiliate
in chemistry), Princeton University, 1985-1997; Interdisciplinary Professor,
Ceramic, Earth, and Environmental Materials Chemistry, University of California,
Davis, 1997-; director, Nanomaterials in the Environment, Agriculture, and Tech-
nology, Organized Research Unit (NEAT ORU), 2002-
Concurrent Positions: visiting research associate, James Franck Institute, University
of Chicago, 1970-1971; visiting scientist, Technische Universitat, Clausthal,
Germany, 1972; visiting scientist, Bell Telephone Laboratories, 1974; visiting lecturer,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1975; visiting associate professor, University of
California, Berkeley, 1976; Program Director for Chemical Thermodynamics,
National Science Foundation, 1976-1977; visiting professor, State University of
New York, 1981; visiting summer faculty, IBM, T J. Watson Research Center, 1988
Alexandra Navrotsky is recognized as one of the leaders in combining mineralogi-
cal and materials research. As new technological materials become increasingly
complex in structure and bonding, they are beginning to resemble the materials
that make up our planet; materials science is the study of the characteristics and
uses of various materials such as glass, plastics, and metals. One of the areas she
has investigated is the composition of the Earth, and she points out that although
humans have explored the moon, a journey to the center of the Earth remains fic-
tional and technologically unattainable. However, mineral physics can provide
some information via laboratory and computational simulations of matter under
high pressure and temperature. The Earth is composed of, in descending order,
the crust, the upper mantle, the transition zone, the lower mantle, the outer core,
and the inner core. Navrotsky has published on the topic of thermochemistry.
In 2002, she became the director of a new research institute at the University of
California, Davis called NEAT: Nanomaterials in the Environment, Agriculture,
and Technology. NEAT is "a multidisciplinary research and education program
which links the fundamental physics, chemistry, and engineering of small particles
Nelkin, Dorothy (Wolfers) | 709
and nanomaterials to several challenging areas of investigation," making applica-
tions in agricultural and environmental technology and health sciences.
Navrotsky was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1993. Her expertise has been recognized by invitations to lecture at universities
around the world. She has served on visiting committees for several institutions
and scientific organizations. She was a member of the Committee on Mineral
Physics of the American Geophysical Union (1983-1993) and the Committee on
High Temperature Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences (1981-1985), a
fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America (President, 1992-1993), and a fellow
of the American Ceramic Society (2001). In 2002, she was awarded the prestigious
Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth Science and, in 2006, the Harry H. Hess Medal
of the American Geophysical Union. She is the author of Physics and Chemistry of
Earth Materials (1994), a textbook designed for advanced undergraduates and
first-year graduate students. She holds a U.S. Patent (2005) for "Methods for Remov-
ing Organic Compounds from Nano-Compositic Materials."
Further Resources
University of California, Davis. Faculty website, http://navrotsky.engr.ucdavis.edu/.
Nelkin, Dorothy (Wolfers)
1933 2003
Sociologist
Education: B.A., sociology, Cornell University, 1954
Professional Experience: research associate, sociology, Cornell University,
1963-1969, senior research associate, 1970-1972, associate professor, 1972-
1976, professor, Science, Technology and Society Policy Program, 1976-1990,
professor, sociology, 1977-1989; professor, sociology and affiliate professor,
law, New York University, 1989-2003
Dorothy Nelkin was a sociologist who wrote or co-authored more than 20 books as
well as numerous papers on topics as diverse as migrant labor, nuclear power,
housing innovation, university and military research, methadone maintenance, sci-
ence, technological decisions, the atom, the creation controversy, animal rights,
unsafe work conditions, genetics, and medical diagnosis. In her book Workers at
Risk: Voices from the Workplace (1984), she reviewed the unsafe conditions that
workers of all types encounter. Her research team interviewed workers in muse-
ums, beauty shops, research laboratories, and computer-assembly plants as well
710 I Neufeld, Elizabeth (Fondal)
as steel mills, auto-assembly plants, and other obvious places for dangerous work-
ing conditions. The surveyors found there was no direct link between the actual
hazards and people's perceptions of risk. For example, artists and research scien-
tists often feel that the rewards of their job outweigh the risks of handling
extremely toxic chemicals. However, many workers complained they lacked infor-
mation about the chemicals with which they worked. Nelkin's hope was that work-
place safety would improve as a result of the survey.
Nelkin was concerned about how scientific information and tests were used to con-
trol people's lives. Her earlier book on the workplace was revised and republished
under the title of Dangerous Diagnostics: The Social Power of Biological Informa-
tion (1989), with new research from Nelkin and her researchers on the myriad tests
that pronounce people healthy or ill, or likely or unlikely to suffer any of hundreds
of ailments. The authors focused on the social implications of the information that
these tests provide and the power that accrued to employers who administer the tests.
In her book The DNA Mystique: The Gene as a Cultural Icon (1995; co-authored with
M. Susan Lindee), she weighed in on the increasing public and political interest in
human genetics in relation to social questions of intelligence, homosexuality, or
criminality. The authors concluded that a reliance on DNA testing obscures efforts
to solve social problems through policy or sociological support. In 2001, she and
co-author Lori B. Andrews continued the discussion about who controls genetic
information in their book, Body Bazaar: The Market for Human Tissue in the Biotech-
nology Age. Always interested in the relationship between science and culture, at the
time of her death in 2003 she was working on new projects on science and religion
and, with Suzanne Anker, on the influence of genetic science on the arts. Their book,
The Molecular Gaze: Art in the Genetic Age, was published after Nelkin's death.
Nelkin was a consultant to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD, 1975-1976) and the Institute of Environment, Berlin
(1978-1979), and a member of the National Advisory Council to the Human
Genome Project of the National Institutes of Health (1991-1995). She was a fel-
low of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member
of the Society for Social Studies of Science (president, 1978-1979). In 1993, she
was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science.
Neufeld, Elizabeth (Fondal)
b. 1928
Geneticist, Biochemist
Education: B.S., Queens College, 1948; student, University of Rochester, 1949-
1950; Ph.D., comparative biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley, 1956
Neufeld, Elizabeth (Fondal) | 711
Professional Experience: postdoc-
toral researcher, biochemistry, Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley, 1956
-1963; research biochemist, National
Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism and
Digestive Diseases, National Institutes
of Health, 1963-1973, chief, Section
on Human Biochemical Genetics,
1973-1979, chief, Genetics and Bio-
chemistry Branch, National Institute
of Arthritis, Diabetes, and Digestive
and Kidney Diseases, 1979-1984,
deputy director, Division of Extramu-
ral Research, 1981-1983; professor
and chair, biological chemistry,
School of Medicine, University of
California, Los Angeles, 1984-2005,
emeritus
Concurrent Positions: U.S. Public
Health Service fellow, University of
California, Berkeley, 1956-1957,
assistant research biochemist, 1957-
1963
Biochemist Elizabeth Neufield has researched
the genetic basis of metabolic diseases.
(National Library of Medicine)
Elizabeth Neufeld is a leading international authority on human genetic diseases.
Her research includes human biochemical genetics, mucopolysaccharidoses;
Tay-Sachs disease; synthesis and transport of lysosomal enzymes; and inherited
disorders of lysosomal functions. She provided new insights on the absence of cer-
tain enzymes that prevent the body from properly storing certain substances and
has led to prenatal diagnosis of such life-threatening fetal disorders as Hurler syn-
drome. Her research on inherited disorders of the connective tissues focused on
diseases in which cells lack certain enzymes needed to process complex sugars.
The accumulation of sugars causes the cells to grow and put internal pressure on
nerve tissues, which can die from too much pressure. Patients suffer from severe
mental and motor deterioration, have vision and hearing problems, and die prema-
turely, usually before puberty. The diseases are known as the Hurler and Sanfilippo
syndromes and are also related to Tay-Sachs and other diseases. After years of
research, her team found that the problem was a defective gene that was causing
the sugars to break down at an abnormally slow rate, and further study indicated
that a series of enzymes were lacking in the patients. Her work has led to
712 | New, Maria (landolo)
successful prenatal diagnosis and has contributed to the availability of genetic
counseling for parents. Future treatments being considered are gene replacement
therapy and bone marrow transplant.
Neufeld's parents were Russian refugees living in Paris after the Russian revolu-
tion when she was born; the family moved to New York City before the Germans
occupied France in 1940. Her parents stressed the importance of education because
education cannot be taken away, and she became interested in science while in high
school through the influence of her biology instructor. She started her scientific stud-
ies at a time when few women were choosing science as a career and there were few
positions open for women — partly because of the historical bias against women in
science and partly because of the influx of men returning from World War II. Few
women could be found on the science faculties of colleges and universities, but she
persevered in her career because she enjoyed what she was doing.
Neufeld has received numerous honorary degrees and awards. She was elected to
membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1977. She received the Lasker
Award in 1982, the highest honor in the United States for medical research and
which often leads to the Nobel Prize. She also won the Wolf Prize in Medicine
(1988) and was awarded the National Medal of Science (1994). She is a fellow of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the
American Society of Human Genetics, American Chemical Society, American Soci-
ety of Biological Chemists, American Society of Cell Biology, American Society of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (president, 1992), and American Academy of
Arts and Sciences. In 1990, she was named California Scientist of the Year.
Further Resources
University of California, Los Angeles. Faculty research page. http://dgsom.healthsciences
.ucla.edu/research/institution/personnel?personnel id=45290.
New, Maria (landolo)
b. 1928
Pediatrician
Education: B.A., Cornell University, 1950; M.D., University of Pennsylvania,
1954
Professional Experience: medical intern, Bellevue Hospital, New York, 1954-
1955; resident, pediatrics, New York Hospital, 1955-1957, National Institutes of
Health fellow, pediatrics, New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center, 1957-1958,
New, Maria (landolo) | 713
research pediatrician, Diabetic Study Group, Comprehensive Care Teaching Pro-
gram, 1958-1961, instructor, pediatrics, 1958-1963, assistant to associate attend-
ing professor, pediatrics, 1963-1971, chief, pediatric endocrinology, Cornell
University Medical College (now Joan and Sanford Weill Medical College of
Cornell), 1964-2002, professor and attending pediatrician, 1971-2004, chair,
pediatrics, 1980-2002, program director, Children's Clinical Research Center,
1996-2002; professor, pediatrics and human genetics, and attending pediatrician,
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, 2004-, and director, Adrenal Steroid
Disorders Program, 2004-
Concurrent Positions: assistant pediatrician to outpatients, New York Hospital,
1957-1959, pediatrician, 1960-1963, director, Pediatric Metabolism Clinic,
1964-2003; attending pediatrician, New York-Presbyterian Hospital (formerly
New York Hospital), 1971—, pediatrician-in-chief, 1980-2002; visiting physician,
Rockefeller University Hospital, New York, 1973-; consultant, Albert Einstein
College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, 1974-1976; consultant, pediatrics and
endocrinology, New York United Hospital Medical Center, Port Chester, New
York, 1977-; adjunct attending pediatrician, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center, 1979-1993; consultant, pediatrics, North Shore University Hospital,
Manhasset, New York, 1982-; consultant, pediatrics, Catholic Medical Center of
Brooklyn and Queens, 1986-; honorary member, pediatrics, Blythedale Children's
Hospital, Valhalla, New York, 1992-; consultant, Memorial Hospital for Cancer
and Allied Diseases, 1993-; consultant, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center,
1993-2006; director, pediatric endocrinology, New York-Presbyterian: University
Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, 1998-2002
Maria New is an endocrinologist who specializes in pediatric endocrinology and
renal diseases, juvenile hypertension, pediatric pharmacology, and growth and
development from the biochemical viewpoint. She established the Maria I. New
Children's Hormone Foundation in New York as a nonprofit organization to sup-
port medical research on pediatric endocrinology and provide services and support
to patients and their families. Dr. New has been affiliated with several major hos-
pitals in the New York area as a consulting physician and has trained hundreds
of new pediatricians in her specialty. She had a long career at Cornell University
Medical Center before becoming professor of pediatrics and director of the
Adrenal Steroid Disorders Program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 2004.
New has edited or co-edited numerous medical textbooks as well as more than 600
research papers. She helped edit a book for the general public, the two-volume
Disney Encyclopedia of Baby and Child Care (1995), compiled by four pediatri-
cians. In addition to her numerous publications, she served as editor-in-chief of the
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism from 1994 to 1999.
714 | Nice, Margaret Morse
New was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1996.
She has received multiple honors and awards, including the Robert H. Williams
Distinguished Leadership Award (1988), medal of the New York Academy of
Medicine (1991), Maurice R. Greenberg Distinguished Service Award (1994),
Humanitarian Award of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (1994), Dale Medal of
the British Endocrine Society (1995), MERIT Award of the National Institute of
Child Health and Human Development (1998), Hall of Honor of the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2003), and Fred Conrad Koch
Award, the highest honor of the Endocrine Society (2003).
She is a member of numerous associations, such as the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, New York Academy of Sciences, American Soci-
ety of Human Genetics, American Academy of Pediatrics, Society for Pediatric
Research, Endocrine Society (president, 1991-1992), American Fertility Society,
and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is an honorary member of the
Italian Endocrine Society.
Further Resources
Maria New Children's Hormone Foundation, http://www.newchf.org/.
Endocrine Society. "Maria New." http://www.endo-society.org/about/Maria-New.cfm.
Nice, Margaret Morse
1883 1974
Ornithologist
Education: B.A., Mount Holyoke College, 1906; A.M., psychology, Clark
University, 1915
Professional Experience: independent researcher, 1915-1974
Concurrent Positions: associate editor, Bird-Banding, 1935-1942 and 1946-1971
Margaret Nice was an internationally known ornithologist who adapted the tech-
niques of scientific investigation from psychology to a new area of research, that
of bird behavior. Her research interests included birds of Oklahoma; life history
studies of birds, particularly mourning doves, warblers, and song sparrows; and
speech development of children. After receiving a master's degree in psychology,
she pursued an independent interest in ornithology. Her work was supported by
occasional small grants, but she never held a faculty or museum appointment.
Initially, she was interested in languages as a student at Mount Holyoke College,
where she received her undergraduate degree in 1906. At that time, ornithology
Nichols, Roberta J. | 715
was taught in the zoology department and consisted of identifying dead species.
Her interest shifted to psychology at Clark University, where she received her
master's degree in 1915. She published 18 articles on child psychology from
observations of her own children between 1915 and 1933. She began conducting
field observations on birds and started corresponding with fellow ornithologists.
Nice was at the center of a network of women ornithologists whose scientific
correspondence also served as a professional support system. She published
approximately 250 papers and, due to her language skills, also contributed to the
discipline by reviewing a large number of the leading European publications.
She co-authored (with her husband, L. Blaine Nice) The Birds of Oklahoma
(1924) and was the sole author of the two-part Studies in the Life History of the
Song Sparrow (1937, 1943). These works established her reputation as one of the
world's foremost ornithologists and bird behaviorists.
Nice was active in ornithological and conservation organizations and served as
associate editor of the journal Bird-Banding. She published one bird book for the
general public, The Watcher at the Nest (1939), which was reprinted in paperback.
In later life, she increasingly turned her attention to educating the public about
conservation and nature with lectures and talks on the radio. She often enlisted
her entire family in her work; for example, her children would climb trees to observe
nests for her. When the family lived in Columbus, Ohio, the local ornithology club
was an all-male group and, even though by that time her work was known interna-
tionally, they invited her husband to join, but ignored her.
Nice was awarded the Brewster Medal of the American Ornithologists' Union
in 1942. She was the first woman president of the Wilson Ornithological Society
(1938-1939), and she was elected a fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union.
She received an honorary degree from Mount Holyoke in 1955 and one from
Elmira College in 1962. She published an autobiography, Research Is a Passion
with Me (1979). She was listed in some sources as "Mrs. L. B. Nice."
Further Resources
Bonta, Marcia. 1991. Women in the Field: America's Pioneering Women Naturalists.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Nichols, Roberta J.
1931 2005
Environmental Engineer
Education: B.S., physics, University of California, Los Angeles, 1968; M.S., environ-
mental engineering, University of Southern California, 1975, Ph.D., engineering, 1979
716 I Nichols, Roberta J.
Professional Experience: mathematician, missile department, Douglas Aircraft
Company, 1957; mathematician, propulsion department, TRW Space Technology
Laboratory, 1958-1960; research associate, Aerospace Corporation, Aerodynam-
ics and Propulsion Laboratory, 1960-1967, Chemical Kinetics Department,
1969-1978; consultant, Synthetic Fuels Office, State of California, 1978-1979;
developer of synthetic fuels, Ford Motor Company, 1979-1989, manager, alternate
fuels program, 1989-1995
Roberta Nichols was a research engineer who led the U.S. automobile manufac-
turers in developing alternate fuels and cars to use those fuels. She worked for
many years for Ford Motor Company and acquired three patents related to the
Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV). Nichols was one of the few people who had the fore-
sight that future clean-air laws would alter the use of fuels used to power cars and
trucks. She gave lectures worldwide and served as a consultant in industry and
government on issues related to low-emission and alternative energies based on
alcohol, methanol-gasoline blends, hydrogen power, and battery power. She joined
the Ford Motor Company in 1979 and almost singlehandedly dragged the
American automobile manufacturers into the alternative fuels age. She developed
ethanol-fueled engines for Ford of Brazil; designed and developed 630 methanol-
fueled Escorts, which were used primarily as government vehicles; designed and
developed the power train for an alternate fuel vehicle exhibited in 1982; and over-
saw the development of natural-gas trucks.
Nichols became interested in alternative fuels after her father, an aerospace
engineer, introduced her to racing boats. She not only held the women's world
water speed record for several years in the late 1960s, but she began learning about
engines and fuel performance. She earned a degree in physics from the University
of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and worked for several aerospace and aircraft
companies, including establishing the Air Pollution Laboratory at Aerospace Cor-
poration. After she became a widow with two small children to rear, she returned
to school to obtain graduate degrees in engineering and then got a job at Ford.
She was also a longtime board member for the Center for Environmental Research
and Technology at the University of California, Riverside.
Nichols was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1997 and was
the first woman to be elected a fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
She received the Outstanding Engineer Merit Award of the Institute for the
Advancement of Engineering, the Aerospace Corporation's Woman of the Year
Award, the Society of Women Engineers National Achievement Award (1988), a
Clean Air Award for Advancing Air Pollution Technology (1989), and the Gene
Ecklund Award from the U.S. Department of Energy (1996).
Nielsen, Jerri Lin | 717
Nickerson, Dorothy
1900 1985
Physicist
Education: unknown
Professional Experience: assistant and assistant manager, Munsell Research Lab-
oratory, 1921-1926; color technologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),
1927-1964; consultant, 1965-1974
Dorothy Nickerson was a physicist and color specialist who applied color-graded
standards to agricultural and horticultural products and soil. She developed the
Nickerson color fan of more than 300 color samples graded by light value, hue, and
chroma. The color fan or chart is important in science and industry for grading the
color of products such as new strains of vegetables or cotton for textiles. At the
Munsell Color Research Laboratory, Nickerson specialized in color technology and
rose to the level of assistant manager. She joined the USDA in 1927 as a color tech-
nologist in the bureau of agricultural economics. She authored more than 150 papers
and articles on the Munsell color system. She left the USDA in 1964 and served as a
U.S. expert on color rendering for the International Commission on Illumination from
1956 to 1967. After retiring from the USDA, she formed a private consulting firm.
Nickerson received several awards, such as the Superior Service Award from
the USDA (1951), the Distinguished Achievement Award of the Instrument Soci-
ety of America (1964), the Gold certificate of the American Horticultural Council
(1957), the Godlove Award of the Inter-Society Color Council (ISCC) (1961), and
the Gold Medal of the Illumination Society of England (1970). She was a founding
member of the ISCC and served as secretary (1935-1952) and president (1954-
1955). In 1980, the ISCC established a Nickerson Award in her honor. She was a
member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Optical
Society of America, and the Illuminating Engineering Society.
Nielsen, Jerri Lin
1952 2009
Physician
Education: B.A., zoology, Ohio University; M.D., Medical College of Ohio, 1977
Professional Experience: physician, 1977-1998; physician, Amundsen-Scott
station, Antarctica, 1998
718 | Nielsen, Jerri Lin
Jerri Nielsen was the only physician working at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in
Antarctica in 1998 when she diagnosed herself with breast cancer. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Jerri Lin (Cahill) Nielsen was hired to spend a year as the only physician working
at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica in 1998. She attracted
media attention when, during the isolated winter, she discovered a lump in her
breast and had to perform her own biopsy and administer her own chemotherapy
before she could leave Antarctica. A longtime private physician and emergency
room doctor, Nielsen, a divorced mother of three, joined the one-year expedition
as the research station's sole physician, in charge of administering basic medical
care to the scientists and staff. The station is completely isolated for nine long,
dark months of the year, as it is too dangerous for supply planes to land or take
off on the ice. After noticing the lump in her breast, Nielsen communicated via
e-mail and videoconferencing with doctors back in the United States. She used a
needle to extract samples of the tumor's cells, sending the images to other doctors
via computer. After confirmation that the cells were cancerous, medical supplies
and drugs for her treatment were airdropped into the station. As the only physician
at the station, she had to rely upon assistance from the other nonmedical personnel
to administer her chemotherapy. As soon as the weather permitted, she was
Nightingale, Dorothy Virginia | 719
airlifted back to the United States, where she underwent further treatment, including
a mastectomy.
Because of the unique and dramatic nature of her ordeal, Nielsen became a
popular media figure and an international motivational speaker. She wrote a book
about her experience, Icebound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the
South Pole (2001; with Maryanne Vollers), which was adapted as a television
movie starring Susan Sarandon. She lived with the cancer for more than 10 years,
but it eventually spread to her brain and she died in June 2009 in Massachusetts.
Nightingale, Dorothy Virginia
b. 1902
Organic Chemist
Education: A.B., University of Missouri, 1922, A.M., organic chemistry, 1923;
Ph.D., organic chemistry, University of Chicago, 1928
Professional Experience: instructor, chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia,
1923-1939, assistant to associate professor, 1939-1958, professor, 1958-1972
Concurrent Positions: consultant, Office of Scientific Research and Development,
1942-1945; research associate, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),
1946-1947
Dorothy Nightingale was a physical chemist who has been recognized for her
work in organic synthetic reactions. Her research had important industry applica-
tions for the production of gasoline, synthetic rubber, cleaning products, and plas-
tics. Nightingale was originally interested in studying history and languages, but
was encouraged early on by a professor and changed her major to chemistry. She
joined the faculty at the University of Missouri as one of only two women chem-
istry instructors after receiving her master's degree in 1923. She received her doc-
torate in organic chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1928, while still
teaching at Missouri. She was not promoted to assistant professor until 1939 and
full professor in 1958; during her tenure there, she directed the research of more
than 50 graduate chemistry students. She drew upon this experience in writing A
History of the Department of Chemistry: University of Missouri-Columbia,
1843-1975, published in 1975.
During World War II, Nightingale took a leave from the university to work as a
civilian with the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD). She
worked with the Committee on Medical Research of the OSRD, contributing to
720 | Northrup, Christiane
compound studies important in the development of antimalarial drugs for the mili-
tary. She spent a year conducting research at UCLA before returning to Missouri.
She retired from the University of Missouri in 1972 after nearly 50 years at that
institution. Nightingale was a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS)
and received the Garvan Medal of the ACS in 1959.
Northrup, Christiane
b. 1949
Physician
Education: M.D., Dartmouth Medical School, New Hampshire, 1975; diplomate,
American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1981; diplomate, American Board
of Holistic Medicine, 2005
Professional Experience: director, Resident's Outpatient Obstetrics and Gynecol-
ogy Clinic, St. Margaret's Hospital Boston, 1979-1980; associate clinical profes-
sor, obstetrics and gynecology, Tufts University School of Medicine, 1979-1980;
clinical instructor, obstetrics and gynecology, University of Vermont College of
Medicine, 1979-1982, assistant clinical professor, 1982-2001; co-founder,
Women to Women, Yarmouth, Maine, 1985-1997; physician, private practice,
obstetrics and gynecology, Portland and Yarmouth, Maine, 1979-2005
Christiane Northrup is a physician and women's health advocate who has built an
international following as a proponent of holistic healthcare and wellness through
combining Western medicine, vitamins and herbal supplements, and mind-body
healing. Northrup specializes in obstetrics, gynecology, and women's general
health, and has written on childbirth, menopause, and breast cancer, among other
topics. Her first book, Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, was published in 1994
(rev. 2006), and sold more than 1 million copies worldwide and was translated into
15 different languages. The book launched her career as a popular media figure
and women's health expert, and she began to make guest appearances on shows
such as the Oprah Winfrey Show, Today, The View, Good Morning America,
20/20, and numerous other news programs. Her second bestselling book, The
Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing
during the Change (2001; rev. 2006) was radical in taking an empowering and
positive view of the changes women undergo as a new phase of life rather than
focusing on only the negatives and losses. She followed with the publication of
The Secret Pleasures of Menopause (2008). In 2005, Northrup published
Mother-Daughter Wisdom: Understanding the Crucial Link between Mothers,
Novello, Antonia (Coello) | 721
Daughters, and Health, which explores the physical and mental connection
between mothers and daughters, and the effect on our health over the course of a
lifetime. Her books also inspired her own public-television specials in the late
1990s and early 2000s. She has fans and followers around the world and publishes
a monthly newsletter on "Women's Health Wisdom," and has organized a "Wom-
en's Wisdom Community" through her popular website.
Dr. Northrup sits on a number of medical advisory boards related to women's
issues and holistic health strategies, including for Natural Health Magazine, Alter-
native Therapies in Health and Medicine, American Holistic Health Association,
Pilates Health, Heal Breast Cancer Foundation, and A Woman's Nation, a research
and policy center founded by California First Lady Maria Shriver. Northrup is a
member of the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA) (president,
1986-1988) and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In addition
to the awards and acknowledgements for her books, she has been named a Pioneer
of Holistic Medicine by the AHMA (2003), and has received a Maine Media
Women's President's Award (2003), Campaign for Better Health Celebrating
Excellence Award (2003), American Heart Association's Learn & Live Gold Heart
Award (2004), Lamaze International Irwin Chabon Award (2006), and Excellence
in Integrative Medicine Award from the Heal Breast Cancer Foundation (2007),
among other awards. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of
Maine, Farmington (2002).
Further Resources
"Christiane Northrup, M.D." http://www.drnorthrup.com.
Novello, Antonia (Coello)
b. 1944
Pediatrician
Education: B.S., University of Puerto Rico, 1965; M.D., University of Puerto
Rico, San Juan, 1970; M.S., public health, Johns Hopkins University School of
Hygiene, 1982; diplomate, American Board of Pediatrics
Professional Experience: intern, pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical
Center, 1970-1971, resident, pediatrics, 1971-1973, pediatric nephrology fellow,
1973-1974; pediatric nephrology fellow, Georgetown University Hospital, 1974-
1975; physician, private practice, 1976-1978; project officer, National Institute of
Arthritis, Metabolism and Digestive Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH),
722 | Novello, Antonia (Coello)
1978-1979, staff physician, 1979-
1980, executive secretary, General
Medicine Study Section, Division of
Research Grants, 1981-1986, deputy
director, National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development,
1986-1990; Surgeon General, U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services, 1990-1993; Special Rep-
resentative for Health and Nutrition,
UNICEF, 1993-1996; visiting profes-
sor, Health Policy and Management,
Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene
and Public Health, 1996-1999; Health
Commissioner, State of New York,
1999-2006; vice president, Women's
and Children's Health and Policy
Affairs, Disney Children's Hospital,
Orlando, 2008-
Concurrent Positions: clinical pro-
fessor, pediatrics, Georgetown Uni-
versity Hospital, 1986, 1989; adjunct
professor, pediatrics and communicable diseases, University of Michigan Medical
School, 1993; adjunct professor, international health, Johns Hopkins University
School of Hygiene and Public Health
Antonia Novello was the first woman to be selected Surgeon General of the United
States, and also the first Hispanic person to hold that post. The Surgeon General is
the nation's chief advisor on matters of public health, is a spokesperson for the
president in such areas, and oversees a corps of public-health research and policy
teams. Novello used the position to attract national media attention to issues such
as the healthcare of minorities, women, and children; injury prevention; and the
problems of domestic violence, alcohol abuse among the nation's youth, and
smoking among women and young people. Although she opposed abortion, she
seldom discussed the issue while Surgeon General, feeling that women should
not view abortion as the only issue to tackle. Novello made headlines in 1992
when she and the executive vice president of the American Medical Association
held a news conference to urge R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company to withdraw its
ads featuring the cartoon character Joe Camel because of its appeal to young peo-
ple. She also attacked the practice of using sports heroes in alcohol advertising,
Pediatrician and former U.S. Surgeon General,
Antonia Novello. (Getty Images)
Novello, Antonia (Cocllo) | 723
targeting young people and thus encouraging underage drinking. She was also
concerned about the number of children who are not vaccinated against common
infectious diseases and the widespread lack of proper prenatal care.
After receiving her M.D. in Puerto Rico, Novello and her husband moved to the
University of Michigan to continue their education. She then had additional train-
ing at Georgetown University before she joined the NIH. While with the NIH, she
received a master's degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University and
rose rapidly through the ranks of government service and policymaking. She
helped draft the Organ Transplantation Procurement Act of 1984 and served on
the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources before being appointed
Surgeon General by President George H.W. Bush. After she left the Surgeon
General's office, she accepted a position with UNICEF and then returned to Johns
Hopkins as a visiting professor. She served as Commissioner of Health for the
State of New York for seven years and in 2008 was appointed Vice President for
Women's and Children's Health and Policy Affairs at Disney Children's Hospital
at Florida Hospital in Orlando.
Novello has received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the Pub-
lic Health Service Outstanding Medal (1988), Surgeon General Medallion Award
(1990), Alumni Award of the University of Michigan Medical School (1991), and
Distinguished Public Service Award (1993). Novello was also presented with the
Legion of Merit Medal by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. She was inducted
into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1994. She is a member of the American
Medical Association, International Society of Nephrology, and American Society of
Nephrology.
Further Resources
"Antonia Novello, M.D." Academy of Achievement, http://www.achievement.org/
autodoc/page/no vObio- 1 .
o
Ocampo, Adriana C.
b. 1955
Planetary Geologist
Education: student, aerospace engineering, Pasadena City College, ca. 1972-1975;
B.S., geology, California State University, 1983
Professional Experience: planetary geologist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 1983-1998; program
executive, Office of Space Science and Office of External Relations, 1998-2002;
senior research scientist, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, Netherlands,
2002-2004
Adriana Ocampo is a planetary geologist with expertise in remote sensing. She is
primarily involved in applying traditional geological principles to other celestial
bodies, such as stars, moons, comets, and asteroids, and to objects on Earth that
are of extraterrestrial origin, such as meteorite remnants. At the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, California, she was involved in the Viking space mission
to explore Mars and the outer planets and in the Hermes mission to explore
Mercury. In 1984, she produced the only available photo atlas of Phobos, one of
the moons of Mars. For the Mars Observer mission, she was responsible for the
thermal emission spectrometer, an instrument that was supposed to measure the
heat produced by the planet, thus enabling cartographers to create accurate maps.
Unfortunately, the mission failed in 1993, and the instrument remained untested.
As a science coordinator for the Galileo mission to Jupiter, she was responsible
for operation of one of the spacecraft's four remote sensing instruments, the
Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS), which measured reflected sunlight
and heat from Jupiter's atmosphere to help scientists determine the planet's
composition, cloud structure, and temperature.
In the early 1990s, Ocampo and her husband, Kevin O. Pope, were part of a team
sent to the Yucatan to locate the crater made by an asteroid when it impacted the
Earth at the time of the Cretaceous-Tertiary (KT) boundary (65 billion years ago).
The theory was that the sulfurous cloud that rose from that impact circled the Earth,
blocked the sun, and killed the vegetation on which the dinosaurs and large
mammals fed, causing the extinction of both. Ocampo and Pope helped verify this
725
726 | Ochoa, Ellen
theory, and their work was cited in Walter Alvarez's book, T-Rex and the Crater of
Doom (1997).
Ocampo was born in Colombia and lived in Argentina until her family moved to
California when she was a teenager. While still in high school, she obtained a
summer job at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and continued to work there during
her last two years of high school and while she was in college. When she joined
the lab as a full-time employee in 1983, she had already worked there 10 years.
It was through her work there that she decided on a career in planetary geology.
In recent years, she has held a number of high-profile research positions with
NASA and other international space exploration agencies. In particular, she has
worked in the recent Mars Program Science Division and has been active in educa-
tional outreach on programs related to science education for children and promot-
ing women's careers in the sciences. In 2002, she was featured in a National
Science Foundation program on "Women in Science." She is the recipient of the
Woman of the Year Award in Science from the Comision Feminil (1992), Advi-
sory Council for Women Award from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (1996), and
Science and Technology Award from the Chicano Federation (1997). In 2002,
Discover magazine named her one of the "Top 50 Women in Science." In some
sources, she appears under the name Adriana Ocampo Uria.
Further Resources
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Women of NASA: Adriana C.
Ocampo." http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/people/bios/women/ao.html.
Ochoa, Ellen
b. 1958
Electrical Engineer, Astronaut
Education: B.S., San Diego State University, 1980; M.S., Stanford University,
1981, Ph.D., electrical engineering, 1985
Professional Experience: researcher, Imaging Technology Division, Sandia
National Laboratory, 1985-1988; Group Leader to Chief, Intelligent Systems
Branch, Ames Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), 1988-1990; astronaut, missions STS-56 (1993), STS-66 (1994), STS-
96 (1999), and STS-1 10 (2002); deputy director, Flight Crew Operations, Johnson
Space Center, 2002-2006; director, Flight Crew Operations, 2006-2007; deputy
director, Johnson Space Center, 2007-
Ochoa, Ellen | 727
Ellen Ochoa is an electrical engineer
and astronaut specializing in optics
and optical recognition in robotics.
While working at Sandia National
Laboratory, she developed a process
that implements optics for image
processing that is normally done by
computer. For example, one method
she devised removes noise from an
image through an optical system
rather than using a standard digital
computer to do the work. She was
chosen for the astronaut program in
1990. Her first flight was in 1993
on the orbiter Discovery mission
STS-56, which carried the Atmos-
pheric Laboratory for Applications
and Science, known as Atlas-2. She
deployed instruments in space to
enable scientists to look at the sun's
corona, and she operated the robotic
arm to deploy and retrieve the
Spartan 201 satellite. Her second mis-
sion in 1994 continued the Spacelab
flight series to study the sun's energy during an 1 1 -year solar cycle in order to
learn how changes in the irradiance of the sun affect the Earth's environment and
climate. For the 1999 Discovery mission, she was part of the team who made the
first docking to the International Space Station. Her fourth flight was Atlantis in
2002, which again visited the International Space Station, and Ochoa was in
charge of operating the robotic arm to move supplies and crewmembers.
While still a graduate student, Ochoa developed and patented a real-time optical
inspection technique for defect detection, and she considers it her most important
scientific achievement to date. She joined the technical staff in the Imaging Tech-
nology Division of Sandia after receiving her doctorate, and there her research
centered on developing optical filters for noise removal and optical methods for
distortion-invariant object recognition. She was co-author of two additional pat-
ents, one for an optical system for the nonlinear median filtering of images and
another for a distortion invariant optical pattern recognition system. Since her
flights as an astronaut, Ochoa has been a director of flight crew operations at
NASA and, in 2007, was named Deputy Director of Johnson Space Center.
Astronaut Ellen Ochoa during test activities at
the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, 2002.
(NASA)
728 | Ogilvie, Ida Helen
As the first female Hispanic astronaut, Ochoa quickly became a role model for
young girls and Hispanics, and frequently speaks before school groups. She has
received several awards, including the NASA Group Achievement Award for
Photonics Technology (1991), NASA Space Flight Medal (1993), Women in Sci-
ence and Engineering (WISE) Engineering Achievement Award (1994), National
Hispanic Quincentennial Commission Pride Award (1990), Hispanic magazine's
Hispanic Achievement Science Award (1991), and Congressional Hispanic
Caucus Medallion of Excellence Role Model Award (1993). She is a member of
the Optical Society of America and the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics.
Further Resources
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.)." http://www.jsc
.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/ochoa.html.
Ogilvie, Ida Helen
1874 1963
Geologist
Education: A.B., Bryn Mawr College, 1900; student, University of Chicago,
1900-1901; Ph.D., geology, Columbia University, 1903
Professional Experience: lecturer, geology, Barnard College, 1903-1905, tutor
and instructor, 1905-1912, assistant to associate professor, 1912-1938, professor,
1938-1941; farm owner and operator
Concurrent Positions: director, Women's Agricultural Camp, 1917-1920
Ida Ogilvie helped expand science education for women as the founder and first
chair of Barnard College's department of geology in 1903, one of the first such
programs in a women's college. Her own research focused on glacial geology
and petrology (rock origins), and she conducted research and mapping expeditions
in Maine, New Mexico, California, New York, and Mexico.
Ogilvie attended schools in Europe before enrolling at Bryn Mawr, where she
worked with Florence Bascom in the new geology department. After she received
her doctorate from Columbia University, she was appointed the first lecturer in
geology at Barnard (Columbia's women's college) in 1903, and then advanced
Osborn, Mary Jane (Merten) | 729
through the faculty ranks over the next 35 years from tutor to associate professor.
Throughout her entire tenure at Barnard, she was chair of the geology department,
but did not become a full professor until just a few years before her retirement. She
had an interest in farming and established a Women's Agricultural Camp in
Bedford, New York, recruiting female students to work there during World War
I. She later purchased a 660-acre farm in Germantown, New York, where she bred
cattle and horses.
Ogilvie was only the second woman elected a fellow of the Geological Society
of America. She also was a member of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, the Ecological Society of America, and the New York Academy
of Sciences.
Osborn, Mary Jane (Merten)
b. 1927
Molecular Biologist, Biochemist
Education: B.A., physiology, University of California, Berkeley, 1948; Ph.D.,
biochemistry, University of Washington, 1958
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, microbiology, New York University
School of Medicine, 1959-1961, instructor, 1961-1962, assistant professor, 1962-
1963; assistant to associate professor, molecular biology, Albert Einstein College
of Medicine, 1963-1968; professor, microbiology, University of Connecticut Health
Center, 1968-
Mary Osborn was the first person to demonstrate the mode of action of a major
cancer chemotherapeutic agent called methotrexate, an agent that also opposes
the physiological effects of folic acid. She is best known for her research
into the biosynthesis of a complex polysaccharide known as lipopoly saccharide,
which is a molecule that is essential to bacterial cells and is responsible
for major immunological reactions and for the bacteria's characteristic
toxicity. She thus helped to identify a potential target for the development
of new antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents, especially for leukemia.
She entered college as a pre-med student, but by her senior year she realized
she was more interested in research than in treating patients. Her thesis research
examined the functions of the vitamins and enzymes whose action depended on
folic acid. As a postdoctoral student, she moved into the biosynthesis of
lipopolysaccharide.
730 | Osborn, Mary Jane (Merten)
Molecular biologist Mary Osborn is one of the pioneers of immunofluorescence microscopy,
a method for the observation of cell structure. (Micheline Pelletier/Sygma/Corbis)
Osborn was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1978.
She has served on numerous commissions of the National Institutes of Health, the
American Heart Association, and the National Academy of Sciences, and from
1980 to 1986, she was a member of the prestigious National Science Board, the
board that advises the National Science Foundation. She is a fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, American Society of Biological Chemists (president,
1981), American Chemical Society, American Society for Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology (president 1981), Federation of American Societies for Experi-
mental Biology (president, 1982), and American Society for Microbiology.
Ostrom, Elinor | 73 I
Further Resources
University of Connecticut Health Center. Faculty website, http://grad.uchc.edu/faculty/
bios/osborn.html.
Ostrom, Elinor
b. 1933
Economist
Education: B.A., political science, University of California, Los Angeles, 1954,
M.A., 1962, Ph.D., political science, 1965
Professional Experience: visiting assistant professor, government, Indiana Uni-
versity, Bloomington, 1965-1966, assistant professor and graduate advisor, politi-
cal science, 1966-1969, associate professor, 1969-1974, professor, 1974-1991,
Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science, 1991—
Concurrent Positions: co-director of
the Center for the Study of Institu-
tions, Population, and Environmental
Change (CIPEC), Indiana University,
1996-2006; co-director, Workshop in
Political Theory and Policy Analysis,
Indiana University, Bloomington,
1973-2009, senior research director,
2009-; professor (part-time), School
of Public and Environmental Affairs,
Indiana University; founding director
and research professor, Center for
the Study of Institutional Diversity,
Arizona State University, Tempe
Elinor (Lin) Ostrom is a social scien-
tist who won the Nobel Prize in Eco-
nomics in 2009 for her research on
the development, self-governance,
and collective action of small com-
munities. Ostrom, the first woman
to win in Economic Sciences since
the prize was added in 1968, shared
Elinor Ostrom was awarded the 2009 Nobel
Prize in Economic Sciences, the first woman to
win the prize in this category. (The Nobel
Foundation. Photo: Ulla Montan)
732 | Ostrom, Elinor
the award with Oliver Williamson of the University of California, Berkeley.
Trained as a political scientist, Ostrom's research has focused on integrating
political and economic concerns to understand how communities come together
to manage resources (both natural and political) and to understand the relation-
ship between these practices and political, economic, and ecological sustainabil-
ity. Her goal is to understand what kinds of policy initiatives and institutions
best support local needs. She has authored, co-authored, or edited numerous
books, including, Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for
Collective Action (1990); Institutional Incentives and Sustainable Development:
Infrastructure Policies in Perspective (1993); The Samaritans' Dilemma: The
Political Economy of Development Aid (2005); and Seeing the Forest and the
Trees: Human- Environment Interactions in Forest Ecosystems (2005).
Ostrom earned a bachelor's degree in political science from UCLA in 1954, but
then moved to Boston to work in a law firm for three years. She returned to Los
Angeles to continue her education, earning a master's degree and then doctorate
in political science in 1965 with a thesis on water management. At UCLA, she also
met her future husband, political scientist Vincent Ostrom. The couple spent time
in Washington, D.C., before Vincent joined the faculty at Indiana University, where
Elinor taught introductory courses in American government before also being
offered a tenure-track position. The Ostroms researched police forces for what was
eventually a comparative study of 80 major U.S. urban centers. Their analysis
focused on the importance of information and coordination at the local and even
neighborhood levels, as opposed to management from above of a larger decentral-
ized force. Frustrated with the difficulty of conducting research across several disci-
plines (political science, economics, sociology), the Ostroms founded the Workshop
in Political Theory and Policy Analysis in 1973, which now brings together
researchers and projects across the social and natural sciences. Elinor Ostrom went
on to study other types of community initiatives and aid efforts, such as in farming,
forestry, and fishing.
Elinor Ostrom was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2001, and is
a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical
Society, and American Academy of Political and Social Science. She has been
a member of the American Political Science Association (vice president,
1975-1976; president, 1996-1997), Public Choice Society (president, 1982-
1984), Midwest Political Science Association (president, 1984-1985), Association
for Politics and Life Sciences, and International Association for the Study of
Common Property. Before being awarded the Nobel Prize in 2009, she received
numerous other awards, honors, and recognitions, including the Thomas R. Dye
Service Award of the Policy Studies Organization (1997), Frank E. Seidman
Distinguished Award in Political Economy (1997), Lifetime Achievement Award
Owens, Joan Murrell | 733
of Atlas Economic Research Foundation (2003), John J. Carty Award for the
Advancement of Science from the National Academy of Sciences (2004), James
Madison Award of the American Political Science Association (2005), Sustain-
ability Science Award of the Ecological Society of America (2005), Cozzarelli
Prize of the National Academy of Sciences (2006), William Riker Award
for Understanding Institutional Diversity from the American Political Science
Association (2006), Galbraith Award of the American Agricultural Economics
Association (2008), and Fellowship from the Beijer Institute of Ecological Eco-
nomics, Stockholm, Sweden (2007). She has received honorary doctorates from
universities in Sweden, Norway, Germany, Canada, and the United States.
Further Resources
Indiana University. Faculty website, http://www.cogs.indiana.edu/people/homepages/
ostrom.html.
Indiana University. "Elinor Ostrom: 2009 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences." http://
www.iu.edu/nobel/.
Owens, Joan Murrell
b. 1933
Marine Geologist, Paleontologist
Education: B.A., art, Fisk University, 1954; M.S., counseling, University of
Michigan, 1956; B.S., geology, George Washington University, 1972, M.A., 1976,
Ph.D., geology, 1984
Professional Experience: reading therapist, Children's Psychiatric Hospital,
University of Michigan, 1955-1957; reading specialist, English department, Howard
University, 1957-1964; curriculum specialist, Education Services, Inc., 1964-1971;
museum technician, Smithsonian Institute, 1972-1973; instructor to associate pro-
fessor, geology and geography, Howard University, 1976-1995, associate professor,
biology, 1991-1995
Joan Owens is a marine scientist who spent 20 years as an educator before
returning to college to pursue a different career. She is considered the first African
American woman to earn a doctorate in geology. Owens was fascinated with water
animals as a child. Growing up in Florida, she had opportunities to see unusual
species, such as manatees, alligators, and otters, and in high school, she dreamed
of a career in marine science. However, when she entered Fisk University, she
found that neither women nor African Americans were welcome in that field.
734 | Owens, Joan Murrell
She majored instead in art, with a double minor in psychology and mathematics,
and took education courses as well. She combined her interests in art and science
by working as an illustrator for medical school students and then a hospital.
She was admitted to the graduate commercial art program in the School of
Architecture at the University of Michigan, but she did not enjoy the program.
A fellow graduate student suggested she transfer to the Bureau of Psychological
Services, which is part of the School of Education, and she enjoyed her work there
because she turned out to have a special talent for working with brain-damaged
and emotionally disturbed children. She received a master's degree in counseling
and joined the English Department at Howard University, where she taught
remedial reading. When her husband's job took them to Massachusetts, she
obtained a position with Education Services, Inc., where she developed new proce-
dures and programs for teaching English to educationally disadvantaged high
school students and designing college remedial programs, later transferring to
the company's Washington, D.C., offices.
At the age of 37, Owens decided to change careers and returned to college to
study her original passion, marine sciences. She earned another bachelor's at
George Washington University and went on to receive her master's and Ph.D. in
geology and zoology. For her thesis, she studied the Smithsonian Institution's col-
lection of button deep-sea corals, and also worked at the Smithsonian as a museum
technician. After completing her doctorate, she accepted a position at Howard
University, where she taught geology, paleontology, and oceanography, and
continued her research on the classification of corals with support from major oil
companies.
Further Resources
Warren, Wini. 1999. Black Women Scientists in the United States. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
p
Palmer, Katherine Hilton Van Winkle
1895 1982
Paleontologist
Education: B.S., University of Washington, Seattle, 1918; Ph.D., paleontology,
Cornell University, 1925
Professional Experience: assistant geologist, University of Oregon, 1918-1922; fel-
low, geology, Cornell University, 1918-1920, assistant, paleontology and historical
geology, 1921-1925, postdoctoral fellow, 1925-1927; curator, paleontology, Oberlin
College, 1928; special lecturer, paleontology, Cornell, 1942-1945; technical expert,
zoology, New York State Museum, 1945-1946; special technical expert, Redpath
Museum, McGill University, 1950-1951; director, Paleontological Research Insti-
tute, Ithaca, New York, 1951-1978
Concurrent Positions: assistant professor, history of geology and paleontology,
University of Washington, Seattle, 1922; special technical assistant, Provincial
Museum, Quebec, 1951
Katherine Palmer was a notable paleontologist whose research interests were pale-
ontology, stratigraphy, and conchology, in particular the study of mollusk fossils.
For more than two decades, she was director of the Paleontological Research
Institute in Ithaca, New York. After receiving her undergraduate degree from the
University of Washington, she was appointed an assistant in geology at the Univer-
sity of Oregon in 1918. The same year, she became affiliated with the geology
department of Cornell University, where her husband was a professor. She
received her Ph.D. from Cornell in 1925 and continued to teach there until 1946.
During these years, she held interim appointments at other colleges and museums,
including the University of Washington, Oberlin College, McGill University, and
the Provincial Museum of Quebec. In 1951, she became director of the Paleonto-
logical Research Institute, a position she retained until her retirement at the age
of 83. Even after formally retiring, she continued her research into mollusk fossils
until the time of her death in 1982.
Palmer received grants from several sources, including the National Science
Foundation, and received numerous honors and awards. She received an honorary
735
736 | Pardue, Mary Lou
degree from Tulane University and was a fellow of the Paleontology Society,
the Geological Society of America, and the American Association for the
Advancement of Science. She was elected president of the American Malacological
Union (1960), and for many years served as secretary-treasurer, then vice
president (1958), then president (1960) of the Cushman Foundation, a foramini-
feral research group. She was also a member of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science and the American Association of Petroleum
Geologists, and an honorary member of the Society of Economic Paleontologists
and Mineralogists.
Pardue, Mary Lou
b. 1933
Cell Biologist, Geneticist
Education: B.S., College of William and Mary, 1955; M.S., radiation biology,
University of Tennessee, 1959; Ph.D., biology, Yale University, 1970
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, Institute of Animal Genetics,
University of Edinburgh, 1970-1972; associate professor, biology, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1972-1980, professor, 1980-, Boris Magasnik Professor
of Biology, 1995-
Concurrent Positions: instructor, molecular cytogenetics, Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory, 1971—
Mary Lou Pardue is a cell biologist who is known for her work in insect genetics.
Her area of specialization is the structure and function of chromosomes in eukary-
otic organisms (organisms whose DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, which provides
the information for reproduction, is contained in their cells' nuclei, or centers).
Her work excludes lower organisms such as bacteria and viruses, which are pro-
karyotic organisms (these have their genetic material located in the cell area sur-
rounding the nucleus, the cytoplasm). Her studies have primarily centered on the
breed of fruit fly known as Drosophila melanogaster. Because fruit flies have very
short lifetimes, the rapid succession of fruit fly generations facilitates a time-
saving study of genetic developments. An added benefit is that the flies' gene
activity is similar, and therefore applicable, to that of higher organisms.
In the late 1960s, while a graduate student at Yale, she and her major professor
developed a technique called "in situ hybridization" for localizing, with intact
chromosomes, specific nucleotic sequences, which determine traits imparted
Parsons, Elsie Worthington Clews | 737
during reproduction. These experiments were carried out using the chromosomes
for the Drosophila's salivary glands. The technique, which was designed to locate
genes on the chromosomes, is used to identify the chromosomal regions of DNA
that are complementary to specific nucleic acid molecules, or RNAs. Pardue later
concentrated on heat-shock response, which refers to the effects of temperature on
genetic activity. Studies of the fruit fly indicated that increases in its environmental
temperature exceeding 10 degrees result in the suspension of some genetic activ-
ity. Her studies attempted to determine what genes are affected by the heat
increase. In related research on stress response in insect muscle cells, she found
that stress also resulted in suspending some genetic activity and the associated
synthesis of proteins. This research is significant for its potential application in
cancer treatment, for an understanding of how to turn genetic activity on and off
carries potential benefits in establishing new forms of cancer therapy as well as
other scientific/medical treatments.
Pardue was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1983. She has received numerous awards, including the Esther Langer Award for
Cancer Research (1977) and the Lucius Wilbur Cross Medal of Yale Graduate
School (1989). She was a member of the Science Advisory Council of Abbott
Laboratories, the American Cancer Society Advisory Committee on Nucleic Acids
and Protein Synthesis, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science Review Board,
and the National Research Council Board of Biology. She is a fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Society
for Cell Biology (president, 1985-1986), Genetics Society of America (president,
1982-1983), and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. Tlie Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Faculty website, http://mit.edu/biology/www/
facultyareas/facresearch/pardue.html.
Parsons, Elsie Worthington Clews
1875 1941
Anthropologist and Sociologist
Education: A.B., Barnard College, 1896, A.M., 1897, Ph.D., sociology, Columbia
University, 1899
738 | Parsons, Elsie Worthington Clews
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1897; fellow, Barnard College,
1899-1902, lecturer, sociology, 1902-1905; independent researcher and author,
1900-1941
Elsie Clews Parsons was recognized as one of the leading women anthropologists
of the twentieth century, but began her career in sociology. Based on her early
lectures at Barnard, she published her first book, The Family (1906), in which
she used sociological arguments to make the case for equal opportunities for
women. Her next work was a study of sexual practices associated with various
religions, Religious Chastity (1913), which she wrote under a pseudonym. Her
other major books of this period were The Old Fashioned Woman (1913), Fear
and Conventionality (1914), Social Freedom (1915), and Social Rule (1916).
Although she had thus published widely on sociological topics, the direction of
Parsons's research changed around 1915 when, on a trip to the Southwest with
her husband, she first encountered Native Americans. She then shifted from soci-
ology to anthropology and began making annual extended field trips to the pueblos
to interview and collect stores from native peoples.
It was considered scandalous at that time for a woman, especially a mother, to
spend time in the field and live among the native peoples, as Parsons did. Her studies
resulted in numerous papers and books, including her major work, the encyclopedic
Pueblo Indian Religion (1939). She then extended her study of folklore to other
groups, such as the Gullahs of the Carolina coastal islands. Parsons was interested
in both original stories and cross-cultural influences. One of her last research proj-
ects was investigating the degree of Spanish influence on twentieth-century Native
American cultures. Parsons's later ethnographic publications included The Social
Organization of the Tewa of New Mexico (1929) and Pueblo Indian Religion (1939).
Parsons was born into a wealthy family and used her resources to pursue a life
of independence and commitment to education and scholarship. She supported
the founding of the Free School of Political Science (later the New School for
Social Research) in New York City and was politically active as a feminist
and as a pacifist during World War I. She was elected president of the American
Folklore Society (1918-1920) and the American Ethnological Association
(1923-1925), and was the first female president of the American Anthropological
Association (1940-1941).
Further Resources
Deacon, Desley. 1997. Elsie Clews Parsons: Inventing Modern Life. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
Jacobs, Margaret D. 1999. Engendered Encounters: Feminism and Pueblo Cultures, 1879
1934. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Partee, Barbara (Hall) | 739
Lavender, Catherine J. 2006. Scientists and Storytellers: Feminist Anthropologists and the
Construction of the American Southwest. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico
Press.
Partee, Barbara (Hall)
b. 1940
Anthropologist, Linguist
Education: B.A., mathematics, Swarthmore College, 1961; Ph.D., linguistics,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1965
Professional Experience: assistant to associate professor, linguistics, University
of California, Los Angeles, 1965-1971, associate professor, linguistics and phi-
losophy, 1971-1972; associate professor, linguistics and philosophy, University
of Massachusetts, 1972-1973, professor, 1973-1990, Distinguished University
Professor, 1990-2003, emerita
Concurrent Positions: visiting pro-
fessor, El Colegio de Mexico, Charles
University, Prague, Moscow State
University, Russian State Humanities
University, University of Leipzig, Uni-
versity of Canterbury; fellow, Center
for Advanced Study in Behavior
Sciences, 1976-1977; member, Board
of Managers, Swarthmore College,
1990-2002; honorary permanent guest
professor, Charles University, Prague,
1995-
Barbara Partee is known for her philo-
sophical approach to linguistics, the
science of language that includes pho-
netics, phonology, syntax, semantics,
pragmatics, and historical linguistics.
Her research combines mathematical
and psychological or cognitive ap-
proaches to understanding the devel- Anthropologist and linguist, Barbara Partee.
opment of language and speech. She (Courtesy of the University of Massachusetts)
740 | Patch, Edith Marion
published Fundamentals of Mathematics for Linguistics (1978) and is the co-author
of Mathematical Methods in Linguistics (1990). The updated volume included many
of the new theories in linguistics, such as phonology and syntax, that had emerged
since her first book, and included information on formal languages, grammars, and
linguistic trees. Partee also co-edited Properties, Types and Meaning (1989), a two-
volume set of essays on foundational and semantic issues in linguistics. A later book,
Quantification in Natural Languages (1995), which she co-edited with her husband,
Emmon Bach, and others, consists of 20 papers on the subject of semantics, which is
the study of meaning, or the study of linguistics developed by classifying and exam-
ining change in meaning and form.
Partee's most recent book is Compositionality in Formal Semantics: Selected
Papers of Barbara Partee (2004). She has been an invited guest lecturer at several
international universities, and spends a significant amount of time conducting research
in Russia, where she continues (post-retirement) to teach theoretical and applied
linguistics at Russian State Humanities University and Moscow State University.
Partee was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1989.
She has received numerous grants for work, both individual and collaborative, includ-
ing National Science Foundation grants, a National Endowment for the Humanities
(NEH) fellowship, and the Max Planck Research Award. She has received honorary
doctorates from colleges in the United States, Europe, and Russia. She has been a
member or fellow of the Linguistics Society of America (president, 1986), American
Philosophical Association, Association for Computational Linguistics, American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of
Science, and Massachusetts Academy of Sciences, and in 2002 was elected a Foreign
Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Further Resources
University of Massachusetts. Faculty website, http://people.umass.edu/partee/.
Patch, Edith Marion
1876 1954
Entomologist
Education: B.S., University of Minnesota, 1901; M.S., University of Maine,
1910; Ph.D., Cornell University, 1911
Professional Experience: high school instructor, 1901-1903; instructor, entomol-
ogy and English, University of Maine, 1903-1904, head, Department of Entomology,
Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, 1904-1937
Pate-Cornell, (Marie) Elisabeth Lucienne | 741
Edith Patch was an entomologist known as an international authority on the life
histories and ecology of migratory aphids. She was one of the earliest critics of
chemical pesticides. Patch grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts, and then on a
10-acre farm in Minnesota, where she spent her early years exploring nature and
studying local wildlife and insects. As a high school student, she wrote a prize-
winning report on the monarch butterfly. She went on to college at the University
of Minnesota, where she became interested in aphids and their effect on agricul-
ture. Like many college-educated women of her generation, the primary job avail-
able to her after graduation was as a school teacher, and she taught high school for
two years while pursuing work as an entomologist. She secured a position at the
University of Maine, where she remained affiliated for the remainder of her career,
teaching English and entomology before founding and becoming head of the new
Department of Entomology at the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station in
Orono (which was affiliated with the University). She was named the director of
the station in 1924. During this same time, she began her graduate education, earn-
ing a master's degree in 1910 and a doctorate from Cornell in 1911. Her scientific
publications included 15 books and nearly 100 papers, and two new genera and
several species of insects were named in her honor. Her most important publica-
tion was her 1938 Food-Plant Catalogue of the Aphids of the World, still an impor-
tant reference book.
After Patch's formal retirement, she wrote a number of nature books for chil-
dren. She was also committed to the science education of women and wrote papers
on entomology as a career for women. She received an honorary doctorate from
the University of Maine (1937), and was a member of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science and the American Society of Naturalists, and
served as president of both the Entomological Society of America (1936) and the
American Nature Study Society (1937).
Further Resources
Bonta, Marcia. 1991. Women in the Field: America's Pioneering Women Naturalists.
College Station: Texas A & M University Press.
Pate-Cornell, (Marie) Elisabeth Lucienne
b. 1948
Industrial Engineer
Education: B.S., mathematics and physics, University of Marseilles, 1968; M.S.
and engineer degree, computer science and applied mathematics, Polytechnic
742 | Pate-Cornell, (Marie) Elisabeth Lucienne
Institute of Grenoble, 1970 and 1971; M.S., operations research, Stanford Univer-
sity, 1972, Ph.D., engineering-economic systems, 1978
Professional Experience: engineer-economist, Regie Autonome des Transports de
Paris, France (Transportation Planning), 1972-1973; assistant professor, civil engi-
neering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1978-1981; assistant profes-
sor, industrial engineering and engineering management, Stanford University, 1981—
1984, associate professor, 1984-1991, professor, management science and engineer-
ing, 1991-1999, Burt and Deedee McMurtry Professor of Engineering, 1999-, pro-
fessor and chair, management science and engineering, Stanford University, 2000-
Concurrent Positions: senior fellow, Institute of International Studies, Stanford
University, 2000-
Elisabeth Pate-Cornell is known for her research in engineering systems analysis that
is combined with economic analysis to assess risk and find realistic solutions to real-
world problems. In pulling together what had been thought to be separate disciplines
to offer a unique approach to problems, she has drawn on her studies in mathematics
and physics, computer engineering with an electrical engineering component, eco-
nomics, and operations research. Operations research (OR), which was developed
around 1940 to 1945, during World War II, for military operations, is the analysis,
Industrial engineer, Elisabeth Pate-Cornell. (Courtesy of the Stanford University News
Service Library)
Patrick, Jennie R. | 743
usually involving mathematical treatment, of a process, problem, or operation to
determine its purpose and effectiveness and to gain maximum efficiency. For her doc-
toral dissertation, she studied seismic risk from a public-policy viewpoint, looking at
the costs and benefits of reducing earthquake risks. Her more recent research has had
applications in industrial, medical, and government programs, including assessing
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shuttle missions and
government intelligence regarding terrorist attacks. In 1998, she was a member of
the Marine Board of the National Research Council (NRC), a committee on risk
assessment and management of marine systems, such as offshore platforms.
Born in Senegal, she attended high schools in both Senegal and France, where
she was influenced toward studying science by her engineer father. She earned
degrees in mathematics, physics, and computer science before coming to Stanford
University in California in 1971 to study in the interdisciplinary program of engi-
neering and economic systems. She became a U.S. citizen in 1986, by which time
she was an assistant professor at MIT, before returning again to Stanford as a fac-
ulty member in 1981. She has led the department of Management Science and
Engineering at Stanford since 2000.
Pate-Cornell was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995. She
has served on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (2001-2004)
and has been a member of the Advisory Council of NASA's Jet Propulsion Labo-
ratory and the Board of Trustees of the Aerospace Corporation since Decem-
ber 2004. She has also served as a member of the Army Science Board, the
NASA Advisory Council, and the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, and is a
member of the Society for Risk Analysis (president, 1995) and the Institute for
Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS). She is the recipient
of a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society for Risk Analysis
(2002) and was elected to the French Academie des Technologies in 2003.
Further Resources
Stanford University. Faculty website. http://www.stanford.edu/dept/MSandE/people/
faculty /mep/index. html.
Patrick, Jennie R.
b. 1949
Chemical Engineer
Education: student, Tuskegee Institute, 1969-1970; B.S., chemical engineering,
University of California, Berkeley, 1973; Ph.D., chemical engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1979
744 | Patrick, Jennie R.
Professional Experience: research engineer, General Electric Research
and Development Center, 1979-1983; project manager, Phillip Morris Company,
1983-1985; department manager, fundamental chemical engineering research,
Rohm and Haas Company, 1985-1990; assistant to executive vice president,
Southern Company Services, 1990-1993; 3M Eminent Scholar and Professor of
Chemical Engineering, Tuskegee Institute, 1993-1997; senior consultant, Raytheon
Engineers and Constructors (Washington Group International), Alabama, 1997-
Concurrent Positions: assistant engineer, Dow Chemical Company, 1972; Stauffer
Chemical Company, 1973; Chevron Research, 1974; Arthur D. Little, 1975; adjunct
professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1982-1985, and Georgia Institute of
Technology, 1983-1987
Jennie Patrick is a chemical engineer, manager, and educator who has worked in a
variety of research, industry, and academic settings. She was the first African
American woman to earn a doctorate in chemical engineering, which she received
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1979. Her working-class
parents emphasized to their five children that knowledge was an escape from
poverty. Jennie attended segregated elementary and middle schools, but in high
school, she was one of the first participants in an integrated school in her home-
town in Georgia. She wanted to attend the integrated school because it had all
the scientific equipment she needed for her studies, while the school for blacks
had none. She entered Tuskegee Institute as a chemistry major but transferred to
the University of California, Berkeley to complete her undergraduate degree. She
began working for chemical companies to support herself while still in school.
She then went to MIT to obtain her doctorate in chemical engineering with
research on superheating, in which a liquid is raised above its boiling temperature
but does not become a vapor. She investigated the temperature to which pure
liquids and mixtures of two liquids could be superheated.
After receiving her Ph.D., Patrick joined the General Electric Research and
Development Center, where her work involved research on energy-efficient pro-
cesses for chemical separation and purification, particularly the use of supercriti-
cal extraction. She worked for several other corporations, as well as taking
positions as an adjunct professor, before returning to academia full-time as an
endowed chair and professor chemical engineering back at the Tuskegee Institute.
At Tuskegee, she was committed to helping minority students find success, par-
ticularly in the fields of science and engineering. In 1997, she returned to industry
as an engineering consultant at Raytheon.
Patrick received the Outstanding Women in Science and Engineering Award
(1980) and the Black Achievers in Chemical Engineering Award of the American
Patrick, Ruth | 745
Institute of Chemical Engineers (2008). She is identified in some sources as Jennie
Patrick- Yeboah.
Further Resources
Williams, Clarence G. 2003. Technology and the Dream: Reflections on the Black Experience
at MIT, 1941 1999. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Patrick, Ruth
b. 1907
Botanist, Limnologist
Education: B.S., Coker College, South Carolina, 1929; M.S., University of
Virginia, 1931, Ph.D., botany, 1934
Professional Experience: assistant, Coker College, 1929; assistant, research,
Temple University, 1934; phycology researcher and volunteer curator, Academy
of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1933-1937, associate to assistant curator,
Leidy Microscopical Collection, 1939-1947, chair (and founder), depart-
ment of limnology, 1947-1973, curator, 1947-, Francis Boyer research chair,
1973-
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole,
Massachusetts, 1951-1955; lecturer, botany, University of Pennsylvania, 1952-
1970, adjunct professor, 1970-
Ruth Patrick is a botanist and limnologist, or hydrobiologist, a multidisciplinary
scientist who studies freshwater ecosystems. Patrick's specific expertise has been
on the biodynamic cycle of rivers, and on the taxonomy, ecology, and physiology
of diatoms, a family of microscopic one-celled algae that is the basic food for
many organisms in the freshwater ecology. She was employed as an assistant at
Coker College and Temple University before receiving her doctorate in botany
from the University of Virginia in 1934. Soon after, she began her long career with
the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, leading expeditions to build the
world-renowned collection of the Diatom Herbarium and becoming founding
chair and curator of a new Department of Limnology there in 1947 (a department
now known as the Patrick Center for Environmental Research). Although she
746 | Patrick, Ruth
celebrated her one-hundredth birthday in November 2007, she has never formally
retired and still maintains an affiliation with the Academy.
Patrick's invention of a device called the diatometer made it possible for the
first time to determine accurately the presence of pollution in fresh water. For
many years, she was a consultant for government and corporate projects, assessing
the ecological impact of nuclear power plants, groundwater pollution, and acid
rain. In 1975, she became the first woman to sit on the board of directors of the
Du Pont company. Along with Rachel Carson, Patrick was among the scientists
largely responsible for calling attention to such ecological concerns in the mid-
twentieth century; she published a book on the topic, Groundwater Contamination
in the United States, in 1983.
Patrick was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1970 and received the National Medal of Science in 1996. She has received
more than 25 honorary degrees and an astonishing list of awards and honors
from government, industry, and citizen's groups. The most prestigious of these
include a $150,000 John and Alice Tyler Ecology Award (1975), Public Service
Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior (1975), Golden Medal of the
Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Belgium (1978), Founders Award of
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (1982), Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania Governor's Award for Excellence in the Sciences (1988),
Benjamin Franklin Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from American
Philosophical Society (1993), Lifetime Achievement Award from American
Society of Limnology and Oceanography (1996), Mendel Medal from Villanova
University (2002), Chairman's Medal of the Heinz Family Foundation (2002),
and Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council for Science and
the Environment (2004). She has been a member of the Phycological Society
of America (president, 1954-1957), American Society of Naturalists (president,
1975-1977), American Philosophical Society, Botanical Society of America,
South Carolina Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, American Institute of
Biological Sciences, Ecological Society of America, and American Society of
Plant Taxonomists.
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Patrick Center for Environmental Research, Academy of Natural Sciences. "Dr. Ruth
Patrick." http://www.ansp.org/research/pcer/rp/index.php.
Patterson, Flora Wambaugh | 747
Patterson, Flora Wambaugh
1847 1928
Plant Pathologist
Education: A.B. Antioch College, 1860; M.L.A., Cincinnati Wesleyan College,
1865, A.M., 1883; A.M., University of Iowa, 1895
Professional Experience: assistant, Gray Herbarium, Harvard University, 1895;
private school instructor, 1896; assistant pathologist, herbarium, U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA), 1896-1901, mycologist, pathological collections, Bureau
of Plant Industry, 1901-1923
Flora Patterson was a plant pathologist whose research included fungal diseases
of plants and insects and systemic mycology. She was only the second woman sci-
entist employed by the USDA; the first was Effie (Southworth) Spalding. Patterson
worked as an assistant at the Gray Herbarium at Harvard University and as a pri-
vate school teacher before obtaining a position at the USDA in 1896, where she
remained until retiring in 1923. One benefit for women scientists working at the
USDA in the early twentieth century was that, unlike in many academic research
labs, they were able to publish their research under their own names. Patterson
published numerous papers on her mycological research in addition to the pam-
phlets she prepared for the USDA series. She was co-author of Mushrooms and
Other Common Fungi (1915), with fellow mycologist Vera Charles, and she
wrote a chapter on "The Plant Pathologist" for a 1920 guide to Careers for Women
(edited by Catherine Filene).
After college, Patterson married and had two children. When her husband
became debilitated and then died, Patterson was forced to find a way to support
herself and her children. She returned to college and received another master's
degree from Cincinnati Wesleyan, then on to continue her studies at the University
of Iowa, where she became interested in botany. She moved to Massachusetts with
her brother, and studied botany at Radcliffe for three years and became an assistant
at the Gray Herbarium at Harvard. During this time, she also became interested in
mycology and served as assistant editor of Economic Fungi. She received another
master's degree from the University of Iowa in 1895 and began teaching biology at
a private school in Boston. Soon after, she began working for the USDA as a veg-
etable pathologist and then as a mycologist overseeing collections for the new
Bureau of Plant Industry.
Patterson was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, the American Phytopathological Society, and the Botanical Society
of America.
748 | Payne, Nellie Maria de Cottrell
Further Resources
Rossman, Amy Y. 2002. "Flora W. Patterson: The First Woman Mycologist at the USDA."
The Plant Health Instructor. APSnet Education Center, http://www.apsnet.org/
education/feature/patterson/.
Payne, Nellie Maria de Cottrell
1900 1990
Entomologist and Agricultural Chemist
Education: B.S., Kansas State Agricultural College, 1920, M.S., 1921; Ph.D.,
zoology, University of Minnesota, 1925
Professional Experience: assistant zoologist and entomologist, Kansas State Agri-
cultural College, 1918-1921; instructor, science and math, Lindenwood College,
1921-1922; assistant and librarian, entomology, University of Minnesota, 1925-
1930, lecturer, 1933-1937; National Research Foundation fellow, University of
Pennsylvania, 1925-1927; scientific staff, Biological Abstracts, 1927-1933; assis-
tant research entomologist, American Cyanamid Company, 1937-1943, entomolo-
gist, 1943-1944, zoologist, 1944-1957; literature chemist, Velsicol Chemical
Corporation, 1957-1971; consultant
Concurrent Positions: National Research Council fellow, zoology, University of
Pennsylvania, 1925-1927; research investigator, University of Vienna and Univer-
sity of Berlin, 1930-1931
Nellie Payne was an entomologist and agricultural chemist whose research inter-
ests included hydroid pigments, hibernation and low-temperature effects in
insects, and the mathematics of population growth. She had a varied career,
involving both academic and corporate appointments. She was employed as an as-
sistant zoologist and entomologist while she was working toward both her bache-
lor's and master's degrees at Kansas State. She taught for one year in chemistry
and mathematics at Lindenwood College, then received an appointment as assis-
tant entomologist while she completed her doctorate in invertebrate zoology
at the University of Minnesota. After positions as a fellow at the University of
Pennsylvania and a member of the scientific staff of the major index Biological
Abstracts, she returned to Minnesota as a lecturer for five years. She was appointed
entomologist and zoologist in research at American Cyanamid in 1937. In 1957,
she accepted a position as a literature chemist at Velsicol Chemical, then became
a consultant starting in 1971. Payne also worked for the Entomological Society
Payne-Gaposchkin, Cecilia Helena | 749
of America. Prior to the 1960s, many women scientists were employed as indexers
and abstracters rather than in research positions in industry. Today, corporations
hire both men and women scientists in their information centers to keep abreast
of both the internal and external research data.
Payne was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, the Entomological Society of America, and the American Institute of
Chemists. She also was a member of the American Chemical Society, the Biometric
Society, the Zoological Society of America, and the New York Academy of
Sciences.
Payne-Gaposchkin, Cecilia Helena
1900 1979
Astronomer
Education: A.B., natural sciences, Newnham College, Cambridge University,
1923; Ph.D., astronomy, Radcliffe College, 1925
Professional Experience: National Research Fellow, Harvard University, 1925-
1927, astronomer, Harvard College Observatory, 1927-1938, Phillips Astronomer,
1938-1967, Phillips Professor and Chair, astronomy, Harvard University, 1956—
1967; staff member, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 1967-1979
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, an authority on variable stars and galactic structure,
was the first woman to achieve the rank of full professor at Harvard. Early in her
career, she developed new techniques for ascertaining stellar magnitudes from
photographic plates. She applied these techniques to a large collection of photo-
graphic plates dating back to 1890 that were stored at the observatory. In the
mid- 1930s, she concentrated on the study of variable stars. Her research team
made several million observations over the entire sky. She often collaborated with
her husband, Sergei I. Gaposchkin, and other staff members, and published more
than 300 papers on galactic structure and novae. In addition to her scientific pub-
lications, she was the author of several books, including Variable Stars (1938),
Stars in the Making (1952), Variable Stars and Galactic Structure (1954), and
Galactic Novae (1957).
After receiving her undergraduate degree from Cambridge in 1923, she won a
National Research Fellowship to study at Radcliffe and to work at the Harvard
College Observatory, where she spent her entire career. In 1925, she was the first
scholar at Radcliffe to receive a doctorate in astronomy, changing the career pat-
tern for women astronomers (many of whom received degrees in physics) and
750 | Payton, Carolyn (Robertson)
broadening their research and employment opportunities. She continued working
at the observatory and was appointed a permanent member of the staff in 1927.
At the time, there were numerous other prominent women astronomers working
at Harvard, including Annie Jump Cannon, Antonia Maury, and others. Payne-
Gaposchkin was eventually promoted to full professor of astronomy and chaired
the department at Harvard. After she retired in 1967, she became a staff member
at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Payne-Gaposchkin received the first Annie J. Cannon Prize of the American
Astronomical Society (AAS) (1935) and was the first woman to give the Henry
Norris Russell Prize Lecture of the AAS (1976), the Society's highest honor for
lifetime achievement in astronomy. She received honorary doctorates from Wilson
College (1942), Smith College (1943), Western College (1951), Cambridge Univer-
sity (1952), Colby College (1958), and Women's Medical College of Philadelphia
(1961). She was a member of the American Astronomical Society, the American
Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the
Royal Astronomical Society.
Further Resources
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Payton, Carolyn (Robertson)
1925 2001
Psychologist
Education: B.S, home economics, Bennett College, 1945; M.S., clinical psychol-
ogy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1948; Ed.D., counseling and administration,
Teachers College, Columbia University, 1962
Professional Experience: instructor, psychology, Livingstone College, North
Carolina, 1948-1953; dean of women and instructor, psychology, Elizabeth City
State Teachers College, North Carolina, 1953-1956; associate professor, psychol-
ogy, Virginia State College, 1956-1959; assistant professor, psychology, Howard
University, 1959-1964; Chief Field Selection Officer, U.S. Peace Corps,
1964-1966; deputy director, Peace Corps Eastern Caribbean Section, 1966-1971;
assistant professor and director, Counseling Services, Howard University, 1971—
1977; director, U.S. Peace Corps, 1977-1978; dean, counseling and career devel-
opment, Howard University, 1978-1995
Payton, Carolyn (Robertson) | 75 1
Carolyn Payton was a psychologist known for her work in counseling and career
development, and served for one year as the first black and the first female director
of the U.S. Peace Corps. When the Peace Corps was formed in 1961, it was charged
with sharing technical skills with requesting countries. Trained volunteers spent two
years in host countries working primarily in the areas of agriculture, rural develop-
ment, health, and education. At first, the corps sent volunteers to Latin America,
Africa, and the Middle East, but after 1990 and the end of the Cold War, Eastern Bloc
countries also began requesting volunteers. Payton joined the Peace Corps in 1964 as
a field selection officer and progressed in rank until she was deputy director of the
Eastern Caribbean Section in 1966. She returned to Howard University to teach until
1977, when she was named by President Carter director of the Peace Corps. At that
time, most recruits were experienced, highly skilled persons who could fill the spe-
cialized needs of developing countries; however, they tended to "teach down" to the
people they were sent to help. Payton planned a program to train the volunteers to
be better teachers and planned to recruit more blacks, women, and college graduates
from varied backgrounds for the program. The Peace Corps was no longer an autono-
mous organization, however, and it was being administered by the American Council
to Improve Our Neighborhoods (ACTION), whose head did not agree with her plans.
Payton was forced to resign. However, her resignation had a positive impact in that
President Carter restored the Peace Corps to an independent agency in 1981.
Payton worked to promote world understanding through cross-cultural interac-
tions in both public and private forums. She was convinced that the inequalities
in America were related to worldwide problems of poverty, hunger, and illiteracy,
and was committed to the idea that professional scientists had an ethical impera-
tive to work for social justice. She published a 1984 article in American Psycholo-
gist entitled "Who Must Do the Hard Things?," in which she argued that the
discipline of psychology must have application to social problems and policy.
She urged psychologists to "place our talents, our expertise, and our energy in
the service of our conscience as well as our discipline." She was involved in the
Public Policy Committee of the American Psychological Association (APA) and
supported psychological research and education through the establishment of a
scholarship fund at her alma mater, Bennett College.
Payton was a fellow of the APA and was awarded the APA's Distinguished
Professional Contributions Award (1982) and the APA Committee on Women in
Psychology Leadership Citation Award (1985). The APA honored her again in 1997
with the Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to the field of psychology.
Further Resources
Keita, Gwendolyn P. 2001. "Carolyn Robertson Payton (1925 2001)." The Feminist Psy-
chologist. 28(3). Newsletter of the Society for the Psychology of Women, Division 35
752 | Pearce, Louise
of the American Psychological Association. (Summer 2001). http://www.psych.yorku
.ca/femhop/Carolyn%20Robertson%20Payton.htm.
O'Connell, Agnes N. and Nancy Felipe Russo, eds. 1988. Models of Achievement:
Reflections of Eminent Women in Psychology. Vol. 2. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Pearce, Louise
1885 1959
Pathologist
Education: A.B., physiology, Stanford University, 1907; student, Boston Univer-
sity School of Medicine, 1907-1909; M.D., Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine, 1912
Professional Experience: intern, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1912; fellow, Rockefeller
Institute for Medical Research, 1913-1923, associate member, 1923-1951
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, syphilology, Peiping Union Medical
College, China, 1931-1932; president, Women's Medical College of Philadelphia,
1946-1951
Louise Pearce was one of the foremost American women scientists of the early
twentieth century and one of the principal figures in developing the drug tryparsa-
mide to control African sleeping sickness. Her results, in collaboration with
pathologist Wade Hampton Brown, were published in the Journal of Experimental
Medicine in 1919, and she went to Africa in 1920 to supervise tests of the drug on
humans. She spent her entire career at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical
Research after receiving her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine. Her other work included the biology of infectious and inher-
ited diseases, such as syphilis and smallpox. In her study of syphilis in rabbits, she
found that it closely resembled the human variety. The observations were therefore
valuable to students of immunity and to physicians engaged in treating syphilitic
patients. She and her collaborators found a tumor in rabbits that was capable of
being grown in a laboratory and transplanted. The Brown-Pearce tumor was
subsequently studied in cancer laboratories throughout the world. The breeding
program and studies led the research team to isolate a virus similar to human
smallpox when an epidemic of rabbit pox nearly destroyed the carefully developed
rabbit colony. In the 1930s, the team enlarged its breeding program for rabbits,
and by 1940, more than two dozen hereditary diseases and deformities were
Peckham, Elizabeth Gifford | 753
represented in the rabbit colony. Unfortunately, many of Pearce's files were
destroyed after her death, and she had not completed writing up the results of all
of her research.
Pearce also worked to advance the cause of women in medicine and science, and
served as a member of the board of the Women's Medical College of Philadelphia
from 1941 to 1946, and as president from 1946 to 1951. She also served on the
scientific advisory council of the American Social Hygiene Association. She
received several honors from the Belgian government for her work on sleeping sick-
ness in the Belgian Congo (now Zaire), including the Ancient Order of the Crown,
membership in the Belgian Society of Tropical Medicine, and the King Leopold II
Prize in 1953.
Further Resources
National Institutes of Health. "Dr. Louise Pearce." Changing the Face of Medicine:
Celebrating America's Women Physicians. National Library of Medicine, National
Institutes of Health, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/
biography 248.html.
Peckham, Elizabeth Gifford
1854 1940
Arachnologist and Entomologist
Education: B.A., Vassar College, 1876, A.M., 1889; Ph.D., Cornell University,
1916
Professional Experience: independent researcher
Elizabeth Peckham was an early entomologist and taxonomist recognized by her
contemporaries for her research on spiders and wasps, fields known as arachnology
and hymenoptera. Before receiving her doctorate, she collaborated and co-authored
numerous papers and articles with her husband, entomologist George Williams
Peckham, a high school biology teacher and public-library director with a medical
degree. George Peckham was an innovator in emphasizing scientific research in
secondary school, and the couple met when she came to work in his high school
laboratory. They lived and worked in Wisconsin, and many of their publications
were issued by organizations such as the Natural History Society of Wisconsin, the
Wisconsin Geological Survey, and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and
Letters. Elizabeth Peckham had a solid educational background, with undergraduate
and master's degrees from Vassar. After George Peckham's death in 1914, she
754 | Peden, Irene (Carswell)
returned to New York to pursue a doctorate from Cornell University, which housed
one of the preeminent programs in entomology in the nation. She earned her Ph.D.
from Cornell in 1916, at the age of 62.
In 1898, the Peckhams published a book, On the Instincts and Habits of Solitary
Wasps. Influenced by the new theories of Charles Darwin on adaptability and vari-
ability within species, they also published research in the new field of insect psy-
chology, emphasizing insect behavior and not just physical characteristics in
some of the first papers on the mental powers of spiders and courtship and sexual
selection among insects. Elizabeth Peckham was listed as the primary author of
their 1905 book, Wasps Social and Solitary, which details their firsthand observa-
tions of wasp communities and the working habits of wasps. Among their impor-
tant discoveries detailed in this book was the use of tools by one species of wasps.
Elizabeth and George Peckham have a distinguished legacy as early arachnolo-
gists. A genus of jumping spiders, Peckhamia, is named in their honor, as well as
20 individual species and subspecies. The Peckham Society was founded in 1977
to honor their work and to bring together both amateur and professional scientists
interested in studies of salticid, or jumping spiders.
Further Resources
Bonta, Marcia. 1991. Women in the Field: America's Pioneering Women Naturalists.
College Station: Texas A & M University Press.
The Peckham Society, http://peckhamia.110mb.com/.
Peden, Irene (Carswell)
b. 1925
Electrical Engineer, Radio Scientist
Education: B.S., University of Colorado, 1947; M.S., Stanford University, 1957,
Ph.D., electrical engineering, 1962
Professional Experience: junior engineer, Delaware Power and Light Company,
1947-1949; junior engineer, Aircraft Radio Systems Laboratory, Stanford
Research Institute, 1949-1950, research engineer, 1950-1952, antenna research
group, 1954-1957; research engineer, Midwest Research Institute, 1953-1954;
research assistant, Hansen Laboratory, Stanford University, 1958-1961, acting
instructor in electrical engineering, 1959-1961; assistant to associate professor,
University of Washington, Seattle, 1961-1971, professor, 1971—, associate dean
of engineering, 1973-1977, associate chair, Electrical Engineering Department,
1983-1986
Peden, Irene (Carswell) | 755
Irene Peden is a specialist in radio
science and electromagnetic waves
who conducted geophysical studies
of radio wave propagation through
the Antarctic ice pack, and she was
the first American woman scientist to
live and work in the interior of that
continent. At the Byrd Antarctic Re-
search Station in the 1970s, she devel-
oped new methods to analyze the deep
glacial ice by studying the effect it has
on radio waves directed through it, and
she has continued this line of research
by studying certain properties in the
lower ionosphere over Antarctica.
She developed the methodology for
her own experiments and invented the
mathematical models needed to study
and interpret the data the team col-
lected. She and her students were the
first researchers to measure many of
the electrical properties of Antarctic
ice and to describe important aspects of very low frequency (VLF) propagation
over long paths in the polar region. Later, she turned her attention to subsurface
exploration technologies, using very high frequency (VHF) radio waves to detect
and locate subsurface structures and other targets.
Although women scientists from other countries had been conducting research
at their countries' research stations in Antarctica for a number of years, American
women were excluded from the U.S. station before Peden applied to go in 1970.
The U.S. Navy was in charge of the research station and was responsible for trans-
portation to and from the area, plus any travel within Antarctica, and the Navy
argued that the weather was too harsh and the living quarters inadequate for women.
Even when Peden received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for
research on Antarctic ice, only her male graduate students could visit the site.
Finally, under pressure from the NSF, the Navy approved Peden to make the trip in
1970 with the requirement that she have another female scientist accompany her.
Peden described her experiences in Barbara Land's 1981 book, The New Explorers.
Peden later served as a Division Director at NSF and served on the Polar
Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. She was also a council
member for the International Arctic Research Center in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Electrical engineer and radio scientist, Irene
Peden. (Courtesy of University of Washington/
UnivPhoto)
756 | Peebles, Florence
She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1993. She has
received numerous awards for her research, including the Society of Women
Engineers Achievement Award (1973), U.S. Army's Outstanding Civilian Service
Medal (1987), and Centennial Medals from the Institute of Electrical and Elec-
tronics Engineers (1984) and the University of Colorado (1988), and was named
to the Hall of Fame of the American Society for Engineering Education. She is a
fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), from whom
she has received numerous honors, including the 2000 Third Millennium Medal
and the 2000 Distinguished Achievement Award of the IEEE Education Society.
She is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
the Explorers' Club, the American Geophysical Union, the New York Academy
of Science, and the Society of Women Engineers.
Further Resources
University of Washington. Faculty website, http://www.ee.washington.edu/faculty/peden/.
Shoemaker, Brian. 2005. "Dr. Irene Peden, 8 May 2002." Interview. Polar Oral History
Program. Byrd Polar Research Center Archival Program. The Ohio State University
Libraries, http://hdl.handle.net/181 1/6058.
Peebles, Florence
1874 1956
Zoologist
Education: A.B., Goucher College, 1895; Ph.D., Bryn Mawr, 1900
Professional Experience: assistant, biology, Bryn Mawr College, 1897-1898;
instructor, Goucher College, 1899-1902, associate professor, 1902-1906; lecturer,
Bryn Mawr, 1913; professor, biology, Newcomb College, Tulane University, 1915—
1917; associate professor, physiology, Bryn Mawr, 1917-1919; professor, biology,
California Christian (Chapman) College, 1928-1942
Florence Peebles was recognized for her work on tissue regeneration in both
plants and animals. Her research included the morphology of regeneration, growth
and development, and the embryology of chicks. She conducted early research at
Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory and was appointed an assistant in biol-
ogy at Bryn Mawr while completing her doctorate, which she received in 1900.
She also completed coursework at the Universities of Halle and Munich and post-
doctoral work at the Naples Zoological Station and several European universities.
She received her undergraduate degree at the Women's College of Baltimore
Pennington, Mary Engle | 757
(Goucher College) and in 1899 was appointed as an instructor. She was promoted to
associate professor in 1902. Between 1898 and 1927, she worked five times at the
Naples Zoological Station, and 10 times at the Woods Hole Marine Laboratory
between 1895 and 1924. Since she was recognized as an important contributor to sci-
entific literature, she received support from fellowships for many of these research
sessions. She held a position at Newcomb College in 1915, returning to Bryn Mawr
in 1917. She moved to California and established a bacteriology department at
California Christian College (now known as Chapman College) in 1928 and a
biology department in 1935. Peebles continued teaching and research even after
her formal retirement, establishing a biology laboratory at Lewis and Clark College
in Portland, Oregon, in 1942. Both the lab and a science scholarship fund at Lewis
and Clark are named in her honor.
Peebles received an honorary LL.D. from her alma mater, Goucher College, in
1954. She was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science and the American Society of Naturalists.
Pennington, Mary Engle
1872 1952
Chemist, Food Scientist
Education: certificate of proficiency, University of Pennsylvania, 1892, Ph.D.,
1895
Professional Experience: fellow, botany, University of Pennsylvania, 1895-1897;
fellow, physiological chemistry, Yale University, 1897-1898; researcher, University
of Pennsylvania, 1898-1901; director, chemical laboratory, Women's Medical
College of Pennsylvania, 1898-1906, lecturer, 1898-1906; owner, Philadelphia
Chemical Laboratory, 1901-1905; director, bacteriological laboratory, Philadelphia
Health Department, 1904-1907; bacteriological chemist, Bureau of Chemistry,
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1907-1908, chief, Food Research Labora-
tory, 1908-1919; director, research and development, American Balsa Company,
1919-1922; consultant, 1922-1952
Mary Pennington was a chemist and authority on food refrigeration, chemico-
bacteriology of milk, and the chemistry, bacteriology, and histology of fresh and
frozen foods. She developed methods for preserving dairy products and standards
for milk inspection that were later employed throughout the country. She con-
ducted a series of studies that led to methods of processing, storing, and shipping
food that greatly increased its quality and availability. During World War I, she
758 | Pert, Candace Dorinda (Bebe)
devised standards for railroad refrigerator cars that were used nationally. After
several years working in various academic and government positions, she estab-
lished her own consulting firm in 1922, where she specialized in food handling,
storage, and transportation for the next 30 years. She did original research on
frozen foods, earning her the nickname in one article of the "Ice Lady."
Pennington faced various hurdles as a woman scientist. Although she completed
the requirements for a B.S. at the University of Pennsylvania, as a woman she was
given only a certificate of proficiency instead of a degree. She received her doctorate
and went on to Yale for another year of study in physiological chemistry. Unable
to find a regular position, she briefly operated her own laboratory for chemical analy-
sis, the Philadelphia Chemical Laboratory. She later secured a position as a bacterio-
logical chemist with the USDA by taking the civil service exam under the name
"M. E. Pennington" and accepting the job before the officials knew she was a
woman. She used the same strategy when she was made chief of the Food Research
Laboratory of the USDA in 1908.
Pennington was awarded the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society in
1940. She was the first woman member of the American Society of Refrigerating Engi-
neers and was the first woman elected to the American Poultry Historical Society's
Hall of Fame. She was a member of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, American Chemical Society, American Society of Biological Chemists,
American Institute of Refrigeration, and Society of American Bacteriologists.
Pert, Candace Dorinda (Bebe)
b. 1946
Neurophysiologist, Pharmacologist
Education: B.A., biology, Bryn Mawr, 1970; Ph.D., pharmacology, School of
Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 1974
Professional Experience: postdoctoral research fellow, National Institutes of
Health, Johns Hopkins University, 1974-1975; staff fellow, National Institute of
Mental Health, 1975-1977, senior staff fellow, 1977-1978, research pharmacologist,
1978-1982, chief, Section on Brain Chemistry, 1982-1988; founder and scientific
director, Peptide Design, 1987-1990; Chief Scientific Officer and Director, RAPID
Pharmaceuticals, 2007-
Concurrent Positions: research professor, physiology and biophysics, Georgetown
University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C.
Pert, Candace Dorinda (Bebe) | 759
Candace Pert is a neuroscientist and pharmacologist who is one of the world's
foremost researchers on the chemistry of the brain and chemical receptors, which
are the places in the body where molecules of a drug or natural chemical can be
inserted, thus stimulating or inhibiting various physiological or emotional effects.
As a graduate student, she was the co-discoverer, with her professor, of the brain's
opiate receptors, the areas in which painkilling substances such as morphine can
be inserted. Her work led to the discovery of endorphins, the naturally occurring
substances manufactured in the brain that relieve pain and produce sensations of
pleasure, by two Scottish scientists, who were awarded the Lasker Award in
1978. Pert's major professor at Johns Hopkins University medical school, neuro-
scientist Solomon Snyder, also shared the Award, but her name was omitted
although she had conducted the early research and had already received her doc-
torate. This oversight created a controversy in the scientific world, because the
Lasker Award is often an early step toward receiving the Nobel Prize.
Pert continued her work on neurotransmitters at the National Institute of Mental
Health for a number of years. She examined Valium receptors in the brain and the
receptors where the street drug PCP, or "angel dust," takes hold, and she also led
the team that discovered peptide-T. She left the government laboratory to form
her own company, Peptide Design, to encourage research on peptides, and worked
there from 1987 to 1990. Pert's work on peptides and their receptors has led to a
new area of research, the use of a chemical called peptide-T as a potential treat-
ment for AIDS. She has evidence that the purified peptide-T prevents viruses from
getting into cells by blocking the receptor sites on the cells, and there is also
evidence that peptide-T reverses the symptoms of the disease. The first work
was done in 1985, and clinical trials started in the early 1990s. She continues to
investigate immune systems and the nature of HIV/ AIDS as an adjunct professor
of physiology at Georgetown University, and, in 2007, co-founded RAPID
Pharmaceuticals.
Pert has explored the mind-body connection and the effect of brain chemicals
on emotional and spiritual well-being. She wrote a book entitled Molecules
of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way You Feel (1999), and co-authored Everything
You Need to Know to Feel Go(o)d (2006). She also produced a guided imagery
and music CD, Psychosomatic Wellness: Healing Your Body-Mind. She won the
Arthur S. Fleming Award in 1979 for her research. She is a member of the American
Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, American Society of
Biological Chemists, and Society for Neuroscience. In 1980, Pert was the primary
founder of Women in Neuroscience (WIN), a professional organization and commit-
tee of the Society for Neuroscience dedicated to assessing the status of women in
the field.
760 | Petermann, Mary Locke
Further Resources
Candace Pert, PhD. http://www.candacepert.com/.
Petermann, Mary Locke
1908 1975
Biochemist
Education: A.B., Smith College, 1929; Ph.D., physiological chemistry, Univer-
sity of Wisconsin, 1939
Professional Experience: technician, Yale University, 1929-1930; researcher,
Boston Psychopathic Hospital, 1930-1934; postdoctoral researcher, physical
chemistry, University of Wisconsin, 1939-1945; research chemist, Memorial Hos-
pital, New York, 1945-1946; associate professor, biochemistry, medical school,
Cornell University, 1952-1966, professor, 1966-1973
Concurrent Positions: professional assistant, Committee on Medical Research,
1942-1944; associate, Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, 1946-
1960, associate member, 1960-1963, member, 1963-1973
Mary Petermann was the first person to isolate and characterize animal ribosomes,
which are the site of protein synthesis in cells. Her research included the physical
chemistry of proteins, electrophoresis, plasma proteins, and ribosomes. Petermann
showed an early interest in science, but was deterred from science as a career path.
Undaunted, she became a chemistry major at Smith College, receiving her degree
in 1929. She graduated from Smith with high honors and went on to work and con-
duct research at Yale and then at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital for four years
investigating the acid-base balance of mentally unstable patients. In 1936, she
entered the University of Wisconsin and received her doctorate in physiological
chemistry in 1939. She remained at Wisconsin as a postdoctoral researcher and
was the recipient of several prestigious fellowships, including a Rockefeller Foun-
dation fellowship. In 1952, she was appointed associate professor of biochemistry
at Cornell University medical school, and was the first woman promoted to full
professor there in 1966.
Petermann was also a longtime member and researcher at Sloan-Kettering Insti-
tute for Cancer Research in New York City, and in 1963 became the first woman
appointed a full member of the Institute. Because of her research at Sloan-
Kettering, the ribosomes (previously known as "particles") were referred to by
her colleagues as "Petermann's particles." However, simultaneous research was
Phillips, Melba Newell | 761
being conducted at the Rockefeller
Institute by another researcher,
George Palade, who received public
credit as the "father of the particles."
Palade, at least, acknowledged Peter-
mann's work and privately gave her
credit as "mother of the particles."
In addition to nearly 100 scientific
papers, Petermann was the author of
a book, The Physical and Chemical
Properties of Ribosomes (1964).
Petermann received the Sloan
Award in cancer research (1963) and
used the money to conduct research
and give lectures in Europe. She also
received the Garvan Medal of the
American Chemical Society (1966)
and a Distinguished Service Award
from the American Academy of
Achievement. In 1974, she organized
the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center Association for Professional
Women and served as its first president. She was elected a fellow of the New York
Academy of Sciences, and was a member of the American Society of Biological
Chemists, the Harvey Society, and the Biophysical Society.
American biochemist Mary Locke Petermann.
She was the first person to isolate and
characterize animal ribosomes, which are the
site of protein synthesis in cells. (Bettmann/
Corbis)
Phillips, Melba Newell
1907 2004
Physicist
Education: A.B., mathematics, Oakland City College, 1926; A.M., physics, Bat-
tle Creek College, 1928; Ph.D., physics, University of California, Berkeley, 1933
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1926-1927; instructor, Battle Creek
College, 1928-1930; research associate, University of California, Berkeley, 1933-
1934, instructor, 1934-1935; research fellow, Bryn Mawr College, 1935-1936;
fellow, Institute for Advanced Study, 1936-1937; instructor, physics, Connecticut
College for Women, 1937-1938; instructor, Brooklyn College, 1938-1944, assistant
762 | Phillips, Melba Newell
professor, 1944-1952; lecturer, physics, Washington University, St. Louis, 1957-
1962; professor, physics, University of Chicago, 1962-1972
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, University of Minnesota, 1941-1944; member,
theoretical group, radio research laboratory, Harvard University, 1944; visiting
professor, State University of New York, Stony Brook, 1972-1975; visiting lec-
turer, University of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Science,
Beijing, 1980
Melba Phillips was a physicist whose research included theory of complex spectra
and theory of light nuclei. She began her career at Oakland City College and
retired as a professor of physics at the University of Chicago. She then was an
instructor at Battle Creek College for three years after receiving her master's
degree from that institution. She worked as an instructor at Berkeley after receiv-
ing her doctorate in 1933. Jobs were difficult to find during the Depression, but
she was appointed an instructor at Connecticut College for Women for two years.
She then moved to Brooklyn College in 1938, was promoted to assistant professor
in 1944, and helped found the Federation of American Scientists in 1945.
At Berkeley, Phillips had worked under the direction of J. Robert Oppenheimer,
who later became head of the Manhattan Project on development of the atomic
bomb. In the 1930s, they had identified "the Oppenheimer-Phillips effect" to
explain the behavior of the nuclei of radioactive hydrogen atoms. Despite her
accomplishments of nearly 15 years at Brooklyn College, she was fired in 1952
for refusing to testify about the Manhattan Project before the McCarthy-era U.S.
Senate subcommittee on internal security. Brooklyn College later publicly apolo-
gized to Phillips, but by then she had retired from the University of Chicago,
where she had spent 10 years as a professor. She co-authored two textbooks:
Principles of Physical Science (1957) and Classical Electricity and Magnetism
(1955; rev. ed., 2005). After her formal retirement in 1972, she continued to teach
for several years as a visiting lecturer at the State University of New York, Stony
Brook, and at the Chinese Academy of Science in Beijing.
Phillips was especially active with the American Association of Physics Teachers
(AAPT) throughout her career, serving as the first female president of the AAPT
(1966-1967) and later acting executive officer (1975-1977). She received numer-
ous awards from the AAPT, including a Distinguished Service Citation (1963) and
the Oersted Medal (1974), and she was the first recipient of the Melba Newell
Phillips Award (1982), established in her honor. She also received the Compton
Award of the American Institute of Physics (1981), an Outstanding Teaching
Award in Undergraduate Physics from Vanderbilt University (1988), and the
Joseph Burton Forum Award of the American Physical Society (2003). She was
Pitelka, Dorothy Riggs | 763
a fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the American Associ-
ation for the Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
University of Chicago News Office. "Melba Phillips, Physicist, 1907 2004." http://www-news
.uchicago.edu/releases/04/041 1 16.phillips.shtml.
Pitelka, Dorothy Riggs
1920 1994
Zoologist
Education: B.A., zoology, University of Colorado, Boulder, 1941; Ph.D., zoology,
University of California, Berkeley, 1948
Professional Experience: assistant, zoology, University of California, Berkeley,
1941-1943, 1945-1946, lecturer, 1949-1952, assistant research zoologist, 1953-
1960, associate research zoologist, 1960-1966, research zoologist, 1966-1984,
adjunct professor of zoology, 1971-1984
Concurrent Positions: fellow, University of Paris, 1957-1958
Dorothy Pitelka conducted research on protozoa, single-cell organisms, in order
to understand other simple organisms, such as cancer-causing viruses. Her
research interests included ultrastructure, function, and carcinogenesis in
mammary glands; epithelial cell differentiation in cell culture; interactions of
epithelium and stroma; and the ultrastructure and morphogenesis of protozoa.
She was one of the early biologists (and one of the first at Berkeley) to use
the new electron microscope, and in addition to her scientific papers, she pub-
lished an early book, Electron-Microscopic Structure of Protozoa, in 1963. She
isolated and studied mammary-gland cells at the University of California,
Berkeley's Cancer Research Laboratory and was one of the first researchers to
identify congenitally transmitted tumor viruses. She served on the editorial
boards of the Journal of Protozoology, Journal of Morphology, and Transactions
of the American Microscopical Society.
Pitelka was born in Turkey. Her family moved to the United States when she
was a young child and settled in Colorado, where she completed her undergradu-
ate degree in zoology at the University of Colorado. She went on to receive a
Ph.D. in zoology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1948, and spent
the remainder of her career at Berkeley. At Berkeley, she met and married her
764 | Pittman, Margaret
husband, also working on a Ph.D. in zoology. She spent her entire career at Berkeley,
first as a research fellow and lecturer in zoology before being promoted through the
ranks as a research scientist. She was supervisor of the electron microscope and also
taught as an adjunct professor before retiring in 1984. In the 1950s, she spent a year
conducting research in Paris as a fellow of the U.S. Public Health Service's National
Cancer Institute.
Pitelka was elected the first woman president of the Society of Protozoologists
(1964-1967). She was a member of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, the American Society for Cell Biology, the American Associa-
tion of Cancer Research, and the Tissue Culture Association. She was also
elected an honorary member of the Societe Francaise des Protistologues.
Further Resources
University of California. "Dorothy Riggs Pitelka, Zoology, Berkeley: 1920 1994." http://
content. cdlib.org/xtf/ vie w?docld=hb5g50061q&doc. vie w=frames&chunk. id
=div00079&toc.depth=l&toc.id=.
Pittman, Margaret
1901 1995
Bacteriologist
Education: A.B., Hendrix College, Arkansas, 1923; M.S., University of Chicago,
1926, Ph.D., bacteriology, 1929
Professional Experience: principal and instructor, Galloway Woman's College,
1923-1925; fellow, Influenza Commission, Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company, 1926-1928; research assistant, Rockefeller Institute for Medical
Research, 1928-1934; assistant bacteriologist, New York State Department of
Health, 1934-1936; associate bacteriologist, National Institutes of Health (NIH),
U.S. Public Health Service, 1936-1941, bacteriologist, 1941-1947, senior bacteri-
ologist, 1948-1954, principal bacteriologist, 1954-1958, chief, Laboratory of
Bacterial Products, Division of Biological Standards, 1958-1971, guest scientist,
1971-1972; guest scientist and consultant, Center for Biological Evaluation and
Research, Food and Drug Administration, 1972-1975
Concurrent Positions: consultant, World Health Organization, 1958-1959, 1962,
1969, 1971-1973; U.S. Pharmacopeia Panels, 1966-1975; guest lecturer, Howard
University, 1967-1970
Pool, Judith Graham | 765
Margaret Pittman was known for her work standardizing the pertussis vaccine for
whooping cough and for her international involvement in standardizing other
vaccines, such as cholera and typhoid. Her work led to a dramatic decrease in
whooping cough mortality by the 1950s. After several teaching and research posi-
tions that earned her renown as a bacteriologist, she joined the NIH/U.S. Public
Health Service in 1936, where she had a long career, advancing quickly through
the ranks to chief of the laboratory of bacterial products in 1958. After her official
retirement from the NIH in 1971, she continued to consult and work for the Food
and Drug Administration. She was a consultant for the World Health Organization
numerous times and was active on the U.S. Pharmacopeia Panels.
Pittman grew up in rural Arkansas, where she and her sister assisted their father, a
doctor, in his practice. She went on to study biology and mathematics at Hendrix
College. She taught science and Spanish at Galloway Women's College in Searcy,
Arkansas, and became principal of the school as well. She was saving her money to
attend medical school, but decided to pursue graduate study in bacteriology at the
University of Chicago, where she received a research fellowship to pay for her studies.
She earned both a master's and a doctorate in bacteriology at Chicago, focusing on
the bacterium responsible for pneumonia. She moved to New York, where she spent
several years as a research scientist at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research
studying bacterium responsible for childhood meningitis. During the Depression, she
was lucky to continue her work with the New York State Department of Health
before joining the NIH, where in 1958 she was named the first female laboratory
chief. The NIH later named the Margaret Pittman Lectureship series in her honor.
Pittman received numerous awards and honors, such as the Superior Service
Award (1963) and Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare (1968), the Federal Woman's Award (1970),
and the Alice Evans Award from the American Society for Microbiology
(1990). She also received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Hendrix
College. She has been a member of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, the American Academy of Microbiology, the Society for Exper-
imental Biology and Medicine, and the International Association of Biological
Standardization.
Pool, Judith Graham
1919 1975
Physiologist
Education: B.S., biochemistry, University of Chicago, 1939, Ph.D., physiology,
1946
766 | Pool, Judith Graham
Professional Experience: assistant, physiology, University of Chicago, 1940-
1942; instructor, physics, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 1943-1945; assis-
tant, physiology and pharmacology, toxicity laboratory, University of Chicago,
1946; research associate, Stanford Research Institute, 1950-1953; research fellow,
Stanford University Medical Center, 1953-1956, research associate, 1957-1960,
senior research associate, 1960-1970, senior scientist, 1970-1972, professor,
medicine, 1972-1975
Concurrent Positions: Fulbright research scholar, Norway, 1958-1959
Judith Pool was renowned for her work in blood coagulation, which resulted in
major contributions to the treatment of hemophilia. She developed the method of
isolating the anti-hemophilic factor (AHF) in blood plasma that can be removed
and frozen for later use, a method that is used for transfusions to correct bleeding
in hemophiliac patients and improve their quality of life. This process, called cry-
oprecipitation, has since become the standard. She did not receive credit, however,
for her participation as a graduate student in the development of a microelectrode
to determine the electrical potential of a muscle fiber, later referred to as the Ling-
Gerard electrode. (Another woman medical researcher, Ida Hyde, had also made
early discoveries in this area.)
Pool became interested in science in high school and studied biochemistry as
an undergraduate at the University of Chicago. She worked as a research assistant
before following her husband, a political science professor, to Hobart and
William Smith Colleges in New York, where she taught physics. She returned
to Chicago to complete requirements for her doctorate in physiology, which
she received in 1946. She held temporary teaching and research positions
before moving to the Stanford Research Institute as a research associate in
1950. She then became a fellow in the school of medicine at Stanford University,
where she switched from muscle physiology to research on blood. She was senior
scientist before being promoted to full professor of medicine in 1972, just three
years prior to her death.
Among her numerous honors, the National Hemophilia Foundation established
a Judith Graham Pool Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in her name. She received
the Murray Thelin Award of the National Hemophilia Foundation (1968), the
Elizabeth Blackwell Award of Hobart and William Smith Colleges (1973), and a
Professional Achievement Award from the University of Chicago (1975). She
was president of the Association for Women in Science in 1971, and was a
member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American
Physiological Society, and Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, and
chair of Professional Women of Stanford University Medical Center.
Poole, Joyce | 767
Poole, Joyce
b. 1956
Wildlife Biologist
Education: B.A., biological sciences, Smith College, 1979; Ph.D., animal
behavior, Cambridge University, 1983
Professional Experience: researcher, Amboseli Elephant Research Project,
1974-1990; coordinator, elephant conservation and management, Kenya Wildlife
Service, 1990-1994; consultant and independent researcher, 1994-2000; founder
and director, ElephantVoices, 2000-
Concurrent Positions: research director, Amboseli Elephant Research Project,
2002-2007
Joyce Poole is one of the world's authorities on the African elephant. Along with
her colleague, Cynthia Moss, she has made several significant contributions to
our knowledge of elephants. In particular, she and Moss were the first to recognize
that male African elephants experience musth — an aggressive period of increased
sexual activity — just as Asian elephants do. Poole is also credited for her research
on vocalization among elephants and the discovery that elephants communicate in
sound ranges that are below what the human ear is able to detect. She spearheaded
the campaign against ivory poaching by providing counts and identification of
individual elephants to the African Wildlife Fund and World Wildlife Fund, which
led to African elephants being placed on the endangered species list in 1989.
Poole has lived in Africa most of her life. Her family first moved there in 1962
when her father was appointed director of the Peace Corps program in Malawi
when she was six years old. After a brief return to the United States, the family
moved in 1965 to Kenya for four years. Poole decided on biology as a career path
after hearing primatologist Jane Goodall speak at the National Museum of Kenya
about her research. Poole took a year off from her studies at Smith College when her
father accepted a job in Nairobi with the African Wildlife Leadership Foundation.
During this time she held an unpaid position with Cynthia Moss at the Amboseli
Elephant Research Project. Poole helped compile vast records on all of the individ-
ual elephants in the preserve, identifying them through photographs of their ears
and tusks. Poole returned to Smith the following year, but spent each summer
and some of the Christmas holidays at Amboseli. Since she was concentrating on
identifying the male elephants, she took note of their aggressive behavior during
mating and identified it as musth, previously thought to be found only in Asian
elephants. Poole used some of the early data for an undergraduate thesis at Smith
and later expanded the data for her doctoral work at Cambridge University. During
768 | Pour-El, Marian Boykan
a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton, Poole gained access to infrared sound
equipment used to study whale vocalizations, and applied the technology to the
study of elephant sounds.
Once she earned her doctorate, Poole decided to leave Moss's group and
became elephant coordinator of the Kenya Wildlife Service with Richard Leakey;
she resigned in protest when Leakey was fired in 1994, but continued her work as
an independent elephant researcher. In 2000, she co-founded (with husband Petter
Granli) the Savanna Elephant Vocalization Project, now known as ElephantVoices.
In 2004, Poole left Africa after more than 30 years and set up headquarters for
ElephantVoices in Norway. Her work has been profiled in documentaries and in
wildlife and conservation magazines, such as National Geographic and Smithso-
nian, and she published an autobiography, Coming of Age with Elephants (1996).
She has published numerous scientific papers and book chapters on the African
elephants, and is a member of various advisory boards, including the Captive
Elephant Management Coalition, Species Survival Network, and Amboseli Trust
for Elephants, still run by her colleague, Cynthia Moss.
Further Resources
ElephantVoices. http://www.elephantvoices.org/.
Pour-El, Marian Boykan
1928 2009
Mathematician, Computer Scientist
Education: B.A., physics, Hunter College, 1949; M.A., mathematics, Harvard
University, 1951, Ph.D., mathematical logic, 1958
Professional Experience: assistant professor, mathematics, Pennsylvania State
University, 1958-1962, associate professor, 1962-1964; associate professor,
mathematics, University of Minnesota, 1964-1968, professor, 1968-2000
Concurrent Positions: visiting faculty member, Institute for Advanced Study,
Princeton, New Jersey, 1962-1964
Marian Pour-El was a mathematician who pioneered investigations on the inter-
face among mathematical logic, mathematical analysis, computer science, and
physics. Among the topics she studied in her research are the computability or
noncomputability of the propagation of waves, the diffusion of heat, eigenvalues,
and eigenvectors. She studied physics as an undergraduate at Hunter College in
Pressman, Ada Irene | 769
New York and went on to graduate study at Harvard University. At Harvard in the
1950s, it was still unusual for a woman to prepare for a career as a mathematician
or scientist. She recalled her first day in class at Harvard, when she was surrounded
by empty chairs, as none of the other students, all men, would sit within two or three
places of her, but she was soon accepted as a fellow student. After receiving a mas-
ter's degree and then doctorate in mathematical logic in 1958, she joined the faculty
of Pennsylvania State University. She received tenure a few years later, and then
moved to the University of Minnesota, where she spent the remainder of her career.
Her husband, a biochemist, took a position in Illinois at the time she moved to
the University of Minnesota (at that time, the University of Minnesota had a strong
anti-nepotism rule, so it was not possible for both husband and wife to hold faculty
positions there). Pour-El commented publicly on the dynamics of a long-distance
marriage as a choice in order to pursue careers, and she has been committed to
encouraging women to achieve satisfying careers in mathematics and science.
Pour-El was an invited lecturer on numerous occasions at colloquia, conferen-
ces, seminars, and symposia throughout Europe and the United States, and in
Japan and China. She has also co-authored, with Ian Richards, Computability in
Analysis and Physics (1989). She was a fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, and a member of the American Mathematical Soci-
ety, the Mathematical Association of America, and the Association for Symbolic
Logic.
Further Resources
Henrion, Claudia. 1997. Women in Mathematics: The Addition of Difference. Bloomington:
Indiana University Press.
Pressman, Ada Irene
1927 2003
Control Systems Engineer
Education: B.S., mechanical engineering, Ohio State University, 1950; M.B.A.,
Golden Gate University, 1974
Professional Experience: project engineer, Bailey Meter Company, 1950-1955;
project engineer, Bechtel Power Corporation, 1955-1974, chief control engineer,
1974-1979, engineering manager, 1979-1987
Ada Pressman was an authority in power-plant controls and process instrumenta-
tion, and an expert in both fossil-fuel (coal, oil, and diesel) and nuclear power
770 | Prichard, Diana (Garcia)
plants. She was especially known for the measures she devised to safeguard people
working on the sites of nuclear power plants from the danger of radiation and to
protect people living in the vicinity of the plant. She specialized in the area of shut-
down systems for these plants and worked to find ways to ensure that a nuclear
power plant's turbine, steam engine, and reactor work together properly and safely
to generate electrical power. She contributed to the technology of emergency sys-
tems, including developing a secondary cooling system that operates from a diesel
generator in the event of a primary power source loss. After working for Bailey
Meter Company for a few years, Pressman accepted a position as a project engi-
neer with Bechtel Corporation in Los Angeles, a company that manages nuclear
power plants throughout the world. She advanced in responsibilities to the position
of engineering manager in 1979. Before she retired in 1987, she managed 18
design teams for more than 20 power-generating plants scattered around the world.
In the 1970s, Pressman successfully campaigned to have control-systems engi-
neering classified as a separate field with the state engineering board of California,
and she was the first person to be registered in the new discipline; she was also a
registered mechanical engineer in California and Arizona. She received several
honors and awards, including a Distinguished Alumni Award of Ohio State
University (1974), Society of Women Engineers Annual Achievement Award
(1976), and E. G. Bailey Award of the Instrument Society of America (1985).
She was a member of the American Nuclear Society, Instrument Society of
America, and Society of Women Engineers (president, 1979-1980).
Further Resources
Hatch, Sybil E. 2006. Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers. Reston,
VA: American Society of Civil Engineers.
Prichard, Diana (Garcia)
b. 1949
Chemical Physicist
Education: L.V.N, (nursing) degree, College of San Mateo, 1969; B.S., chemistry
and physics, California State University, Hayward, 1983; M.S., University of
Rochester, 1985, Ph.D., chemical physics, 1988
Professional Experience: research scientist, Photo Science Research Division,
Eastman Kodak Company, 1983—
Diana Prichard is a research scientist who conducts research on fundamental
photographic materials for Eastman Kodak Company. She received praise for her
Prince, Helen Walter Dodson | 771
graduate work on the behavior of gas phases at the University of Rochester, and
the inventiveness of her project brought unusual attention and recognition by the
scientific community. Her graduate work involved the high-resolution infrared
absorption spectrum, which basically tells how much or what type of atoms or
molecules are present, and she was able to construct the first instrument ever to
be able to measure van der Waals clusters, which allows scientists to predict the
behavior of gases. Van der Waals clusters are weakly bound complexes that exist
in a natural state but are low in number, and Prichard's work allows scientists to
produce these rare clusters by experimental methods in order to study them. Her
graduate publications on the subject, such as a 1988 article in the Journal of
Chemical Physics, have been cited in more than 100 subsequent publications.
In her position at Eastman Kodak, Prichard conducts basic studies in silver hal-
ide materials for photographic systems, and such work is in stark contrast to her
early education. Although her parents had themselves received little education,
they knew the value of education and supported her interest in learning. She
received a degree in nursing and spent several years working and raising her chil-
dren, but she had always been intrigued by the creativity required to do scientific
research. She enrolled in California State University, Hayward, for her under-
graduate degree, and then moved to the University of Rochester for her master's
and doctorate degrees.
In 1992, she served on President Clinton's Transition Cluster for Space, Sci-
ence, and Technology. She is active in encouraging students to undertake science
and engineering careers, and founded a program in Rochester called Partnership
in Education that provides Hispanic role models in the classroom to teach science
and mathematics to students with only limited English proficiency. She also
co-founded the Hispanic Organization for Leadership and Advancement (HOLA)
at Eastman Kodak, and she is an active member of the Society of Hispanic Profes-
sional Engineers.
Prince, Helen Walter Dodson
1905 2002
Astronomer
Education: A.B., Goucher College, 1927; A.M., University of Michigan, 1932,
Ph.D., astronomy, 1934
Professional Experience: assistant statistician, State Department of Education,
Maryland, 1927-1931; assistant, astronomy, University of Michigan, 1932-1933;
772 | Prince, Helen Walter Dodson
instructor, astronomy, Wellesley College, 1933-1937, assistant professor,
1937-1945; associate professor to professor, astronomy and mathematics, Goucher
College, 1945-1950; astronomer, McMath-Hulbert Observatory, University of
Michigan, 1949-1957, associate director and professor of astronomy, 1957-1976;
emerita professor and researcher, 1976-1979; consultant, Applied Physics Labora-
tory, Johns Hopkins University, 1979-2002
Concurrent Positions: summer observer, Maria Mitchell Observatory, Nantucket,
1934 and 1935; summer research assistant, Observatoire de Paris, 1938 and
1939; staff member, Radiation Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
1943-1945
Helen Dodson Prince spent 50 years observing solar activity, particularly the out-
break of solar flares and their effect on space, on light, and on the Earth's magnetic
field. Prince was quoted in a 1963 Time magazine article, advising that the United
States postpone missions to the moon until after 1972, when the then-current
period of solar flare activity had passed and space travel would be safer and more
effective. Prince worked as a statistician for a Maryland state agency before
returning to graduate school to pursue a master's degree and then doctorate in
astronomy. She joined the astronomy faculty at Wellesley after receiving her
master's degree.
In 1934, while on the faculty at Wellesley, she completed her Ph.D. with a thesis
entitled "A Study of the Spectrum of 25 Orionis." She spent several summers con-
ducting research on solar flares and on the sun in residence at the Maria Mitchell
Observatory in New England and at the Paris Observatory. Prince (then under
the name Dodson) published the results of several years of her observations in
the Astrophysical Journal in 1940. During World War II, she worked at the MIT
Radiation Laboratory on the mathematical development of radar. She also taught
astronomy and math at Goucher College before joining the staff of the McMath-
Hulbert Observatory at the University of Michigan, where she was appointed full
professor and associate director of the observatory. She published later articles
on solar flares jointly with a colleague, Ruth Hedeman, and with the founder of
the McMath-Hulbert Observatory, Robert McMath. Prince co-authored a bio-
graphical memoir of McMath for the National Academy of Sciences after his
death in 1962.
Prince was also a revered teacher and received an honorary degree from
Goucher College in 1952. Among her awards was the Annie Jump Cannon Prize
of the American Astronomical Society (1955) and a Distinguished Achievement
Award from the University of Michigan (1974). After retiring from the University
of Michigan in 1979, Prince remained active as an independent consultant, work-
ing with the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. She was
Prinz, Dianne Kasnic | 773
elected a fellow of the American Astronomical Society and held memberships in
the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American
Geophysical Union. She married later in life, in her fifties, and many of her publi-
cations appeared under the name Helen Dodson
Prinz, Dianne Kasnic
1938 2002
Solar Physicist
Education: B.S., University of Pittsburgh, 1960; Ph.D., physics, Johns Hopkins
University, 1967
Professional Experience: E. O. Hulbert fellow in physics and astronomy, Univer-
sity of Maryland, 1968-1971; research physicist, Space Science Division, U.S.
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., 1967-1968 and 1971-2001
Concurrent Positions: payload specialist, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), 1985
Dianne Prinz was known for her expertise in solar-terrestrial physics, and was a
specialist in designing optical instrumentation. Her research includes infrared
spectroscopy of atmospheric gases and ultraviolet spectroscopy of solar and
atmospheric gases. She conducted research for 30 years at the U.S. Naval
Research Laboratory, beginning in 1967, taking time in the 1980s for a special
assignment with NASA as a payload specialist on Spacelab-2. She began NASA
training in 1978 and was finally called up on the Spacelab-2 mission in 1985 as
a liaison between the experimenters and NASA, defining page displays as they
evolved, developing the mission timeline, and working up detailed ground com-
mand paths. As a specialist in optical instrumentation, she designed the optics
and the flight software for instruments aboard Spacelab-2. The Challenger
accident of 1986 delayed subsequent shuttle missions and cut short any further
opportunities for Prinz to participate in space flight.
At the Naval Research Laboratory, she headed a research team on solar radia-
tion and developed new instruments and data analysis software for measuring
ultraviolet radiation in the Earth's upper atmosphere, a field of study known as
"space weather." Her team took high-resolution images of the sun, and their Solar
Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM) has been used on space shuttle
flights as well as other NASA and government research missions.
Prinz was a member of the American Geophysical Union, American Astro-
nomical Society, Washington Academy of Science, and National Capital Section
774 | Profet, Margie
of the Optical Society of America (vice president, 1976). She received the Navy
Award of Merit for Group Achievement (1985), the NASA Public Service Group
Achievement Award (1987), and the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award
(2001).
Further Resources
Cook, John William and Russell Alfred Howard. "Obituary: Dianne K. Prinz, 1938 2002."
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 35(5). (December 2003). http://
adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003BAAS. . .35.1469C
Profet, Margie
b. 1958
Biomedical Researcher, Evolutionary Biologist
Education: B.A., political philosophy, Harvard University, 1980; B.S., physics,
University of California, Berkeley, 1985
Professional Experience: independent researcher and author
Margie Profet is an evolutionary biologist who has presented new theories relating
to how humans adapt to their environment and, in particular, has challenged
accepted theories on allergies, pregnancy sickness, and menstruation. Her own
allergies to various foods and chemicals inspired her inquiries into an explanation
for allergies. She published her early findings in a 1991 article entitled "The Func-
tion of Allergy: Immunological Defense against Toxins," in which she proposed
that humans develop allergic reactions as a means of protecting the body from
harmful toxins. She even noted that people with allergies are less likely to develop
cancer than individuals without allergies, and believes that allergies are an internal
warning device for the body. Another area of research was the cause of morning
sickness during pregnancy; again, she theorized that the brain's ability to discern
what is toxic becomes recalibrated during pregnancy so that almost any food or
odor can cause an aversion. Her hypothesis is that all plants contain toxins and that
pregnancy sickness is a natural defense mechanism that reduces the amount of
toxins one ingests during the first trimester, the period when the embryo is particu-
larly vulnerable to toxins that could cause birth defects. She presented her research
in two books: Protecting Your Baby -to -Be: Preventing Birth Defects in the First
Trimester (1995) and Pregnancy Sickness: Using Your Body's Natural Defenses
to Protect Your Baby-to-Be (1997).
Profet next turned to an investigation into why women menstruate, and she pre-
sented the theory that sperm carry pathogens into the uterus, and that the menstrual
Profet, Margie | 775
flow allows the uterus to rid itself of bacteria and infection. Rather than being
merely a monthly waste of blood and energy, Profet theorized that the myriad bac-
teria found in and around the genitals of both men and women hitch rides on
sperm, thus gaining access to the uterus and fallopian tubes, and that menstruation
in fact washes away the contaminants that could cause infection or infertility. She
published her controversial theory in the September 1993 issue of Quarterly
Review of Biology as, "Menstruation as a Defense against Pathogens Transported
by Sperm."
Profet received two undergraduate degrees (in political philosophy and physics),
but was not interested in the constraints of university research. Without an advanced
degree or faculty position, she embarked upon a career as an independent researcher
and evolutionary biologist, supporting herself with grants and various laboratory
affiliations. Her article on menstruation led to a prestigious five-year MacArthur
"genius" fellowship in 1993. In 2005, Profet disappeared while working at Harvard
University and has not been seen since.
Further Resources
Martin, Mike. 2009. "Margie Profet's Unfinished Symphony: A Promising Scientist Van-
ishes Without a Trace." Weekly Scientist. (29 June 2009). http://weeklyscientist.blogspot
.com/2009/07/margie-profets-unfinished-symphony.html.
Q
Quimby, Edith Hinkley
1891 1982
Radiological Physicist
Education: B.S., Whitman College, 1912; M.A., physics, University of California,
Berkeley, 1916
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1912-1914; assistant, physics,
University of California, 1914-1915; assistant to associate physicist, New York
City Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases, 1919-1942; assistant
professor, radiology, Medical College, Cornell University, 1941-1942; associate
professor, radiological physics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia
University, 1942-1954, professor, 1954-1960
Edith Quimby was a pioneer in the new fields of radiology and nuclear medicine in
the first half of the twentieth century. Her research helped physicians in the use of
x-rays for diagnostic purposes and determining safe levels of radiation therapy for
the treatment of cancer and other tumors. When she started working at Memorial
Hospital in 1919, commercial radium had been in production in the United States
for only six years. She was one of the scientists who brought the field to maturity;
between 1920 and 1940, she published more than 50 papers describing the results
of her research. She not only prepared data on radiation hazards and radiation
safety, but also developed training courses in medical physics. She attended
Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, on a full scholarship to study phys-
ics and mathematics. She taught high school for two years after graduating from
college and then returned to the University of California, Berkeley on a physics
scholarship, receiving her master's degree in 1916. At Berkeley, she met and
married fellow physics student Shirley L. Quimby, who went on to teach at
Columbia University. Edith followed her husband to New York, accepting a posi-
tion as an assistant physicist at the new Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied
Diseases, where she began her career in the medical use of x-rays and radiation.
She was promoted to associate physicist in 1932, but she accepted a position as
associate professor of radiological physics at Columbia's medical college in
1942. She was promoted to full professor in 1954 and retired in 1960.
777
778 | Quimby, Edith Hinkley
At Columbia, Quimby helped found the Radiological Research Laboratory,
where she researched radiation therapy for thyroid disease, brain tumors, and other
diseases. Not surprisingly, her research into radioactive isotopes had implications
for the U.S. government's World War II-era interest in the development of a
nuclear bomb, and Quimby was involved in the Manhattan Project and worked
as a consultant for the Atomic Energy Commission. She was also head of the
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. Over the course of
her long career, Quimby published her findings in numerous scientific journals
and was the author or co-author of three books: Radioactive Isotopes in Clinical
Practice (1958), Safe Handling of Radioactive Isotopes in Medical Practice
(1960), and Physical Foundations of Radiology (1970).
Quimby received honorary science doctorates from her alma mater, Whitman
College (1940), and from Rutgers University (1957). She was the first woman
(and still one of the few) to receive the Janeway Medal of the American Radium
Society (1940), and was also the recipient of the Gold Medal of the Radiological
Society of North America (1941), an Achievement Medal from the International
Women's Exposition of Arts and Industries (1947), the Medal of the American
Cancer Society (1957), the Gold Medal of the Inter- American College of Radiology
(1958), and the Gold Medal of the American College of Radiology (1963). She
was a fellow of the American Physical Society and of the American College of
Radiology, and was a member of the American Roentgen Ray Society and the
American Radium Society (vice president, 1929; president, 1954).
R
Ramaley, Judith (Aitken)
b. 1941
Endocrinologist, Reproductive Biologist
Education: B.A., Swarthmore College, 1963; Ph.D., anatomy, University of
California, Los Angeles, 1966
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, anatomy and physiology, Indiana
University, 1967-1968, assistant professor, 1969-1972; assistant to associate
professor, physiology and biophysics, University of Nebraska Medical Center,
1972-1978, professor, 1978-1982, assistant vice president for academic affairs,
1981-1982; vice president of academic affairs, State University of New York,
Albany, 1982-1984, acting president, 1984-1985, executive vice president of
academic affairs, 1985-1987; executive vice chancellor, University of Kansas,
1987-1990; acting president, State University of New York, Albany, 1990;
president and professor, biology, Portland State University, Oregon, 1990-1997;
president and professor, biology, University of Vermont, 1997-2001; assistant
director, Education and Human Resources Directorate, National Science Founda-
tion, 2001-2004; president, Winona State University, Minnesota, 2005-
Judith Ramaley is an endocrinologist whose specialty is the physiology of puberty
and the control of male and female fertility. She has been prominent both in aca-
demic research and in administration, having now served as president or acting
president of four major state universities. In addition to numerous scientific publi-
cations, she published two early books, Progesterone Function: Molecular and
Biochemical Aspects (1972) and Essentials of Histology (1974, rev. ed., 1978),
and edited a volume of papers from the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science on Covert Discrimination of Women in the Sciences (1978).
Ramaley has remained committed to educational opportunity and science educa-
tion. In addition to her administrative roles within academia, as assistant director
of the Education and Human Resources Directorate of the National Science, she
worked on initiatives for leadership education in science, engineering, technology,
and mathematics. She has written dozens of papers and articles on higher educa-
tion reform, responsibility, and opportunity.
779
780 | Ramey, Estelle Rosemary White
Ramaley has been an active participant in the communities in which she has
lived, involving herself in sports leagues, historical and cultural societies, Girl
Scouts, Planned Parenthood, and other women's and family resources. She has
been a member of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU)
board of directors in 1995, board member of the American Association of Higher
Education, member of the National School-to- Work Advisory Board, member of
the Advisory Council for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,
and fellow of the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy. In 2005, she was
a visiting senior scientist at the National Academy of Sciences.
Ramaley is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science and a member of the American Association of Anatomists, Endocrine
Society, Society for the Study of Reproduction, Society for Neuroscience, and
American Physiological Society.
Further Resources
Winona State University. "Office of the President." http://www.winona.edu/president/.
Ramey, Estelle Rosemary White
1917 2006
Endocrinologist
Education: B.S., mathematics and biology, Brooklyn College, 1937; M.S., physical
chemistry, Columbia University, 1940; Ph.D., physiology, University of Chicago,
1950
Professional Experience: teaching fellow, chemistry, Queens College, New York,
1938-1941; lecturer, biochemistry, University of Tennessee, 1942-1947; postdoc-
toral fellow and instructor, endocrinology, University of Chicago, 1950-1954,
assistant professor, physiology, 1954-1958; assistant to associate professor, school of
medicine, Georgetown University, 1956-1966, professor, physiology, 1966-1987,
professor, biophysics, 1980-1987
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, Stanford University, Harvard Univer-
sity, Yale University
Estelle Ramey researched endocrinology metabolism chiefly in the field of adrenal
function, sex hormones, and insulin action. She began her teaching career at
Queens College while completing work for her master's degree, which she
Ramey, Estelle Rosemary White | 781
received from Columbia University in 1940. She followed her husband's career to
Knoxville, Tennessee, but when she first applied for a teaching job at the local uni-
versity, she was told by the chairman that "he had never hired a woman, would
never hire a woman, and I ought to go home and take care of my husband." After
many male faculty members were called to duty in World War II, however, the
same chairman called to offer her a teaching job. She stayed on at the University
of Tennessee for five years. She went on to obtain her doctorate from the Univer-
sity of Chicago in 1950 and continued teaching there for several years as a U.S.
Health Service postdoctoral fellow and then as the first female faculty member at
the medical school. She accepted a position at Georgetown University medical
school as assistant professor in 1956, and was promoted to associate professor in
1960 and professor in 1966. She was named professor of biophysics in 1980 and
emeritus professor upon her retirement in 1987.
Ramey was committed to women's equality, in science and in society at large.
Even after formally retiring, she continued to lecture, often donating her fees to
women's organizations. She was a longtime member of the Association for
Women in Science (AWIS) and founder of the AWIS Educational Foundation.
As president of the AWIS (1972-1974), Ramey pressured the publisher of a stan-
dard medical school textbook to remove unnecessary photos of nude women from
a new edition of the book. Her own research on sex hormones even had feminist
implications in the 1970s, as she spoke out against people who would use
"hormones" as a basis of sexism, rejecting the idea "that ovarian hormones are
toxic to brain cells." She published more than 150 scientific papers or articles
and was the co-author of Electrical Studies on the Unanesthetized Brain (1960).
Ramey was awarded numerous honorary doctorates, including one from her
employer, Georgetown University (1977). Her other awards and honors include
an Outstanding Alumna Award from the University of Chicago (1973), the Public
Broadcasting Company Woman of Achievement Award (1984), and the National
Women's Democratic Club Woman of Achievement Award (1993). In 1989,
Newsweek magazine named her "one of 25 Americans who have made a differ-
ence." Ramey's expertise was widely sought, and she sat on the advisory boards
of numerous government and medical institutions, including Planned Parenthood,
the National Institutes of Health, the National Academy of Science, the Veteran's
Administration for Women Veterans, and President Carter's Committee on the
Status of Women. She was a member of several professional societies, includ-
ing the American Physiological Society, the American Chemical Society, the
Endocrine Society, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Academy
of Neurology.
782 | Rand, (Marie) Gertrude
Further Resources
Fox, Margalit. 2006. "Estelle R. Ramey, 89, Who Used Medical Training to Rebut Sexism,
Is Dead." New York Times. (12 September 2006). http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/
obituaries/12ramey.html.
Rand, (Marie) Gertrude
1886 1970
Psychologist
Education: A.B., experimental psychology, Cornell University, 1908; M.A. and
Ph.D., psychology, Bryn Mawr College, 1911
Professional Experience: postdoctoral research fellow, Bryn Mawr College,
1911-1913, associate, experimental and applied psychology, 1913-1927; associate
professor, research in ophthalmology, Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1928-1932, physiological optics, 1932-
1936, associate director, Research Laboratory of Physiological Optics, 1936-1942;
research associate, ophthalmology, Knapp Foundation, Columbia University College
of Physicians and Surgeons, 1943-1957
Gertrude Rand was an experimental psychologist and leading researcher in the
field of physiological optics. In collaboration with her husband, Clarence E. Ferree
(also her dissertation director), she developed numerous ophthalmological tools,
including a way to map the retina for its perceptual abilities and sensitivity to
color. The Ferree-Rand perimeter became an important tool for diagnosing vision
problems. She and Ferree moved to Johns Hopkins in 1928, where she taught first
in the area of research ophthalmology, then physiological optics, before becoming
associate director of the research laboratory of physiological optics in 1936.
Besides their academic work, the couple served as consultants on a variety of
industrial lighting projects, including consulting for New York City on plans for
glare-free illumination of the Holland Tunnel and for the U.S. government on
night vision for the military. After her husband's death in 1942, she moved to
Columbia University, where she resumed her earlier work on color perception. It
was at Columbia that she and two colleagues developed plates for testing color
vision and color blindness, a test known as the H-H-R (or Hardy-Rand-Rittler,
for the collaborators) test.
Rand was the first woman elected a fellow of the Illuminating Engineering
Society (1952) and she was the recipient of a Gold Medal from the Society
(1963). She was also the first woman to win the Edgar Y. Tillyer Medal of the
Ranney, Helen Margaret | 783
Optical Society of America (1959), and in 1971, one of her students, Louise Sloan,
became the second woman to receive the Tillyer Medal. Rand was a member of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American
Psychological Association.
Ranney, Helen Margaret
1920 2010
Hematologist
Education: B.A., Barnard College, 1941; M.D., Columbia University, 1947
Professional Experience: assistant professor, clinical medicine, Columbia Univer-
sity, 1958-1960; associate professor, medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medi-
cine, 1960-1965, professor, 1965-1970; professor, State University of New York
at Buffalo, 1970-1973; chair, Department of Medicine, University of California,
San Diego, 1973-1986, professor of medicine, 1973-1990, professor emeritus
Concurrent Positions: board member, Squibb Corporation, 1975-1989; distin-
guished physician, Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Diego, 1986—
1991; staff member and consultant, Alliance Pharmaceutical Corporation, San
Diego, 1991-2010
Helen Ranney was known for her research in abnormal hematology, the study of
blood. Her research involved the relationship of hemoglobin and red cell mem-
brane in sickle-cell disease and red cell survival. For many years, she was a major
force in medical education, clinical hematology, and blood-related research and
training, and for more than 40 years, her work extended into disciplines and direc-
tions as diverse as biochemistry, physical chemistry, immunology, metabolism,
genetics, rheology, pharmacology, and analytical technologies. She received early
renown for identifying the hereditary or genetic aspect of sickle-cell anemia, a
disease that affects primarily African Americans.
Ranney began her college studies at Barnard, the women's annex of Columbia
University. When she applied for graduate study at Columbia's College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons in 1941, she was denied acceptance. It was not until after
World War II that more women were needed and therefore admitted to such pro-
grams, and she was able to complete her M.D. at Columbia by 1947. She had a dis-
tinguished early teaching and research career at the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine, where she founded a heredity clinic and trained important hematolo-
gists, and then at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In 1973, she became
chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego,
784 | Ratner, Sarah
where there is now an endowed chair in her name. She authored a textbook,
Genetics in Hematology (1990).
Ranney was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1973. Among her awards are the J. M. Smith Prize of Columbia University
(1955), the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Medical Achievement Award (1972), Gold
Medal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (1978), and May H. Soley
Research Award of the Western Society of Clinical Investigation (1987). She was
a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a
member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American College of
Physicians, American Society of Clinical Investigation, and American Physiologi-
cal Society, and was the first female president of both the American Society of
Hematology (1974) and the Association of American Physicians (1984-1985). In
1979, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Southern California.
Further Resources
Bunn, H. Franklin. "Helen Margaret Ranney: A Woman of Many Firsts." The Hematolo-
gist. American Society of Hematology. (1 March 2008). http://www.hematology.org/
Publications/Hematologist/2008/1296.aspx.
National Institutes of Health. "Dr. Helen M. Ranney." Changing the Face of Medicine:
Celebrating America's Women Physicians. National Library of Medicine, National
Institutes of Health, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/
biography 260.html.
Ratner, Sarah
1903 1999
Biochemist
Education: A.B., Cornell University, 1924; A.M., Columbia University, 1927,
Ph.D., biochemistry, 1937
Professional Experience: assistant, pediatrics, Long Island College of Medicine,
1926-1930; assistant biochemist, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia
University, 1930-193 1, teaching assistant, 1932-1934, Macy research fellow, depart-
ment of biochemistry, 1937-1939, instructor, 1939-1943, associate, 1943-1946,
assistant professor, 1946; assistant to associate professor, pharmacology, college
of medicine, New York University, 1946-1954; associate member, division of
nutrition and physiology, Public Health Research Institute of the City of New York,
Inc., 1954-1957, member, division of biochemistry, 1957-1992
Ray, (Marguerite) Dixy Lee | 785
Concurrent Positions: Fogarty scholar in residence, National Institutes of Health,
1978-1979
Sarah Ratner was one of the leading researchers in the biochemistry of amino
acids and protein metabolism. She did early work on acids and hormones excreted
in urine and blood, but one of her most important discoveries was argininosuccinic
acid, an indicator of a genetic defect related to neurological damage and even
mental retardation. She was employed at Columbia University starting in 1930
as an assistant biochemist and advancing to assistant professor in 1946. A portion
of this time was spent in completing her doctorate, which she received in 1937.
Her slow advancement could be due to working during the years of the Depres-
sion, when faculty positions of any type were scarce, especially for women. She
later taught pharmacology at New York University before accepting a position at
the Public Health Research Institute of the City of New York in 1954, where she
worked until her retirement in 1992 at the age of almost 90 years old.
Ratner served on the editorial boards of Journal of Biological Chemistry and
Analytical Biochemistry. She received numerous awards, such as the Neuberg
Medal (1959), the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society (1961), and
the Freedman Award of the New York Academy of Sciences (1975). She was elected
to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1974 and was awarded an
honorary doctorate from the State University of New York, Stony Brook (1984).
She was elected a fellow of the Harvey Society and of the New York Academy of
Sciences. She was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the
American Society of Biological Chemists, and the American Chemical Society.
Further Resources
Bentley, Ronald. "Sarah Ratner. June 9, 1903 July 28, 1999." Biographical Memoirs.
National Academies Press, http://www.nap. edu/readingroom.php?book=biomems
&page=sratner.html.
Ray, (Marguerite) Dixy Lee
1914 1994
Zoologist
Education: B.A., zoology, Mills College, 1937, M.A., 1938; Ph.D., biological
sciences, Stanford University, 1945
Professional Experience: public school teacher, 1939-1942; instructor, zoology,
University of Washington, Seattle, 1945-1947, assistant to associate professor,
786 | Ray, (Marguerite) Dixy Lee
zoology, 1947-1976; Assistant Secretary of State, International Environmental
and Scientific Affairs' Bureau of Oceans, U.S. Department of State, 1975; gover-
nor, Washington State, 1977-1981
Concurrent Positions: director, Pacific Science Center, Seattle, Washington,
1963-1972; visiting professor, Stanford University, 1964; chief scientist,
International Indian Ocean Expedition's Te Vega, 1964; consultant, Argonne
National Laboratory and Livermore National Laboratory, 1987-1994
Dixy Lee Ray was trained as a marine biologist and later received recognition as the
first female governor of the state of Washington. Her scientific research focused on
crustacean and other invertebrates. She spent 30 years teaching zoology at the
University of Washington, Seattle, during which time she also served as director
of the Pacific Science Center, an institution committed to encouraging public
interest in and awareness of science. In the early 1960s, Ray was a chief
scientist for the International Indian
Ocean Expedition, a multinational
exploration of that ocean's marine
environment. Ray was involved in
many national and international
projects in environmental science and
policy issues. She was a consultant
for the National Science Foundation,
U.S. representative to the Organiza-
tion for Economic Cooperation and
Development for Science, member of
the President's Task Force on Ocean-
ography, and member and last chair-
person of the U.S. Atomic Energy
Commission under President Nixon.
In this capacity, Ray was concerned
about environmentally sound alterna-
tives to fossil fuel, and she promoted
the safety of nuclear power plants, a
position that brought her into conflict
with environmentalist groups. She
published several articles and co-
authored two books on environmental-
ism (both with Louis R. Guzzo):
Trashing the Planet (1990) and Envi-
ronmental Overkill (1994).
Marine biologist and environmental scientist
Dixy Lee Ray was the only woman to chair the
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), appointed
by President Richard Nixon in 1972, and, in
1976, became the first woman governor of
Washington. (Washington State Archives)
Rees, Mina Spiegel | 787
Because of the nature of her work, spanning academic research to government
policy to community development, she has been honored by various groups and
was the recipient of several honorary degrees. A small selection of Ray's impres-
sive awards includes a Guggenheim fellowship (1952), Foreign Fellow Award of
the Danish Royal Society of Natural History (1965), Axel-Axelson Johnson Award
from the Swedish Royal Academy of Science and Engineering (1974), Achieve-
ment Award of the American Association of University Women (1975), Abram
Sacher Award from Brandeis University (1976), Walter H. Zinn Award of the
American Nuclear Society (1977), Washington Award of the Western Society of
Engineers (1978), Centennial Medallion Award of the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers (1980), Outstanding Woman in Energy Award from
Nuclear Energy Women (1981), Centennial Medal from the Institute of Electrical
Engineers (1984), Woman of Achievement in Energy Award (1988), and being
named among the One Hundred Honored Citizens at the State of Washington Cen-
tennial (1989). She appeared on the cover of Time magazine (December 12, 1977)
and, in 1998, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) established
an annual Dixy Lee Ray Award for contributions to the field of environmental
protection.
Further Resources
Pace, Eric. "Dixy Lee Ray, 79, Ex-Governor; Led Atomic Energy Commission." New York
Times. (3 January 1994). http://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/03/obituaries/dixy-lee-ray
-79-ex-governor-led-atomic-energy-commission.html.
Rees, Mina Spiegel
1902 1997
Mathematician
Education: A.B., Hunter College, 1923; A.M., Columbia University, 1925; Ph.D.,
mathematics, University of Chicago, 1931
Professional Experience: teacher, Hunter College High School, 1923-1926;
instructor, mathematics, Hunter College, 1926-1932, assistant to associate
professor, 1932-1943; principal technical aide, Applied Mathematics Panel,
National Defense Research Committee, Office of Scientific Research and Devel-
opment, 1943-1946; head, mathematics division, Office of Naval Research,
1946-1949, director, mathematics science division, 1950-1952, deputy science
director, 1952-1953; professor, mathematics, and dean of faculty, Hunter
College, 1953-1961; dean of graduate studies, City University of New York
788 | Rees, Mina Spiegel
(CUNY), 1961-1968, provost,
graduate studies, president, CUNY
Graduate School and University
Center, 1969-1972
Mina Rees was a researcher of linear
algebra, numerical analysis, and the
history of computers, and helped set
up programs for government support
of mathematical research. She was
employed by Hunter College for
35 years, starting as an instructor in
mathematics in 1926 and rising
through the ranks to full professor
and then dean of faculty in the
1950s. During World War II, she took
a leave from Hunter to work for the
Applied Mathematics Panel of the
Mathematician Mina Rees was the first woman Qffice of Scientific Resea rch and
president of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science in 1971. (Bettmann/ Development (OSRD). She worked
Corbis) on military applications for jet rocket
propulsion and high-speed com-
puters, receiving certificates and medals of service from both the U.S. and British
governments. After the war, she established the program in mathematics at the
Office of Naval Research (ONR) and was the deputy science director there from
1952 to 1953. When the National Science Foundation was established in 1950,
her ONR program for connecting government with academia was used as the
model for government funding of mathematical and computer research. In 1953,
she returned to Hunter College as professor and dean of faculty, then moved to
CUNY as dean of graduate studies in 1961. She became founding president of
the CUNY graduate school, where, in 1985, the Mina Rees Library was named
in her honor.
Rees received many honorary degrees, honors, and awards. Among the latter
were the President's Certificate of Merit (1958) and the first Award for Distin-
guished Service to Mathematics of the Mathematical Association of America
(1962). She was the first female president of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (1971) and was a fellow of both the American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science and the New York Academy of Sciences.
She received honorary membership in the National Academy Sciences (NAS)
when she was awarded the NAS Public Welfare Medal (1983). She was a member
Reichard, Gladys Amanda | 789
of the American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America,
and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
Further Resources
Williams, Kathleen Broome. 2001. Improbable Warriors: Women Scientists and the US
Navy in World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.
Reichard, Gladys Amanda
1893 1955
Anthropologist
Education: A.B., Swarthmore College, 1919; A.M., Columbia University, 1920,
Ph.D., anthropology, 1925
Professional Experience: school teacher, 1909-1915; instructor, anthropology,
Barnard College, 1923-1928, assistant to associate professor, 1928-1951, profes-
sor, 1951-1955
Concurrent Positions: Guggenheim fellow, Hamburg, Germany, 1926-1927
Gladys Reichard was an anthropologist known for her expertise in Navajo lan-
guage and culture, but she studied other tribes. She spent her entire career at
Barnard College, which for many years was the only anthropology department in
a women's college in the United States. Starting about 1923, Reichard spent
summers each year on Southwestern reservations learning languages, learning to
weave, and observing daily life by living with families from time to time. Much
of her work was financially supported by another female anthropologist, Elsie
Clews Parsons. In 1934, Reichard made the first attempt to teach native speakers
to write the Navajo language. Since Navajo society traditionally is matriarchal,
women anthropologists were more successful than men in working with these
tribes, and much of Reichard's work was focused on women's roles and contribu-
tions to native society. In addition to scientific articles, she published a number of
books, including Social Life of the Navajo Indians (1928), which traced Navajo
genealogy back several generations. She also published on textile production and
designs, as well as books on Navajo Religion: A Study of Symbolism (1950), and
Navajo Grammar (1951). The latter book on Navajo language was controversial
in that she did not accept a method of transcription that was newer than the one
she developed.
790 | Reichmanis, Elsa
Reichard was a member of the American Ethnological Society (secretary,
1924-1926), the American Folklore Society (secretary, 1924-1935), and the
American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
University of South Florida. "Gladys Amanda Reichard (1893 1955)." Celebrating
Women Anthropologists, http://anthropology.usf.edu/women/reichard/reichard.html.
Lavender, Catherine J. 2006. Scientists and Storytellers: Feminist Anthropologists and the
Construction of the American Southwest. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico
Press.
Reichmanis, Elsa
b. 1953
Computer Scientist, Organic Chemist
Education: B.S., chemistry, Syracuse University, 1972, Ph.D., organic chemistry,
1975
Professional Experience: intern, organic chemistry, Syracuse University, 1975-
1976, Chaim Weizmann fellow of scientific research, 1976-1978; technical staff,
organic chemistry, AT&T Bell Laboratories, 1978-1984, technical manager,
Radiation Sensitive Material and Applications, 1984-1994, director, Polymer
and Organic Materials Research, 1994-
Elsa Reichmanis is known for her contributions to the science of manufacturing
integrated circuits, or computer chips, specifically her research centers on develop-
ing sophisticated chemical processes and materials for computer chips. She holds
11 patents, some of which are for the design and development of organic poly-
mers, called resists, which are used in microlithography (the principal process by
which circuits, or electrical pathways, are imprinted upon the tiny silicon chips
used in computers). During the multistage process of chip manufacture, layers of
resist material are applied to a silicon base and exposed to patterns of ultraviolet
light. As portions of the resists harden, they become templates for the application
of subsequent layers of positively and negatively charged semiconductors that
serve as the channel through which electric current travels. As computer products
have become smaller and smaller, it has become more and more of a challenge to
develop materials and processes to manufacture them.
In addition to publishing more than 100 scientific papers, Reichmanis has
edited four volumes for the American Chemical Society (ACS): The Effects of
Reinisch, June Machover | 791
Radiation on High-Technology Polymers (1989), Polymers in Microlithography:
Materials and Processes (1989), Irradiation of Polymeric Materials: Processes,
Mechanisms, and Applications (1993), and Microelectronics Technology: Poly-
mers for Advanced Imaging and Packaging (1995). She also edited a volume of
the proceedings of an International Society for Optical Engineering symposium,
Advances in Resist Technology and Processing VI (1989).
Reichmanis was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineer-
ing in 1995. She is a fellow of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and a
member of the ACS (president, 2003), American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, Materials Research Society, and Society of Photo-Optical Instru-
mentation. She has received several awards, including Research and Development
Magazine's R&D 100 Award for one of the 100 most significant inventions of
1992, SWE Annual Achievement Award (1993), American Society for Metals
(ASM) Engineering Materials Achievement Award (1996), Photopolymer Science
and Technology Award (1998), ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science (1999),
and Perkin Medal (2001). She was a member of the Committee to Survey Materials
Research Opportunities and Needs for the Electronics Industry of the National
Research Council and the Air Force Science Advisory Board.
Further Resources
Bell Laboratories, Physical Sciences Research. "Elsa Reichmanis." http://www.bell
-labs.com/org/physicalsciences/profiles/reichmanis.html.
Reinisch, June Machover
b. 1943
Psychologist
Education: B.S., New York University, 1966, M.A., Columbia University Teach-
ers College, 1970, Ph.D., psychology, Columbia University, 1976; diplomate,
American Board of Sexology, 1989
Professional Experience: instructor, psychology, Columbia University Teachers
College, 1972, 1974-1975; staff research associate, psychiatry, University of
California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, 1973-1974; assistant to associate
professor, psychology, Rutgers University, 1975-1982; professor, psychology
and psychiatry, Indiana University, 1982-1993; director and professor, Kinsey
Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, 1982-1993, director
and professor emeritus, senior research fellow, and trustee, 1993-
792 | Reinisch, June Machover
Concurrent Positions: adjunct assis-
tant professor, psychiatry, College of
Medicine and Dentistry of New
Jersey, Rutgers University Medical
School, 1976-1981, adjunct associate
professor, psychiatry, 1981-1982
June Reinisch is a developmental
psychobiologist who served as direc-
tor of one of the most controversial
social science institutes in the United
States, the Kinsey Institute for
Research in Sex, Gender, and Repro-
duction at Indiana University.
Founder Alfred Kinsey's books, Sex-
ual Behavior in the Human Male
(1948) and Sexual Behavior in the
Human Female (1953), helped
demystify sex and make public
discussion acceptable. The Kinsey
Institute is an independent corpora-
tion and, during Reinisch's 11-year
tenure as director, federal and private
research grant funding increased
tenfold; the library, archives, art col-
lections, and research and administrative spaces were expanded, modernized,
and renovated; the Institute's research became multidisciplinary in focus; and a
public education program was instituted. A series of international multidiscipli-
nary conferences led to the publication of four scholarly volumes on sex differ-
ences, adolescence and puberty, sexual orientation, and AIDS and sexuality, and
"The Kinsey Report" regular column was published to inform the public of Insti-
tute research.
Increased public awareness brought increased criticism, and Reinisch defended
the Institute from attacks by conservative political and religious forces as well as
from academic critics. In the late 1980s, a university committee issued an unfavor-
able review of Reinisch's programs and requested her resignation. The board of
trustees, however, supported her tenure as director for five more years and, after
an investigation, the president of Indiana University apologized to Reinisch and
publicly supported the accomplishments of her directorship. She retired in 1993
with the titles of Director Emerita and Senior Research Fellow.
Psychologist June Reinisch was the director
of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex,
Gender, and Reproduction from 1982-1993.
(Douglas Kirkland/Corbis)
Reskin, Barbara F. | 793
Reinisch initially planned to be an elementary school teacher, but held a variety
of jobs before returning to school to obtain a master's degree in psychology to
enhance her career as a music business executive. After reading Eleanor Maccoby's
The Development of Sex Differences (1966), she became fascinated by the discus-
sion of the effects of prenatal hormones on the development of gender and sex
differences, and decided to pursue advanced studies at Columbia University. She
taught at Rutgers University before moving to Indiana University as professor of
psychology and psychiatry, and was chosen as the third director of the Kinsey
Institute in 1982. She has published scientific articles in many leading journals
as well as a book, The Kinsey Institute New Report on Sex (1990), which was
translated into several languages. The volume was based on a national survey of
American sexual knowledge, and addressed the public's questions with the most
current scientific information. After leaving the Institute, Reinisch continued to
work as an independent consultant and researcher for a variety of organizations,
including the Institute of Preventive Medicine at Copenhagen University Hospital,
Denmark and the Museum of Sex in New York City.
Among Reinisch's many awards are the Morton Prince Award from the American
Psychopathological Association (1976), the Dr. Richard J. Cross Award for
Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Human Sexuality from Robert Wood
Johnson Medical School (1991), and an Award for Contributions to Sexology of
the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex (1993). She is a fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, American Psychological Associa-
tion, and American Psychological Society, and a member of the American Associ-
ation of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists, International Academy of Sex
Research, International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology, International Soci-
ety for Research on Aggression, International Society for Developmental Psycho-
biology, World Research Network on the Sexuality of Women and Girls, Behavior
Genetics Association, and Society for Research in Child Development.
Further Resources
The Kinsey Institute, http://www.kinseyinstitute.org.
Reskin, Barbara F.
Sociologist
Education: B.A., sociology, University of Washington, 1968, M.A., sociology,
1970, Ph.D., sociology, 1973
794 | Reskin, Barbara F.
Professional Experience: acting assistant professor, University of California, Davis,
1971-1972; assistant professor to associate professor, sociology, Indiana University,
Bloomington, 1973-1983; professor, sociology and women's studies, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1983-1985; professor, sociology, and Director of Graduate
Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1985-1991; professor, sociology,
Ohio State University, 1991-1997; professor, sociology, Harvard University,
1997-2002; S. Frank Miyamoto Professor of Sociology, University of Washington,
Seattle, 2002-
Concurrent Positions: study director, Committee on Women's Employment and
Related Social Issues, National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences,
Washington, D.C., 1981-1982; visiting scholar, Institute for Research on Women
and Gender, Stanford University, summer, 1987; visiting professor, sociology,
University of North Carolina, 1988, University of Notre Dame, 1997, Stockholm
University, 1999, Manchester University, 1999
Barbara Reskin specializes in the sociology of work, including sexual and racial
inequality in the workplace. In addition to numerous articles on topics related to
affirmative action, gender and promotion, gender and management, racial segrega-
tion among female workers, and the effect of family responsibilities on women's
careers (in particular, many of her early publications, including her dissertation,
focused on the professional advancement of women scientists), among the books
she has authored, co-authored, or edited are Sex Segregation in the Workplace:
Trends, Explanations, Remedies (1984), Women's Work, Men's Work: Sex Segre-
gation on the Job (1986), The Realities of Affirmative Action (1998), and Women
and Men at Work (1994, 2nd ed., 2002). Reskin has been an invited lecturer at uni-
versities and organizations in the United States and abroad, and she has consulted
with corporations and on legal cases on issues related to employment discrimina-
tion. Her research has been supported by grants from academic, government, and
professional organizations, including the National Science Foundation, Economic
Policy Institute, Institute for Women's Policy Research, Rockefeller Foundation,
and National Institute of Mental Health.
Reskin was born in Minnesota, and her parents had ties to radical political
and labor groups. Her father died when she was only seven years old, and her
mother worked a series of clerical jobs to support the family. Barbara also worked
a variety of clerical and manual jobs before attending Reed College. She left Reed
and moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where she was introduced to the Congress on
Racial Equality (CORE) during the civil rights movement of the mid-1960s. She
was involved in actions such as organizing strikes, sit-ins, and a summer Freedom
school. She attended a sociology night class at Case Western Reserve in Ohio, and
Resnik, Judith A. | 795
she went on to receive her degree in sociology from the University of Washington,
Seattle in 1968. She continued on for graduate study and became active in the
feminist movement as well, helping organize a Reproductive Counseling Center
and co-authoring a pamphlet about birth control for college women. She received
a master's degree and then a Ph.D. in 1973 with her dissertation on "Sex Differ-
ences in the Professional Life Chances of Chemists." She began her teaching
career at the University of California, Davis while still a graduate student and later
served on the faculty of several Midwestern universities. In 1981, she took a year
off from teaching to direct a study of sex segregation in the workplace for the
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in Washington, D.C. This experience
galvanized her commitment not only to feminist social science research but also
to applying research to social justice policy.
Reskin was elected a fellow of the NAS in 2006 and has served on numerous
NAS and National Research Council committees, including the Committee on
the Education and Employment of Women in Science and Engineering (1978-
1982). She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the
Sociological Research Association, and has served as vice president (1990) and
president (2002) of the American Sociological Association (ASA). Her numerous
awards and honors include a Distinguished Scholar Award of the ASA Section on
Sex and Gender (1995), an SWS Mentorship Award (1998), and a DuBois Distin-
guished Scholarly Career Award from the ASA (2008).
Further Resources
University of Washington. Faculty website, http://www.soc.washington.edu/people/
faculty detail. asp?UID=reskin.
American Sociological Association. "Barbara F. Reskin. President 2002." http://www2
.asanet.org/governance/reskin.html.
Resnik, Judith A.
1949 1986
Electrical Engineer, Astronaut
Education: B.S., Carnegie Mellon University, 1970; Ph.D., electrical engineering,
University of Maryland, 1977
Professional Experience: electrical engineer, RCA Corporation, 1970-1974;
biomedical engineer, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, National Institutes of Health,
1974-1977; senior systems engineer, Xerox Corporation, 1977-1978; astronaut,
796 | Resnik, Judith A.
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), 1978-1986,
missions STS 41-D (1984) and STS
51-L(1986)
Judith Resnik was one of the first six
women to be selected as astronauts
by NASA in 1978. She was the sec-
ond woman in the United States to
fly in space, and she was among the
crew who died when the space orbiter
Challenger exploded on January 28,
1986, just after the launch from Cape
Canaveral, Florida. Earlier, in 1984,
she was a member of the crew of the
Earth orbiter Discovery and was
responsible for operating the Remote
\£M Manipulator System (RMS) on that
mission. The RMS is the huge robotic
arm that can lift satellites out of the
orbiter and bring them back again.
The crew was nicknamed "Icebust-
ers" because they were able to use
the arm to remove ice particles from the orbiter. When the RMS was first tested
in space in 1981, it was another female astronaut, Sally Ride, who assisted
from Mission Control. Although Resnik was an expert on using the shuttle arm,
her initial flight assignment did not call for that specialty but instead required a
great deal of photographic work. Later, when the flight was changed to include
the shuttle arm, she had the opportunity to use her expertise as an electrical
engineer.
Many of the male astronauts and employees of NASA were vehemently
opposed to adding women to the program, but most reluctantly admitted that the
women were qualified for their jobs. The first men selected had all been military
test pilots because they had experience flying at high altitudes. However, in the
late 1970s, the space program was shifting toward developing an orbiting space
station, which required crewmembers with more scientific backgrounds, and most
of the women astronauts held degrees in engineering or physics. All of the astro-
nauts trained in multiple assignments in order to expand their capabilities to the
maximum. After her death, Resnik became a hero and role model and was profiled
in various news magazine and books about the women astronauts.
Electrical engineer Judith Resnik was one of
the first six women selected as astronauts in
1978. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Richardson, Jane S. | 797
Further Resources
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Judith A. Resnik (Ph.D.)." http://
www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/resnik.html.
Richardson, Jane S.
b. 1941
Biochemist
Education: B.A., philosophy, Swarthmore College, 1962; M.A., philosophy,
Harvard University, 1966
Professional Experience: technical assistant, chemistry, Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, 1964-1969; general physical scientist, Laboratory of Molecular
Biology, National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, 1969; associate,
anatomy, Duke University, 1970-1984, medical research associate professor, bio-
chemistry and anatomy, 1984-1988, biochemistry, 1988-1991, James B. Duke
Professor of Biochemistry, 1991—
Concurrent Positions: co-director, Molecular Graphics and Modeling Shared
Resource, Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duke University, 1988—
Jane Richardson is a biochemist and crystallographer who studies the three-
dimensional structures of proteins, emphasizing the underlying principles of their
architecture, aesthetics, interrelationships, and folding mechanism. She and her
husband and collaborator, David Richardson, developed a way of mapping protein
folding known as the Richardson diagram. Her 3-D ribbon diagrams were
first published in the journal Protein Chemistry in 1981 and have since become
the standard images for visualizing protein strands and structures. In 1985,
she received a five-year MacArthur "genius" grant, and Science Digest chose
the Richardsons' work on the first chemical synthesis of the protein betabellin
as one of the year's 100 best inventions. Betabellin is a bell-shaped, beta-
pleated-sheet protein whose structural properties were accurately predicted.
Creating proteins that do not occur in nature can provide scientists with a better
understanding of the structure of natural proteins, and the synthesis of proteins
may open the way to designing hormones and drugs, and improving myriad
industrial products.
798 | Ride, Sally Kristen
Richardson had an early interest in science, and as a teenager in 1958, she won
third place in the national Westinghouse Science Talent Search with her project on
calculations of the satellite Sputnik's orbit made from her own observations. She
studied philosophy, mathematics, and physics at Swarthmore College, and went
on to receive a master's degree from Harvard. Although she never earned a Ph.D.
or M.D., she worked at the National Institutes of Health in the Laboratory of
Molecular Biology for several years before moving to Duke University, where
she advanced in rank to become the James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry,
and became co-director of a lab and of the Molecular Graphics and Modeling
Shared Resource at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has received
honorary doctorates from Swarthmore and from the University of North Carolina.
Richardson was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1991 and the Institutes of Medicine in 2006. She has been a member of the
National Center for Research Resources and the National Institutes of Health,
and an industrial consultant for Upjohn Company, Hoffman-LaRoche Company,
Allied Chemical Corporation, Becton Dickinson, and NutraSweet. She is a
member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Biophysical Society,
American Crystallographic Association, and Protein Society Office.
Further Resources
Duke University. "Richardson Laboratory." http://kinemage.biochem.duke.edu/.
Ride, Sally Kristen
b. 1951
Physicist, Astronaut
Education: B.A., English and B.S., physics, Stanford University, 1973, M.S.,
1975, Ph.D., physics, 1978
Professional Experience: researcher, Department of Physics, Stanford Univer-
sity, 1978; trainee, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),
1978-1979, astronaut, 1979-1987, missions STS-2 (1981), STS-3 (1982), STS-7
(1983), STS 41-G (1984), special assistant, long-range and strategic planning,
1987; science fellow, Stanford University Center for International Security and
Arms Control, 1987-1989; professor, physics and director, California Space Insti-
tute, University of California, San Diego, 1989—
Sally Ride was the first American woman to be sent into outer space in 1983 and
the first American woman to make two space flights. Ride's first flight was in the
Ride, Sally Kristen | 799
Sally Ride, America's first woman astronaut, communicates with ground controllers
from the flight deck during the six day mission of the Challenger in June, 1 983. (National
Archives)
space shuttle Challenger in June 1983. Among the team's missions were deploy-
ment of international satellites and numerous research experiments supplied by a
number of groups — ranging from a naval research lab to high school students.
While operating the shuttle's robot arm, she handled the first satellite deployment
and retrieval, the first time such an arm had been used in space during flight. Her
second flight was also in the Challenger in October 1984. This time, the robot
arm was used to readjust a radar antenna on the shuttle as well as to deploy and
capture a satellite. Objectives on this mission covered scientific observations of
the Earth and demonstrations of potential satellite-refueling techniques. Ride
was chosen for a third scheduled flight, but it was canceled after the Challenger
exploded in January 1986. She was the only astronaut chosen for the commission
investigating the mid-launch explosion of the Challenger, which killed all crew-
members aboard.
Ride created NASA's Office of Exploration, and she was also the first woman
astronaut to leave the space program when she quietly resigned in 1987 to join
800 | Riley, Matilda (White)
the Stanford Center for International Security and Arms Control. She went on to
become director of the California Space Institute and physics professor at the Uni-
versity of California, San Diego. Ride has always been committed to science edu-
cation, and during her tenure at NASA, she regularly addressed students at high
schools and colleges about careers in science and engineering. In 2001, she created
Sally Ride Science, an organization that encourages girls to study science, and she
established an interactive educational Internet site, Space.com. She has published
three children's books about space: To Space and Back (1986), Voyager: An
Adventure to the Edge of the Solar System (1992), and The Third Planet: Explor-
ing the Earth from Space (1994).
Ride was appointed a member of the Presidential Commission of Advisors on
Science and Technology in 1994, and she has received the Jefferson Award for
Public Service from the American Institute for Public Service (1984) and two
National Spaceflight Medals (recognizing her shuttle missions of 1983 and
1984). At the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., there is a
model of Sally Ride in her space uniform honoring her as the first American
woman in space.
Further Resources
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Sally K. Ride (Ph.D.)." http://www
.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/ride-sk.html.
University of California, San Diego. Faculty website, http://cass.ucsd.edu/personal/
sride.html.
Space.com. http://www.space.com.
Riley, Matilda (White)
1911 2004
Sociologist
Education: B.A., Radcliffe College, 1931, M.A., sociology, 1937
Professional Experience: research assistant, Harvard University, 1932; vice presi-
dent, Market Research Company of America, 1938-1949; research specialist,
Rutgers University, 1950, professor, 1951-1973, director, sociology laboratory, and
chair, Departments of Sociology and Anthropology, 1959-1973; professor, political
economics and sociology, Bowdoin College, 1973-1981; associate director,
Riley, Matilda (White) | 801
National Institute on Aging, Washington, D.C., 1979-1998, scientist emeritus,
1999-2004
Concurrent Positions: chief consulting economist, War Production Board, 1941—
1943; summer faculty, Harvard University, 1955; visiting professor, New York
University, 1956-1961; associate and director, Aging and Society, Russell Sage
Foundation, 1964-1973, staff sociologist, 1974-1977; research fellow, Center for
Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Palo Alto, CA, 1978-1979; senior
research associate, Center for Social Sciences, Columbia University, 1978-1980
Matilda Riley was one of the foremost authorities on aging and gerontology. While
aging refers to the psychological of mental, emotional, or physical development of
a person of any chronological age, gerontology deals with the aging process and
with issues specifically related to later life. In the February 1987 issue of American
Sociological Review, Riley stated, "I believe that an understanding of age can
clarify and specify time-honored sociological propositions, raise new research
questions, demand new (as well as the old) methodological approaches, and even
enhance the integrative power of our discipline (a power eroded in recent years
through pluralism and disputes)." A few years later, she developed a theory about
the influence exerted by the lives and experiences of sociologists on social and
intellectual structure and change, both in sociology and in society as a whole.
She identified examples of this influence in four areas of concern: sociological
practice, gender, age, and dynamic social systems. In addition to papers published
in journals, she published eight books and edited five more. She co-edited Age and
Structural Lag: Society's Failure to Provide Meaningful Opportunities in Work,
Family, and Leisure (1994), in which the authors argued that the lack of employ-
ment opportunities for older people was both unnecessary and modifiable. As the
American baby-boomer generation reaches retirement age in the early twenty-first
century, Riley's work remains especially relevant.
For much of her career, she had a professional partnership with her husband,
Jack Riley, who died in 2002. Even as she approached her nineties, she remained
active in her career. Instead of retiring after nearly 25 years at Rutgers University,
she moved to Bowdoin College and then spent 20 years as associate director of the
National Institute on Aging. Her election to membership in the National Academy
of Sciences in 1994 was a long-delayed recognition of her years of research. In
1998, she was named Scientist Emeritus at the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), the only social scientist ever given that distinction, and the NIH organized
a 2001 lecture series in her honor entitled "Soaring: An Exploration of Science and
the Life Course."
Riley received numerous honorary degrees and awards, such as the Common-
wealth Award in Sociology (1984), the Distinguished Creative Contribution to
802 | Rissler, Jane Francina
Gerontology Award (1990) and the Kent Award (1992), both of the Gerontological
Society of America, and the Radcliffe Alumnae Award (1982). She was a fellow of
the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and a member of the
Gerontological Society of America and the American Association for the
Advancement of Science. She served as executive secretary of the American
Sociological Association (ASA) (1949-1960), at a time when women rarely held
office in any professional associations, and eventually served a term as president
of the ASA (1986). Both Rutgers University and Bowdoin College have estab-
lished academic prizes in her name.
Further Resources
Abeles, Ronald P. "Soaring: Celebrating Matilda White Riley (1911 2004)." http://www
.asanet.org/footnotes/jan05/indexthree.html.
Rissler, Jane Francina
b. 1946
Botanist
Education: B.A., Shepherd College, 1966; M.A., West Virginia University, 1968;
Ph.D., plant pathology, Cornell University, 1977
Professional Experience: fellow, fungal physiology, Boyce Thompson Institute,
1977-1978; assistant professor, plant pathology and botany, University of Maryland;
staff scientist, Environmental Protection Agency; National Wildlife Federation;
senior staff scientist and deputy director, Agriculture and Biotechnology, Food &
Environment Program, Union of Concerned Scientists, 1993—
Jane Rissler is a plant pathologist and activist who has raised public awareness
about genetically modified and engineered plants. Although scientists and farmers
have practiced plant breeding for centuries, in recent decades it has become possible
to transfer genetic material among plants. As a plant pathologist, she is concerned
about the possibility of transferring diseases from plant to plant and about the pos-
sibility of introducing diseased plants into food crops.
Rissler is a senior scientist and director of the Food & Environment Program for
the Union of Concerned Scientists, which conducts and compiles scientific
research for the purpose of presenting policy suggestions on issues related to agri-
culture, biotechnology, pesticides, and the environment. In addition to numerous
papers and interviews, she has co-authored two of the books the group has pub-
lished. Perils Amidst the Promise: The Ecological Risk of Transgenic Plants in a
Rivlin, Alice (Mitchell) | 803
Global Market (1993) was written as a scientific and ecological response to policy
issues and the politics of biotechnology. That research was enlarged and revised as
The Ecological Risks of Engineered Crops (1996), in which the authors acknowl-
edge that applications of biotechnology in crops are already a commercial reality.
Rissler and others do not oppose genetic engineering as a component of agricul-
ture as a whole, but only wish to encourage public debate about the potential
harmful consequences of transgenic plants and to suggest a risk-assessment
methodology.
Rissler grew up in rural West Virginia and received her doctorate in plant path-
ology from Cornell University in 1977. She taught plant pathology at the Univer-
sity of Maryland and was a policy consultant for the Environmental Protection
Agency and the National Wildlife Federation before joining the Union of Con-
cerned Scientists. She has been an important liaison to the public, co-editing a
newsletter on genetic engineering and appearing on television and radio shows
such as NPR, CNN, and various news outlets. She is a member of the American
Phytopathological Society.
Further Resources
"Harvest of Fear. Interviews: Jane Rissler." PBS. (October 2000). http://www.pbs.org/
wgbh/harvest/interviews/rissler.html.
Union of Concerned Scientists. "Experts." http://www.ucsusa.org/news/experts/jane
-rissler.html.
Rivlin, Alice (Mitchell)
b. 1931
Economist
Education: B.A., Bryn Mawr, 1952; M.A., Radcliffe College, 1955, Ph.D.,
economics, 1958
Professional Experience: teaching fellow and tutor, economics, Harvard Univer-
sity, 1954-1957; research fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings Institution, 1957-
1958, senior staff economist, 1958-1966; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program
Coordination, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1966-1968,
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 1968-1969; senior fellow, Eco-
nomic Studies, Brookings Institution, 1969-1975; director, U.S. Congressional
Budget Office, 1975-1983; director, Economic Studies Program, Brookings Insti-
tution, 1983-1987, senior fellow, 1987-1992; professor, Public Policy, George
804 | Rivlin, Alice (Mitchell)
Mason University, 1992-1993; deputy director, U.S. Office of Management and
Budget, 1993-1994, director, 1994-1996; vice chair, Federal Reserve Board,
1996-1999; senior fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings Institution, 1999-; co-
director, Brookings-Greater Washington Research Program, 2001-2002; profes-
sor, Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy, New School Uni-
versity, 2001-2003; director, Greater Washington Research Program, Brookings
Institution, 2002-
Concurrent Positions: staff member, Advisory Commission on Intergovernmen-
tal Relations, 1961-1962; visiting professor, J. F. Kennedy School of Government,
Harvard University, 1988; chair, District of Columbia Financial Assistance and
Management Authority, 1998-2001; visiting professor, Public Policy Institute,
Georgetown University, 2003-
Alice Rivlin is an economist who has spent at least half of her career in the federal
government, beginning as a member of the staff of the U.S. Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare, where she implemented a system of budgeting and
programming, and brought economic analyses to bear on the agency's policy deci-
sions. She was the first head of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) when it
Economist Alice Rivlin has held numerous appointments with the U.S. government,
including as first head of the Congressional Budget Office and vice chair of the Federal
Reserve Board. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Rivlin, Alice (Mitchell) | 805
was established in 1975. In 1996, she became vice chair of the Federal Reserve
Board. Rivlin would have been in a position to replace the chair of the Federal
Reserve, Alan Greenspan, but she resigned in 1999, one year before his retirement.
After completing her doctorate, Rivlin obtained a position as an economist with
the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., a well-known non-profit think tank
devoted to independent research, education, and publications on social issues. She
has been affiliated with Brookings off and on during her career and in 2002
became the director of their Greater Washington Research Program. Under the
auspices of the Brookings Institution, she has published regularly on pressing
political and economic issues since the 1960s, providing an economic analysis of
education policy, medical care, welfare, elder care, and balancing the budget.
Her most recent publications include Beyond the Dot Corns: The Economic Prom-
ise of the Internet (2001) and Restoring Fiscal Sanity: How to Balance the Budget
(2004). She has also served as a consultant to a variety of government agencies.
In 1974, Congress passed the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control
Act, which provided for a House budget committee, a Senate budget committee,
and the CBO. The last was to be an independent, nonpartisan office that would
work with the two congressional committees to assist the members of Congress
in analyzing and forming policy on federal spending and income. The CBO was
also responsible for monitoring the national economy and its impact on the federal
budget, for providing budgetary statistics to Congress, and for proposing alterna-
tive budgeting policies. As director of the CBO, Rivlin found herself embroiled
in controversy because some of the recommendations of the CBO stepped on the
toes of powerful people in Congress who had pet projects they were promoting.
Also, her analyses and recommendations often were more negative than those pro-
vided by the executive branch, a factor that annoyed a series of U.S. presidents.
For example, she found herself in conflict with Ronald Reagan's supply-side eco-
nomics, and she forecast a deficit for 1984 while his office insisted he would bal-
ance the budget. Although her forecast proved to be correct, she was able to
keep her job because there was a sharp drop in inflation that defused the argument.
After completing her second term at the CBO, Rivlin resigned her office there and
returned to teaching, research, and writing. In 1993, she returned to federal employ-
ment when President Bill Clinton appointed her the deputy director of the U.S.
Office of Management and Budget, the budgeting agency for the executive branch
and the agency whose data she had disagreed with while head of the CBO. She
was promoted to director in 1994 but resigned in 1996 to serve as vice chair of the
Federal Reserve Board. Rivlin has received numerous honors and distinctions,
including an honorary law degree from Hood College (1970), the Radcliffe Col-
lege Founders Award (1970), a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship
806 | Roberts, Edith Adelaide
(1983-1988), and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the D.C. Chamber of
Commerce (2004).
Further Resources
Brookings Institution. "Alice M. Rivlin." http://www.brookings.edu/scholars/arivlin.htm.
Olson, Paulette I. and Zohren Emami, eds. 2002. Engendering Economics: Conversations
with Women Economists in the United States. New York: Routledge.
Roberts, Edith Adelaide
1881 1977
Botanist
Education: A.B., Smith College, 1905; M.S., University of Chicago, 1911, Ph.D.,
plant physiology, 1915
Professional Experience: instructor to associate professor, botany, Mount
Holyoke College, 1915-1917; extension worker with women, U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA), 1917-1919; associate professor, botany, Vassar College,
1919-1921, professor, 1921-1950; consultant and guest scientist, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), 1950-retirement
Edith Roberts was recognized by her contemporaries for her research in plant physi-
ology, ecology, germination of seeds, and propagation of native plants. She was a
faculty member at Vassar College for more than 30 years and established the first
outdoor ecological laboratory in the United States in Dutchess County, New York.
The laboratory eventually contained more than 2,000 local native plant species,
and Roberts co-authored a botanical history of Dutchess County in 1938. After com-
pleting her doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1915, she joined the faculty
of Mount Holyoke for three years, then accepted a position with the USDA as an
extension worker with women for three years. Sources do not mention the specific
work she did for the USDA. Since this was during World War I, it is possible she
was involved in gardening projects for women during wartime, when women
managed farms for the men who were in service. She was appointed an associate
professor of botany at Vassar College in 1919 and promoted to professor in 1921.
With gardener and landscape architect Elsa Rehmann, Roberts wrote a series
of articles on plant ecology for House Beautiful magazine which were collected
into a popular 1929 book, American Plants for American Gardens: Plant
Ecology, the Study of Plants in Relation to Their Environment; the book was
reprinted in a new edition in 1996. Roberts was also the author of American Ferns:
Roberts, Lydia Jane | 807
How to Know, Grow and Use Them (1935). She retired from Vassar in 1950, but
went on to consult for the department of food technology at MIT, researching plant
sources for vitamins. Roberts was a member of the Botanical Society of America,
the American Forestry Association, and the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science.
Roberts, Lydia Jane
1879 1965
Nutritionist and Home Economics Educator
Education: teaching credential, Mount Pleasant Normal School (later Central
Michigan University), 1909; B.S., home economics, University of Chicago, 1917,
M.S., 1919, Ph.D., home economics, 1928
Professional Experience: school teacher, 1899-1915; assistant to associate
professor, home economics, University of Chicago, 1919-1930, professor and
department chair, 1930-1944; chair, home economics, University of Puerto Rico,
1946-1952
Lydia Roberts was a pioneer in the field of nutrition of children and had a key role
in the development of government nutrition standards, such as determining the
Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) of vitamins and minerals. She entered
the University of Chicago at age 36 to begin her formal training in nutrition. She
was already teaching at Chicago when received her Ph.D. in home economics in
1928; she was promoted to full professor and became department chair in 1930.
At Chicago, she offered a curriculum with a strong basis in scientific research and
was able to work on children's nutrition issues in a clinical setting. She conducted
surveys of children's feeding and nutrition status for the U.S. Children's Bureau.
Her book, Nutrition Work with Children (1927), was based on her dissertation
research and became a classic in its field, going through several editions. It was
as chair of the U.S. government's Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) that she devel-
oped the RDA guidelines based on the latest scientific research on human nutrient
and vitamin needs. The first RDA report was the result of a committee of more than
40 nutrition scientists, an amazing 25 of whom were women. The findings of the
FNB committee were first published by the American Dietetic Association in 1943.
After retiring from the University of Chicago, Roberts accepted a position as
chair of the home economics department at the University of Puerto Rico, a posi-
tion she retained until 1952. During this time she reported on nutrition on the island
for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and co-authored a report, Patterns of Living
808 | Robinson, Julia Bowman
in Puerto Rican Families (1949). Even after formally retiring from the University,
she remained in Puerto Rico working on issues of nutrition and economic develop-
ment for a rural community and developing an experimental program that became
an island-wide model.
Roberts received the Borden Award of the Home Economics Association (1938).
She was a member of the Council of Foods and Nutrition of the American Medical
Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
Harper, Alfred E. 2003. "Contributions of Women Scientists in the U.S. to the Develop-
ment of Recommended Dietary Allowances." The Journal of Nutrition. 133: 3698
3702. (November 2003). http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/133/ll/3698.
Robinson, Julia Bowman
1919 1985
Mathematician
Education: A.B., University of California, Berkeley, 1940, M.A., 1941, Ph.D.,
mathematics, 1948
Professional Experience: mathematician, Berkeley Statistical Laboratory, 1939—
1945; junior mathematician, Rand Corporation, 1949-1950; lecturer, mathemat-
ics, University of California, Berkeley, 1960-1964, 1966-1967, 1969-1970, and
1975, professor, mathematics, 1976-1985
Julia Robinson was a mathematician whose research focused on number theoreti-
cal decision problems and on recursive functions. She was one of the first American
women mathematicians. She showed an early interest in mathematics and was
often the only girl in high school taking advanced courses in mathematics and
physics. Upon her high school graduation, she received a special medal for
excellence in science and math, and entered San Diego State University at the
age of 16; she later transferred to and received multiple degrees from the Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley. She was married to a mathematics professor, Raphael
M. Robinson, in December 1941, just after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor,
and during World War II, she worked for the Berkeley Statistical Laboratory on
military projects. She was discouraged at being unable to secure a faculty position
at Berkeley (due to anti-nepotism rules) and being unable to have children (due to
serious health problems since her own childhood), but she continued on to receive
her doctorate in 1948.
Roemer, Elizabeth | 809
She worked for the Rand Corporation for two years and then took several years
off for her health, including heart surgery. Beginning in 1960, she began teaching
one graduate course per quarter at Berkeley. She became interested in a list of
unsolved mathematical problems posed in 1900 by German number theorist David
Hilbert. Robinson set to work on solving the equation known as "Hilbert's Tenth
Problem" and published several papers on the topic. In 1970, she learned that a
Russian mathematician had solved the equation based on her hypothesis. She
became internationally known for this work and, in 1975, was promoted to full
professor at Berkeley. Her sister, Constance Reid, collected Robinson's autobiog-
raphy as well as several articles about her work for the 1996 volume, Julia, A Life
in Mathematics.
Robinson was the first woman mathematician elected to the National Academy of
Sciences (1975), and she became the first woman elected president of the American
Mathematical Society (1983). She received an honorary degree from Smith College
(1979) and in 1983 was awarded a prestigious five-year MacArthur Fellowship.
She also was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the
Association for Symbolic Logic.
Further Resources
Reid, Constance, ed. 1996. Julia, A Life in Mathematics. Washington, D.C.: Mathematical
Association of America.
Agnes Scott College. "Julia Bowman Robinson." Biographies of Women Mathematicians.
http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/robinson.htm.
Roemer, Elizabeth
b. 1929
Astronomer
Education: B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1950, Ph.D., astronomy,
1955
Professional Experience: assistant astronomer, University of California, 1950-
1952, laboratory technician, Lick Observatory, 1954-1955, research astronomer,
1955-1956; research associate, Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, 1956;
astronomer, Flagstaff Station, U.S. Naval Observatory, 1957-1966, acting director,
1965; associate professor, astronomy, and member, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory,
University of Arizona, Tucson, 1966-1969, professor, 1969-1998, astronomer,
Steward Observatory, 1980-1998, emerita
810 I Roemer, Elizabeth
Elizabeth Roemer is renowned as the premier recoverer of "lost" comets, that is,
comets whose planned rediscovery is based on predictions from previous returns.
She calls her profession "astrometry," which is the branch of astronomy that deals
with the measurement of the positions and motions of the celestial bodies. In her
lifetime study of comets, she has rediscovered at least 79 returning periodic com-
ets and visual and spectroscopic binary stars, plus computing the orbits of comets
and minor planets. Her publications have covered many topics, such as comets and
minor planets, astronomy and practical astronomy, computation of orbits, astro-
metric and astrophysical investigations of comets, minor planets and satellites,
and dynamical astronomy. She is regarded by her peers as a contributor to many
scientific and astronomical discoveries, and her precise photographic observations
of comets have led to a great many cometary orbits of importance.
In 1965, a colleague named Asteroid 1657 "Roemera" in her honor. Although
each comet and asteroid is assigned a number in an international database,
not all have names; after the sightings have been verified, it is the privilege of the
discoverer to name the item or to have it named in their honor. Roemer made her
first major rediscoveries while she was working at the U.S. Naval Observatory at
Flagstaff, Arizona, and it was at that same time that her photographic records of
comets and her notes on their physical characteristics began to earn her national
recognition.
She taught adult classes in the local public school system while attending
school at the University of California, Berkeley. She also served as an assistant
astronomer and later as a laboratory technician at the Lick Observatory. She
worked briefly for the university after graduation and was also a research associate
at the Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago. She then joined the staff of
the Flagstaff Station of the U.S. Naval Observatory and later moved to the Univer-
sity of Arizona as an associate professor and a member of the Lunar and Planetary
Laboratory before becoming a full professor of astronomy. She retired in 1998 but
continues her research on comets and asteroids.
She has received numerous prizes, such as the B. A. Gould Prize of the National
Academy of Sciences (1971), the Donohoe lectureship of the Astronomical Society
of the Pacific (1962), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Special Award (1986), and the Dorothea Klumpke Roberts Prize of the Astronomi-
cal Society of the Pacific (1950) named for another American astronomer who
was recognized for her work in charting and cataloging stars in the late nineteenth
century. Roemer is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science and a member of the American Astronomical Society, American Geo-
physical Union, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, International Astronomical
Union, British Astronomical Association, and Royal Astronomical Society of
London.
Rolf, Ida P. | 811
Rolf, Ida P.
1896 1979
Biochemist, Physical Therapist
Education: B.S., Barnard, 1916; Ph.D., biological chemistry, College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 1920
Professional Experience: associate, chemotherapy and organic chemistry,
Rockefeller Institute, 1920-1928; independent practitioner and physical therapist,
1930-1979; founder, Rolf Institute of Structural Integration, Boulder, Colorado,
1971-1979
Ida Rolf was a biochemist and physical therapist who created a unique and contro-
versial treatment of "structural integration," also termed "Rolfing." Her method is
a vigorous program of physical manipulations to release anger and tensions, and to
restore the free flow of fluids, nerve impulses, and energy through the body. It was
based on the belief that the body is plastic and not a fixed unit, as medical science
would hold. A key feature of the treatment is that the structure, particularly the
alignment, of the body would often be changed, and the patient might look much
different because he or she was standing, moving, and walking in a new way.
Some sources attribute Rolf's interest in physical therapy and natural medicine
to a condition suffered by one her children; others report that Rolf herself was
seeking alternative treatments after suffering from illnesses resulting from being
kicked by a horse as a young woman.
After receiving her doctorate in biological chemistry, Rolf worked for the
Rockefeller Institute. She eventually inherited some money and left the Institute
to independently study various methods of physical therapy. She traveled to Swit-
zerland, where she studied physics and homeopathic medicine and returned to the
United States to study chiropractic medicine and yoga therapy. Around 1940, she
began to develop her own theories of the mind-body connection based on the idea
that both psychological and physical histories shape, and sometimes deform, peo-
ple's bodies, thickening connective tissue and tightening muscles in response to
psychological as well as physical injury, and revealing past tensions and unex-
pressed angers. These abnormal tightenings and thickenings interfere with the flow
of fluids and can sometimes block the free passage of nerves and nerve impulses
through the body. She began traveling throughout the United States, Canada, and
Europe, lecturing and demonstrating her method of "structural integration." In
the mid-1960s, she was invited to give demonstrations at the Esalen Institute in
California, a community that tried to integrate elements of Eastern cultures, such
as Zen Buddhism, and radical therapy systems, such as Gestalt psychotherapy.
Although Rolf did not approve of the Esalen lifestyle, which included nudism
812 | Roman, Nancy Grace
and drugs, the Institute provided a base of operations for her for a few years. In
1971, based on the success of her workshops at Esalen, she organized the Guild
for Structural Engineering, later renamed the Rolf Institute of Structural Integra-
tion, in Boulder, Colorado.
The Institute continues to train Rolf practitioners to carry on her work, based on
the principles laid out in her 1977 book, Rolfing: The Integration of Human Struc-
ture. There are presently more than 1,500 certified Rolf practitioners worldwide,
and the method has received regular attention in the popular press. Most recently,
the Rolfing method was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show in April 2007. In
some circles, it is still seen as controversial because Rolf did not have a medical
degree, but also because the emotional release common at the sessions can be
overwhelming for a patient without concurrent psychiatric treatment.
Further Resources
The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration, http://www.rolf.org/.
Roman, Nancy Grace
b. 1925
Astronomer
Education: B.A., Swarthmore College, 1946; Ph.D., astronomy, University of
Chicago, 1949
Professional Experience: assistant, Swarthmore College Observatory, 1943-
1946; graduate assistant, astronomy and astrophysics, University of Chicago,
1946-1948, research associate, stellar astronomy, Yerkes Observatory, University
of Chicago, 1949-1951, instructor, 1951-1954, assistant professor, 1954-1955;
astronomer, Radio Astronomy Branch, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 1955-
1956, head, Microwave Spectroscopy Section, 1956-1957, consultant, 1958-1959;
head, observational astronomy program, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), 1959-1960, chief astronomer, 1960-1979, program
scientist, Hubble Space Telescope, 1979-1980, principal scientist, Astronomical
Data Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, 1981-1997, astronomer/programmer,
Sigma Data and MA/Com, 1981-1986, principal scientist, Hughes STX, 1986-
1996, head, Astronomical Data Center, 1995-1997, chief scientist, 1997; teacher
training, Montgomery College, Maryland, 1997-1999
Roman, Nancy Grace | 813
Concurrent Positions: consultant, ORI, Inc. 1980-1989; senior professional,
Space Systems Division, McDonnell Douglas, 1988-1994
Nancy Roman is renowned for developing satellite observatories to explore the
universe from a vantage point that is free from atmospheric interference. She pio-
neered the use of satellites for gamma ray, x-ray, and radio observations, and she
has also used traditional Earth-based telescopes to study topics such as stellar
motions, photoelectric photometry, and spectroscopy. She is especially noted for
the research she conducted at NASA, where for many years she was the highest-
ranking woman scientist. The opening of the astronaut program to women in
1978, and the launch of NASA's moon program in 1988, greatly expanded oppor-
tunities for women scientists, but Roman and a few others achieved recognition for
their work prior to that program. In a 1964 NASA-approved book, Scientists Who
Work with Astronauts, by Lynn and Gray Poole, astronomers Nancy Roman and
Jocelyn Gill were the only two women who were profiled.
Roman's association with NASA began in 1959, when she was appointed head
of the observational astronomy program. She developed an ambitious plan to
observe objects in space by using rocket and satellite observatories, and in the
1960s, she designed instrumentation and made substantial measurements from
gamma ray, radio, and visible light satellites, such as the orbiting solar observato-
ries. Her programs provided astronomers with the planetary surface knowledge
that led to the successful 1976 Viking probes to collect data from Mars. In the
1970s, her papers dealt with new satellite data, but she still did Earth-based obser-
vation, such as at Kitt Peak Observatory. Asteroid number 2516 Roman is named
after her. In the 1970s and 1980s, she measured x-ray and ultraviolet readings from
the successful OAO-3, or Copernicus, satellite, and recorded stellar spectra from
the U.S. space station Skylab, which circled the Earth between 1973 and 1979.
She was also the NASA program scientist for a planned space telescope, and the
Hubble was eventually launched in 1990. She has also worked as a consulting
astronomer for the Astronomical Data Center, editing and documenting astro-
nomical catalogs for electronic archiving.
Roman has also been committed to science education, and during the late
1990s, she team-taught courses for advanced students and K-12 science teachers.
Roman has received numerous honorary degrees. She is a fellow of the American
Astronautical Society and American Association for the Advancement of Science,
and a member of the American Astronomical Society.
Further Resources
Montgomery College. Faculty website. http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/
planet/Nancy/Nancy.htm.
814 | Romanowicz, Barbara
Romanowicz, Barbara
b. 1950
Geophysicist, Seismologist
Education: Ecole Normale Superieure, "Sevres", Paris, France, 1970-1974;
Maitrise de Mathematiques Pures, Universite Paris, 1972; Agregation de Mathe-
matiques, Paris, 1973; M.S., applied physics, Harvard University, 1975; Doctorat,
astronomy, Universite Paris, 1975; Doctorat d'Etat, Universite Paris, Specialite
Geophysique, 1979
Professional Experience: Attachee de Recherches, C.N.R.S., Institut de Physique
du Globe, Paris, 1978-1979; postdoctoral associate, Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology (MIT), 1979-1981; Chargee de Recherches, C.N.R.S., I. P. G., Paris, Director,
Geoscope Program, 1981-1986, Directeur de Recherches, 1986-1990; professor,
geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, and director, Berkeley Seismological
Laboratory, 1991—
Barbara Romanowicz is a geophysicist and seismologist who studies earthquakes,
plate tectonics, and deep-earth (from the crust to the inner core) structures and move-
ment. She has been involved in the development of special tools and observatories for
measuring global seismic activity on land and in the oceans, including as co-founder
in 1985 of ORFEUS, a European data center for broadband seismology, and co-
founder in 1986 of the Federation of Digital Seismic Networks (FDSN). In 1997,
she collaborated on the Monterey Bay Ocean-Bottom International Seismic Experi-
ment (MOISE), and since 2002 has been involved with the Monterey Bay Ocean-
Bottom Broadband Seismometer experiment (MOBB) in collaboration with the
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). Trained in France, she has
been a professor of geophysics and director of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory
in California since 1991. She also served as chair of the Department of Earth and
Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley between 2002 and 2006.
Romanowicz was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005. She
is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union (president, Seismology Section,
1994-1998) and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has served on
numerous government and scientific research committees, including the National
Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council, National Research Council Committee
on the Science of Earthquakes, International Ocean Network Committee, and
Advisory Council to the Southern California Earthquake Center. She is the recipi-
ent of the French Academy of Sciences Prize (Fonds Doistau-Blutet) (1989),
Silver Medal of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (French NSF)
(1992), A. Wegener Medal of the European Union of Geosciences (1999), and
Gutenberg Medal of the European Geophysical Society (2003).
Rose, Flora | 815
Further Resources
University of California, Berkeley. Faculty website, http://eps.berkeley.edu/development/
view person. php?uid=8698.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. "New Seafloor Observatory Provides Round-
the-Clock Monitoring of Ocean and Earth." (18 March 2009). Monterey Ocean-Bottom
Broadband Seisometer. http://www.mbari.org/news/homepage/2009/mars-mobb
-deimos.html.
Rose, Flora
1874 1959
Home Economist
Education: B.S., Kansas State Agricultural College, 1904; M.A., food and nutri-
tion, Columbia University, 1909; Ped.D., New York State College for Teachers,
1931; Sc.D., Kansas State Agricultural College, 1937
Professional Experience: instructor, food and nutrition, Kansas State College,
1903-1906; lecturer, home economics, Cornell University, 1907-1911, professor,
home economics, 1911-1940, co-director, School of Home Economics, 1919—
1925, co-director, New York State College of Home Economics, 1925-1932, direc-
tor, 1932-1940, emeritus professor
Flora Rose was recognized for her
research in nutrition, weight control,
and the science of homemaking. She
received her undergraduate degree
from Kansas State College and taught
there for four years before attending
Columbia University in New York.
She earned a master's degree in food
and nutrition from Columbia and then
spent 30 years as co-director (with
Martha Van Rensselaer) and then
director of the School of Home Eco-
nomics at Cornell University, later
established as the separate New York
State College of Home Economics.
Rose and Van Rensselaer were
reformers who led a campaign to start
Home economist Flora Rose. (Courtesy of
Cornell University)
816 | Rose, Mary Davies Swartz
programs in home economics at major universities and were instrumental in
persuading the New York legislature to create the program at Cornell. Rose
became a lecturer and then professor in home economics through the agriculture
department, and then co-director and, after Van Rensselaer's death, director of
the New York State College of Home Economics. Rose and Van Rensselaer were
the first women faculty members at Cornell to be promoted to full professors and
were an inseparable administrative team (one colleague addressed them together
as "Miss Van Rose"). They also shared their personal lives as well, living together
until Van Rensselaer's death in 1932.
In the first decades of the twentieth century, the U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture instituted programs for vocational education in public schools and for agri-
cultural extension services for adults, including housewives. This opened up an
unprecedented amount of funding for jobs for women as teachers and research-
ers in home economics and nutrition. As a nutrition researcher, Rose focused
on dietary needs to fit household budgets, in particular the development of
low-cost fortified cereals and the effect of nutrition on health and infant mortal-
ity. During World War I, she helped organize food relief program for children in
Belgium, activities that earned her recognition with the Order of the Crown.
After retiring in 1940, she moved to California, where she continued with her
research and teaching through the California State Health Department. Rose
authored or co-authored several books, including, A Manual of Home-Making
(1919), The New Butterick Cook-Book (1924), and Pioneers in Home Economics
(1948). She was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science.
Further Resources
Cornell University Library. Faculty biography. http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/homeEc/
bios/florarose .html .
Rose, Mary Davies Swartz
1874 1941
Chemist and Nutritionist
Education: Litt.B., Denison University, 1901; diploma, home economics,
Mechanics Institute, 1902; B.S., Columbia University, 1906; Ph.D., physiological
chemistry, Yale University, 1909
Rose, Mary Davies Swartz | 8 1 7
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1899-1905; assistant, nutrition,
Teachers College, Columbia University, 1906-1907, instructor, nutrition and dietet-
ics, 1909-1910, assistant to associate professor, 1911-1923, professor, 1923-1940
Mary Swartz Rose was a pioneer in research on nutrition and dietetics, including
the vitamin content of food, protein comparison, effects of nutrients on anemia,
metabolism, and trace elements in the diet. She was appointed an assistant profes-
sor of nutrition at Teachers College a year after the department was established,
and the department became a national university center for training teachers of
nutrition. She published more than 40 scientific papers and two widely used text-
books, A Laboratory Hand-Book for Dietetics (1912) and The Foundations of
Nutrition (1927). She also wrote popular books for mothers, Feeding the Family
(1916) and Teaching Nutrition to Boys and Girls (1932). After receiving a certifi-
cate from Denison University in 1901 and a diploma in home economics from the
Mechanics Institute in Rochester, New York, in 1902, she taught high school home
economics for five years. She then enrolled in Teachers College, Columbia Uni-
versity, where she received her undergraduate degree in 1906, remaining another
year as an assistant in the household arts department. Since there were no graduate
programs in nutrition at the time, she enrolled in Yale, where she received her doc-
torate in physiological chemistry in 1909. She met Anton Rose when both were
graduate students at Yale; they were married in 1910 and had one son, Richard.
She returned to Teachers College to become the first full-time instructor in nutri-
tion and dietetics. She organized a program in which students could secure a solid
grounding in the scientific aspects of nutrition as well as in the best methods for
teaching the subject. She was promoted to assistant professor in 1911, associate
professor in 1918, and professor in 1923.
A charter member of the American Institute of Nutrition, she was its president
in 1937 and 1938 and associate editor of its publication, Journal of Nutrition, from
1928 to 1936. The American Dietetic Association elected her an honorary member
in 1919. Teachers College established a scholarship and the Greater New York
Dietetic Association established a lectureship in her name. She also was a member
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Soci-
ety of Biological Chemists, the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine,
the American Home Economics Association, and the American Public Health
Association. Her biography is Mary Swartz Rose: Pioneer in Nutrition (1979) by
Juanita A. Eagles, et.al. Beginning in 2008, the American Society for Nutrition
and the Council for Responsible Nutrition co-sponsor two awards in her name,
the Mary Swartz Rose Young Investigator Award and the Mary Swartz Rose
Senior Investigator Award.
818 I Rosenblatt, Joan (Raup)
Rosenblatt, Joan (Raup)
b. 1926
Mathematical Statistician
Education: B.A., mathematics, Barnard College, 1946; Ph.D., statistics, Univer-
sity of North Carolina, 1956
Professional Experience: statistical analyst, National Institute of Public Affairs and
Bureau of the Budget, 1948; assistant statistician, University of North Carolina,
1953-1954; mathematician, National Bureau of Standards, 1955-1969, chief statisti-
cian, Engineering Laboratory, 1969-1978, deputy director, Computer and Applied
Mathematics Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1979-
1993, director, 1993-1996
Joan Rosenblatt was renowned for her research as a mathematical statistician at
the National Institute of Standards and Technology, formerly the National Bureau
of Standards. The mission of the institute is to maintain and disseminate the basic
units of measurement such as mass, length, temperature, frequency, and electrical
units for application in industry and government regulations. Her research
includes nonparametric statistical theory, applications of statistical techniques in
the physical and engineering sciences, and the reliability of complex systems. At
the National Bureau, Rosenblatt provided statistical consulting services to all parts
of the institute and researched improved statistical methods for applications in the
physical and engineering sciences as well. The research problems with which
Rosenblatt was concerned in the early 1990s arose from the proliferation of new
federal regulations based on physical measurements of such things as water, air,
pesticides, noise, radiation, occupational health and safety, and transportation
safety. One of the most difficult problems was how to measure chemical additives
in food that the Food and Drug Administration handles to satisfy regulations that
bar the use of known cancer-causing additives in food processing.
Rosenblatt grew up in a family that stressed education, and both her parents held
Ph.D.s. Her mother, Clara Eliot Raup, a professor of economics at Barnard College,
was among the first to promote the study of consumer economics and was also a role
model for combining career and motherhood, being the first woman at Barnard to
receive an unpaid maternity leave. After receiving her undergraduate degree, Rose-
nblatt worked for several government agencies before returning to graduate school
and completing her doctorate in 1956. She spent 40 years in government employ-
ment, retiring in 1996.
Among the awards Rosenblatt has received are the Federal Woman's Award
(1971), the Gold Medal of the Department of Commerce (1976), and the Founders
Award of the American Statistical Association in 1991. She was a member of the
Rowley, Janet Davison | 819
Committee on Applications and Theoretical Statistics of the National Research
Council from 1985 to 1988. She is a fellow of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, American Statistical Association, and Institute of Math-
ematical Statistics, and a member of the American Mathematical Society and
International Statistical Institute.
Further Resources
Murray, Margaret Anne Marie. 2000. Women Becoming Mathematicians: Creating an
Identity in Post World War II America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Rowley, Janet Davison
b. 1925
Cytogeneticist, Geneticist
Education: B.S., anatomy, University of Chicago, 1946, M.D., 1948
Professional Experience: research assistant, University of Chicago, 1949-1950;
resident, Marine Hospital, U.S. Public Health Service, Chicago, 1950-1951;
physician, Infant Welfare and Prenatal Clinics, Department of Health, Montgom-
ery County, Maryland, 1953-1954; research fellow, Cook County Hospital,
Chicago, 1955-1960; instructor, neurology, University of Illinois Medical School,
1961; trainee, radiobiology, Churchill Hospital, England, 1961-1962; research
associate, Department of Medicine and Argonne Cancer Research Hospital, Uni-
versity of Chicago, 1962-1969, associate professor, Department of Medicine and
Franklin McLean Memorial Research Institute, 1969-1977, professor, 1977-
1984, Blum-Riese Distinguished Service Professor, Medicine, Molecular Genetics
and Cell Biology, and Human Genetics, 1984-
Janet Rowley is a cytogeneticist internationally renowned for her research on
chromosome abnormalities in a form of leukemia and lymphoma. Cytogeneticists
investigate the role of cells in evolution and heredity, and Rowley's research has
introduced new diagnostic tools for oncologists and opened new avenues to pos-
sible gene therapies for cancer. She has helped to pinpoint cancer gene locations
and correlate them to chromosome aberrations. During her long career at the Uni-
versity of Chicago, she developed the use of quinacrine and Giemsa staining to
identify chromosomes in cloned cells, and thus was able to identify abnormalities
that occur in some chromosomes in certain cancers. In 1972, she was the first per-
son to discover the recurring translocation, or shifting, of genetic material, and
since that time, more than 70 such translocations have been detected in human
malignant cells. Her research indicated that both translocations and deletions of
820 | Rowley, Janet Davison
Cytogeneticist Janet Rowley is presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by
President Barack Obama, 2009. (AP/Wide World Photos)
genetic material occur in malignancy and that cancer is caused by a complex series
of events within a single cell, making some genes overactive and eliminating other
genes that would normally suppress growth. Her research revealed that any cell is
potentially cancerous.
Starting with her undergraduate studies in the 1940s, Rowley has had a long
association with the University of Chicago for the majority of her career. In addi-
tion to her numerous scientific papers, she is the author of Chromosome Changes
in Leukemia (1978) and the editor or co-editor of Chromosomes and Cancer: From
Molecules to Man (1983), Genes and Cancer (1984), Consistent and Chromosomal
Aberrations and Oncogenes in Human Tumors (1984), and Advances in Under-
standing Genetic Changes in Cancer (1992). She is co-founder and co-editor of
the journal, Genes, Chromosomes and Cancer.
Rowley was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1984
and the Institute of Medicine 1985. She received the National Medal of Science in
1999 and in 2009 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest
civilian honor. She has received almost every major cancer-research award, includ-
ing the Esther Langer Award (1983), the Kuwait Cancer Prize (1984), the A. Cressy
Roy, Delia Martin | 821
Morrison Award from the New York Academy of Sciences (1985), the Judd Memo-
rial Award from the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (1989), the Charles S. Mott
Prize from General Motors Research Foundation (1989), the G. H. A. Clowes
Memorial Award from the American Association for Cancer Research (1989), the
Robert de Villiers Award from the Leukemia Society of America (1993), the Gaird-
ner International Prize (1996), the Albert Lasker Clinical Medicine Research Prize
(1998), the Franklin Medal of the American Philosophical Society (2003), and
the Genetics Prize of the Peter and Patricia Foundation (2009). She is a member
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society,
American Society of Human Genetics (president, 1993), American Society of
Hematology, and American Association for Cancer Research. She has received
honorary doctorates from the University of Arizona, the University of Pennsylvania,
Knox College, the University of Southern California, and Harvard University.
Further Resources
University of Chicago. Faculty website. http://experts.uchicago.edu/experts.php?id=212.
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Roy, Delia Martin
b. 1926
Geochemist, Materials Scientist
Education: B.S., chemistry, University of Oregon, 1947; M.S., mineralogy,
Pennsylvania State University, 1949, Ph.D., mineralogy, 1952
Professional Experience: assistant, mineralogy, Pennsylvania State University,
1949-1952, research associate, geochemistry, 1952-1959, senior research associ-
ate, 1959-1969, associate professor, materials science, 1969-1975, professor,
Materials Research Laboratory, 1975-1992, emerita
Delia Roy is known for her research in materials science, which is concerned with the
uses of new materials and their applications to existing processes and products. Her
research includes phase equilibria, materials synthesis, crystal chemistry and phase
transitions, crystal growth, cement chemistry, hydration and microstructure, concrete
durability, biomaterials, special types of glass, radioactive waste management, geo-
logical isolation, chemically bonded ceramics, and waste management science.
Much of the new materials-science research arose from the aeronautics and nuclear
energy programs starting in the 1950s, around the time Roy received her Ph.D.
822 | Rubin, Vera (Cooper)
Although Roy's background is in mineralogy, she has worked with many types
of materials, including ceramics, biomaterials, and concrete. She founded a journal
for Cement and Concrete Research in 1971. Although her husband, Rustum Roy, is
internationally known for his research in materials science, science policy, and
alternative medicine, and the two collaborated on scientific papers, Delia Roy
maintained her own research programs and, in addition to receiving four patents,
authored or co-authored hundreds of scientific papers. Both she and her husband
had minerals named after them: dellaite and rustumite. After receiving her doctor-
ate from Pennsylvania State University, she was appointed as an assistant in miner-
alogy and progressed through the ranks to senior research associate and then full
professor in the Materials Research Laboratory. She formally retired in 1992, but
continues her affiliation and research at Pennsylvania State University.
Roy was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1987. She has been
a member of the Highway Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences,
was chair of a National Academy of Sciences Research Committee on Concrete
(1980-1983), and was a member of the Committee on Concrete Durability
(1986-1987). She has received numerous awards, including the Jepson Medal
(1982) and the Copeland Award (1987) of the American Ceramic Society, and
the Slag Award of the American Concrete Institute (1989). She was made an
honorary fellow of the Institute for Concrete Technology in 1987 and is a fellow
of the Mineralogical Society of America, American Concrete Society, American
Ceramic Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science,
and a member of the Materials Research Society, Geochemical Society, Clay
Minerals Society, Concrete Society (UK), American Nuclear Society, American
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and Society of Women Engineers.
Further Resources
Pennsylvania State University. Faculty website, http://www.mri.psu.edu/faculty/dmr.asp.
University of Oregon College of Arts & Sciences. "Alumni. Delia Roy '47: Cement Paves
the Way to Illustrious Career." Alumni & Development. (19 June 2007). http://
uoregon.edu/~wits/wits/files/pdf/della-roy.pdf.
Rubin, Vera (Cooper)
b. 1928
Astronomer, Cosmologist
Education: B.A., Vassar College, 1948; M.A., physics, Cornell University, 1951;
Ph.D., astronomy, Georgetown University, 1954
Rubin, Vera (Cooper) | 823
Professional Experience: instructor, mathematics and physics, Montgomery
County Junior College, 1954-1955; research associate astronomer, Georgetown
University, 1955-1965, lecturer, 1959-1962, assistant professor, astronomy,
1962-1965; staff member, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institu-
tion of Washington, 1965-
Concurrent Positions: associate editor, Astronomical Journal, 1972-1977; asso-
ciate editor, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 1977-1982; editorial board, Science
Magazine, 1979-1987; Beatrice Tinsley visiting professor, astronomy, University
of Texas, Austin, 1988
Vera Rubin is a specialist in the branch of astronomy called cosmology, which deals
with the general structure and origin of the universe. She is one of America's fore-
most astronomers, and has spent her career observing galactic structure, rotation,
and dynamics. Her pioneering research in the 1970s demonstrated the possible exis-
tence of a large percentage of matter in the universe that is invisible to the naked eye,
and astronomers now estimate that up to 90% of the universe may be composed of
this "dark matter." She studied physics at Cornell, where, for her master's thesis,
she analyzed the motion of 108 gal-
axies and discovered that they shared
a large-scale, systematic motion in
addition to motion resulting from the
expansion of the universe. When she
presented her findings at a meeting of
the American Astronomical Society
in 1950, the scientific community
was not prepared to believe in large-
scale motions, and her work generated
great controversy. Several years later,
she was vindicated when a noted cos-
mologist agreed with her theory. Her
doctoral advisor was applying nuclear
physics to Big Bang cosmology, and
her dissertation, again ahead of her
time, showed that instead of being ran-
domly distributed, galaxies tend to
clump together.
Rubin did not start doing observa-
tional astronomy until the 1960s and,
with colleague Kent Ford, found evi- Astronomer and cosmologist, Vera Rubin.
dence that a large group of galaxies, (Courtesy of the Carnegie Institution)
824 | Rubin, Vera (Cooper)
Support for Iraqi Women Scientists
Through the U.S. National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Human Rights,
several prominent American women scientists helped launch a "twinning project"
in 2007 to provide professional and social support to Iraqi women scientists and
engineers whose careers and research have been disrupted by war. The program
is chaired by Maxine Singer, Vera Rubin, and Myriam Sarachik, and invites
women members of the NAS, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and
the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to be paired with Iraqi colleagues and provide them
with information, news and scientific papers in their field, and moral support. The
network reaches out to women living in Iraq as well as those who have fled to
other countries and are attempting to continue their work. The program works in
consultation with human-rights groups, nongovernmental organizations, and
private groups, and does not rely upon funding from the U.S. government.
including the Earth's Milky Way, are moving rapidly with respect to the rest of the
universe. Although the theory was immediately controversial, this time the
astronomy community took "the Rubin-Ford effect" seriously. Rubin and Ford found
that stars at the outer margins of galaxies travel as rapidly as stars closer to the galaxy
center. This indicates that there must be a large amount of invisible matter, even at the
fringe of a galaxy, where the number of visible stars dwindles, because matter is nec-
essary to accelerate the outer stars in their rapid orbits. Rubin theorized that a huge
reservoir of extra material that is invisible to the telescope must be part of each gal-
axy, and her team has analyzed 200 galaxies in pursuit of this research. Her work
on spiral galaxies was discussed on the public television show, Stephen Hawking 's
Universe: On the Dark Side, in 1997.
Rubin was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
(1981) and received the National Medal of Science (1993). She was also awarded
the NAS James Craig Watson Medal (2004) "for her seminal observations of dark
matter in galaxies, large-scale relative motions of galaxies, and for generous men-
toring of young astronomers, men and women." She has received numerous honor-
ary degrees and other awards, including the Russell Lecturer Prize of the
American Astronomical Society (1994), Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical
Society (1996), Women and Science Award of the Weizmann Institute (1996),
Cosmology Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation (2002), Bruce Medal of the
Astronomical Society of the Pacific (2003), and Distinguished Achievement
Award of Vassar College (2007). In 2008, she became co-chair (with geneticist
Maxine Singer and physicist Myriam Sarachik) of an NAS project to pair
Rudin, Mary Ellen (Estill) | 825
women scientists in the United States with Iraqi women scientists for mentoring
and career support.
Further Resources
Carnegie Institution. Faculty website, http://www.dtm.ciw.edu/rubin/.
National Academy of Sciences. 2008. "International Twinning Project for Iraqi Women
Scientists, Engineers, and Health Professionals." Committee on Human Rights.
(March 2008). http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/humanrights/PGA 044086.
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: loseph Henry Press.
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Rudin, Mary Ellen (Estill)
b. 1924
Mathematician
Education: B.A., University of Texas, Austin, 1944, Ph.D., mathematics, 1949
Professional Experience: instructor, mathematics, Duke University, 1950-1953;
assistant professor, University of Rochester, 1953-1957; lecturer, University of
Wisconsin, Madison, 1959-1970, professor, mathematics, 1971-1991, emerita
Mary Ellen Rudin is renowned for her contributions to set-theory topology in
mathematics, particularly the construction of counterexamples. Topology is an
abstract geometry that looks at the properties of mathematical spaces. She entered
the University of Texas with no specific plans for an area of study, but was men-
tored by an unorthodox mathematics research professor by the name of R. L.
Moore. At the time she completed her Ph.D., in 1949, many universities were
under pressure to hire women mathematicians, and Rudin found a job as an
instructor at Duke University. She met and married mathematician Walter Rudin
at Duke, and they moved to the University of Rochester and then on to the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin, Madison. At Madison, she was only able to work as a lecturer
due to an anti-nepotism rule, but after the rules were changed in 1971, she was pro-
moted to full professor. Each summer at the University of Wisconsin, there were
mathematics conferences and collaborations, and in 1974, Rudin gave a series of
10 lectures that were subsequently published as Lectures on Set Theoretic Topology
(1975). Rudin was considered one of the best-known female mathematicians of her
generation. In 1991, a conference, "The Work of Mary Ellen Rudin," was held
826 | Rudnick, Dorothea
in her honor at Madison, and the proceedings were published in the Annals of the
New York Academy of Sciences (1993).
Rudin's family was committed to the value of education. Both of her parents and
even both of her grandmothers had college degrees, and her family insisted that girls
as well as boys should have the opportunity for further education. She has exhibited
outstanding dedication and service to her profession and has written more than 90
research papers or book chapters. She has been recognized nationally as well as inter-
nationally, serving on advisory boards for the National Academy of Sciences and
National Science Foundation, and as a visiting professor at institutions in New
Zealand, Mexico, and China. Rudin is a member of the American Mathematical
Society, Mathematical Association of America, the Association for Women in Math-
ematics, and the Association for Symbolic Logic, and a fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1995, she was elected to the Hungarian Academy
of Sciences and has been honored by the Mathematical Society of The Netherlands.
Further Resources
Henrion, Claudia. 1997. Women in Mathematics: The Addition of Difference. Bloomington:
Indiana University Press.
Murray, Margaret Anne Marie. 2000. Women Becoming Mathematicians: Creating an
Identity in Post World War II America. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Rudnick, Dorothea
1907 1990
Embryologist
Education: B.A., languages, University of Chicago, 1928, Ph.D., zoology, 1931
Professional Experience: fellow, Yale University, 1931-1934; research fellow,
University of Rochester, 1934-1937; assistant instructor, genetics, Storrs experi-
ment station, University of Connecticut, 1937-1939; instructor, zoology, Wellesley
College, 1939-1940; assistant professor, biology, Albertus Magnus College, New
Haven, Connecticut, 1940-1948, professor, 1948-1977; research associate, Yale
University, 1940-1971, associate fellow, 1969-1977
Concurrent Positions: Guggenheim fellow, 1952-1953; U.S. Public Health
Service special fellow, 1965-1966
Dorothea Rudnick was recognized for her research in embryology, which focused
on experimental embryology of the chick and rat; developmental genetics of the
Russell, Elizabeth Shull | 827
chick; and enzymatic development in the liver, brain, and retina of the chick. She
discovered an interest in the sciences as an undergraduate taking courses in zool-
ogy and embryology. While still in graduate school, her research on chick embryos
was published in a scientific journal. After receiving her doctorate from the Uni-
versity of Chicago in 1931, she was a fellow of the Osborne Zoological Laboratory
at Yale and then a National Research Fellow at the University of Rochester. In
1937, she accepted a position as assistant instructor at the University of Connect-
icut and as instructor in zoology at Wellesley in 1939. She was appointed assistant
professor of biology at Albertus Magnus in 1940, and advanced to full professor in
1948. Albertus Magnus was a small liberal-arts college with very limited labora-
tory facilities, so she maintained a lab at nearby Yale University, where she con-
ducted studies on the embryology of the chick and rat. In 1952, she won a
Guggenheim fellowship to conduct research and lecture in Europe. She retired
from Yale in 1977.
Rudnick came from a family of scientists; her father was a chemist and her two
brothers became physicists. She originally studied languages in college, however,
but later combined her fluency in several European languages and her interest in sci-
ence by writing book reviews of English, French, and German works and translating
a biography of a German scientist, Theodor Boveri: Life and Work of a Great Biolo-
gist. For several years, she served as editor of the symposia of the Society for the
Study of Growth and Development, and secretary and editor at the Connecticut
Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was a member of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, American Society of Zoologists, American Asso-
ciation of Anatomists, Society for Developmental Biology, Tissue Culture Associa-
tion, and International Institute of Embryology.
Russell, Elizabeth Shull
1913 2001
Geneticist
Education: A.B., zoology, University of Michigan, 1933; A.M., Columbia Uni-
versity, 1934; Ph.D., genetics, University of Chicago, 1937
Professional Experience: assistant, zoology, University of Chicago, 1935-1937;
independent investigator, Roscoe B. Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine,
1937-1940, research associate, 1946-1957, senior staff scientist, 1957-1978,
emeritus senior scientist, 1978-1988
Concurrent Positions: Guggenheim fellow, 1958-1959
828 | Russell, Elizabeth Shull
Elizabeth Russell was a pioneer in genetics who bred and distributed millions of mice
for scientific research around the world. Her early research was on fruit flies, but she
became interested in mammalian genetics and began working with mice, the genetic
makeup of which is 95 percent identical to that of humans. Her research focused on
pigmentation, hereditary anemia, muscular dystrophy, cancer, and the genetic effects
on aging. Her work on marrow transplants in mice had implications for later human
treatments. She spent much of her career at the Roscoe B. Jackson Laboratory in
Bar Harbor, Maine, which is known internationally for its research in breeding mice
(now known by the brand name JAX Mice) to represent specific genetic conditions.
When a fire broke out at the laboratory in 1947, it destroyed thousands of mice, and
Russell was in charge of rebuilding the stock, a task that took another 10 years.
Russell came from a strong family background in science. Her father, Aaron
Franklin Shull, taught zoology and genetics at the University of Michigan, and
her mother, Margaret Jeffrey Buckley, had a master's degree in zoology and had
taught at Grinnell College in Iowa. After receiving her master's degree from
Columbia in 1934, Elizabeth Shull joined the University of Chicago as an assistant
in zoology while she completed her doctorate. She received her Ph.D. in 1937 and,
that same year, married fellow graduate student William L. Russell. The couple
began working at the Jackson Laboratory, although Elizabeth was unable to secure
a full-time permanent position due to anti-nepotism rules. She began her career as
an independent investigator at the lab, and took several years off in the 1940s, prob-
ably due to family responsibilities, as the couple had four children. The couple
divorced in 1947, however, and Elizabeth returned to work at Jackson as a research
associate, then senior staff scientist. She organized a conference at Jackson of sci-
entists from around the globe and subsequently received a Guggenheim fellowship
to pursue her research on mammalian genetics. She formally retired in 1988 after
several years as an emeritus senior scientist and traveled twice to Liberia, West
Africa as a visiting instructor at Cuttington College.
Russell was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1972. She was a
trustee for several colleges in Maine and in 1991 was inducted into the Maine
Women's Hall of Fame. She was a member of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, the Genetics Society of America (vice president, 1974; president,
1975-1976), the American Philosophical Society, the American Society of
Naturalists, the Council of the National Institute on Aging, the Society for Devel-
opmental Biology, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Further Resources
Barker, Jane E. and Willys K. Silvers. 2002. "Elizabeth S. Russell. 1913 2001." Bio-
graphical Memoirs. 81. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, http://www.nap
.edu/html/biomems/erussell.pdf.
s
Sabin, Florence Rena
1871 1953
Anatomist
Education: B.S., Smith College, 1893; M.D., Johns Hopkins University, 1900
Professional Experience: school teacher, 1894-1895; assistant, zoology, Smith
College, 1896; intern, Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1900-1901, assistant to associate,
anatomy, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, 1902-1905, associate
professor, 1905-1917, professor, histology, 1917-1925; head, Department of Cel-
lular Studies, Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, New York, 1925-1938;
head, Committee on Health, Colorado, 1945-1947; manager, Department of
Health and Charities, Denver, Colorado, 1947
Florence Sabin is regarded as one of the outstanding woman scientists in the medi-
cal field in the first half of the twentieth century. As a medical student, she had
shown great interest in research, and she published her first paper, on the nuclei
of cochlear and vestibular nerves, during her second year. She received her medi-
cal degree in 1900 and chose to continue in research and teaching. She was the first
female faculty member at Johns Hopkins Medical School when she was appointed
in 1902 and was the first woman to advance to full professor in 1917. Her major
areas of research were the origin of the lymphatic vessels, the study of red and
white corpuscles, and the pathogenesis of tuberculosis. Her first research efforts
were in a controversial field, the origin of lymphatic vessels. By using the
approach of injecting lymphatic channels with India ink, she demonstrated that
the vessels derived from the venous system. This work caused considerable con-
troversy but ultimately was acclaimed as a highly significant contribution. Other
important contributions included the development of supravital staining tech-
niques for living cells and the identification of the monocyte as a definitive type
of white blood cell.
Sabin left Johns Hopkins and accepted a position as a member of the Rockefeller
Institute in 1925, where she conducted significant research on tuberculosis before
retiring as emeritus member in 1938. After she retired, she returned to her native
Colorado and continued her involvement with public health issues. She began what
was, effectively, another career when she was asked to head the Colorado State
829
830 | Sager, Ruth
Committee on Health, established after the end of World War II. Her first project was
to conduct health surveys of Colorado residents, and she drafted several pieces of
public -health legislation to address the high mortality rate and poor healthcare sys-
tems in the state. In 1947, she was appointed head of Health and Charities for the city
of Denver, and set out to improve public health and hygiene standards in hospitals
and restaurants, and to promote preventative healthcare in identifying tuberculosis
and other contagious diseases.
Sabin was the first woman elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1925).
She was also the first woman president of the American Association of Anatomists
(1924-1926). She received honorary degrees from a dozen universities. Among
her other honors and awards were the National Achievement Award (1932), M.
Carey Thomas Prize (1935), Trudeau Medal of the National Tuberculosis Associ-
ation (1945), and Albert Lasker Public Service Award (1951). A bronze statue was
placed in her honor in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. In addition to her numer-
ous scientific papers, she was the author of An Atlas of the Medulla and Mid-Brain
(1901) and Biography of Franklin Paine Mall (1934). She was a member of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physiological
Society, the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, the Harvey Society,
and the National Tuberculosis Association, and an honorary member of the New
York Academy of Sciences.
Further Resources
National Institutes of Health. "The Florence R. Sabin Papers." Profiles in Science,
National Library of Medicine. http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/RR/.
Sager, Ruth
1918 1997
Geneticist
Education: B.S., University of Chicago, 1938; M.S., plant physiology, Rutgers
University, 1944; Ph.D., genetics, Columbia University, 1948
Professional Experience: Merck postdoctoral fellow, Rockefeller Institute for
Medical Research, 1949-1951, assistant biochemist, 1951-1955; research associ-
ate, zoology, Columbia University, 1955-1960, senior research associate, 1960-
1966; professor, biology, Hunter College, 1966-1975; professor, cellular genetics
and chief, Division of Cancer Genetics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard
Medical School, 1975-1988
Sager, Ruth | 83 I
Ruth Sager was a geneticist who pio-
neered the development of experi-
mental material for the analysis of
nonchromosomal heredity, called
non-Mendelian inheritance or cyto-
plasmic inheritance. Her research
interests included organelle genetics
and biogenesis, mammalian cell
genetics, genetic mechanisms of car-
cinogenesis, tumor suppressor genes,
and breast cancer. Sager began her
scientific career as a graduate student
at Columbia University, where she
studied plant genetics and was
heavily influenced by the work of
contemporary renowned geneticist
Barbara McClintock. Sager held a
postdoctoral fellowship to work with
a microbiologist at the Rockefeller
Institute for Medical Research, and
she concentrated her own research
on chloroplast DNA. She returned to
Columbia as a research associate and collaborated with Professor Francis Ryan
on their book on Cell Heredity, published in 1961.
Sager's work changed the way biologists think about cell heredity. Still, there
was a long delay in recognizing her achievements in academia, and she was not
appointed a full professor until she moved to Hunter College in 1966, 18 years
after receiving her doctorate. She had moved toward cancer research when she
spent a year in London at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratory as a
Guggenheim fellow. In 1975, she was invited to head the Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute at Harvard, where she and her colleagues researched the growth of cancer
cells and the search for tumor-suppressor genes, and had some success working
with breast cancer cells. She retired from Harvard in 1988 but continued to be a
voice for cancer research. She died of bladder cancer in 1997.
Sager was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1977 and the Insti-
tute of Medicine in 1992. Among her honors and awards, she received the Gilbert
Morgan Smith Medal of the National Academy of Sciences (1988). She was a
member of the American Society for Cell Biology, International Society for Cell
Biology, Genetics Society of America, American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
American Society of Biological Chemists and Molecular Biologists, American
Geneticist Ruth Sager, 1964. (AP/Wide World
Photos)
832 | Saif, Linda
Society of Naturalists, American Association of Cancer Research, and American
Society of Human Genetics.
Further Resources
"Ruth Sager, Faculty of Medicine Memorial Minute." Harvard University Gazette.
(4 November 2004). http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/ll.04/16-mm.html.
Saif, Linda
b. 1947
Microbiologist, Animal Scientist
Education: B.A., College of Wooster, Ohio, 1969; M.S., microbiology, Ohio State
University, 1971, Ph.D., microbiology and immunology, 1976
Professional Experience: postdoctoral research associate, Ohio Agricultural
Research and Development Center (OARDC), Department of Veterinary
Science, Ohio State University, 1976-1979, assistant to associate professor,
Food Animal Health Research Program, 1979-1990, Distinguished University
Professor, 1990-
Linda Saif is a microbiologist whose work on animal viruses gained international
attention during the global SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak
of 2002 and 2003. Her research focuses on animal digestive and respiratory viral
infections, bases for immunities, the development of vaccines, and foodborne
illnesses. Saif, a professor of food animal sciences at the OARDC, was called
upon by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control as head of one of the only laboratories in the world that had conducted
research on a deadly coronavirus that had caused a global lethal infection of pigs;
the virus could be transmitted from animals to humans, and was believed to be the
pathogen responsible for SARS. Few biologists studying human viruses had
encountered coronaviruses, and Saif and her husband, Mo Saif (also affiliated
with the OARDC), consulted on ways to detect, respond to, and stop the spread of
the SARS virus that killed nearly 1 ,000 people in less than one year. Her lab was
invited to join the WHO's elite network of International Reference Laboratories,
an affiliation that has attracted graduate students and grant money to support
her work.
Saif was raised in Ohio and spent much of her childhood in and around her
grandparents' farm. She earned her bachelor's degree from the College of Wooster
in 1969. She briefly attended Case Western Reserve University before receiving
Sammet, Jean Elaine | 833
her master's and doctorate in microbiology and immunology from Ohio State
University in 1971 and 1976, respectively. She stayed on at the university, rising
through the ranks from postdoctoral researcher to assistant professor, and in
2002 became a Distinguished University Professor, the highest faculty honor.
Saif was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2003. That same year,
she received an honorary doctorate from Ghent University in Belgium. She has
also received the Beecham Laboratories Award for Research Excellence (1989),
a Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist Award from the American Association
of Veterinary Immunologists (1995), and University Distinguished Scholar
Awards from the Ohio State University (1995 and 2002). She is an honorary diplo-
mate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists, an elected fellow of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of
the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases, American Society
of Virology, and American Association of Veterinary Immunologists.
Further Resources
Ohio State University. "Dr. Linda Saif Laboratory." http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/lsaiflab/.
Sammet, Jean Elaine
b. 1928
Computer Scientist
Education: B.A., mathematics, Mount Holyoke College, 1948; M.A., mathemat-
ics, University of Illinois, 1949
Professional Experience: teaching assistant, mathematics, University of Illinois,
1948-1951; dividend technician, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 1951;
teaching assistant, mathematics, Barnard College, 1952-1953; engineer, Sperry
Gyroscope Company, 1953-1958; section head, MOBIDIC Programming, Sylva-
nia Electric Products Company, 1958-1959, staff consultant, program research,
1959-1961; Boston advanced program manager, International Business Machines
(IBM) Corporation, 1961-1965, program language technical manager, 1965—
1968, program technology planning manager, 1968-1979, division software tech-
nical manager, 1979-1983, program language technology manager, 1983-1986,
senior technical staff member, 1986-1988; consultant, 1989—
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, Adelphi College, 1956-1958, Northeastern
University, 1967, University of California, Los Angeles, 1967-1972, Mount Holyoke
College, 1974
834 | Sammet, Jean Elaine
Jean Sammet is renowned for her professional contributions to the use of com-
puters for nonnumerical mathematics and for developments in the theory of
high-level programming languages. She is most famous for her work on the design
and development of COBOL and FORMAC, the most widely used programming
language in the world from the late 1960s through the 1970s, primarily for com-
mercial applications. She studied mathematics in college and graduate school,
and began work on computers at Sperry Gyroscope in 1955 as supervisor of their
first scientific programming group. At the same time, she was a lecturer on digital
computer programming at Adelphi College, where she also taught one of the ear-
liest courses on FORTRAN in the United States. She moved to Sylvania Electric
Products in 1958 and oversaw the development of software for MOBIDIC, the
U.S. Army computer system. During her Sylvania years, she was involved in the
initial creation of COBOL.
In 1961, Sammet began her long association with IBM to organize and manage
the Boston Programming Center. She initiated the concept, and directed the devel-
opment of, FORMAC (FORmula MAnipulation Compiler), the first widely used
general language and system for manipulating nonnumeric algebraic expression.
In 1965, she became programming language technology manager and then moved
to the IBM Federal Systems Division in 1968, where she held various positions
involving planning, internal consulting, and lecturing on programming languages.
In 1969, she published a book, Programming Languages: History and Fundamentals,
recognized as the "standard work on programming languages" and "an instant
computer classic." In 1979, she began work on "Ada," the first programming lan-
guage developed for the U.S. Department of Defense. In 1986, she was named a
senior technical staff member; she formally retired from IBM in 1988, but contin-
ued to consult for the company.
Sammet was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering
in 1977 and in 1978 received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Mount
Holyoke College. Among her numerous other awards are IBM's Outstanding
Contribution Award (1965), Mount Holyoke College Alumnae Association
Centennial Award (1972), Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Distinguished Service Award (1985), Augusta Ada Lovelace Award of the
Association for Women in Computing (1989), Distinguished Service Award of
the ACM Special Interest Group on Programming Languages (SIGPLAN)
(1997), and a Fellow Award of the Computer History Museum (2001). She is
a member of the Mathematical Association of America and the Association
for Computing Machinery, serving as president from 1974 to 1976. She was
also a member of the board of directors of the Computer Museum in Boston
(1983-1993).
Sarachik, Myriam Paula (Morgenstein) | 835
Sarachik, Myriam Paula (Morgenstein)
b. 1933
Physicist
Education: B.A., physics, Barnard College, 1954; M.S., Columbia University,
1957, Ph.D., physics, 1960
Professional Experience: research assistant, solid-state physics, International
Business Machines (IBM) Watson Laboratory, Columbia University, 1955-1960,
research associate, 1960-1961; member of technical staff, AT&T Bell Laborato-
ries, 1962-1964; assistant to associate professor, physics, City College of New
York, 1964-1971, professor, 1971-1995, distinguished professor, 1995-
Concurrent Positions: principal investigator, U.S. Air Force research grant,
1965-1972, National Science Foundation grant, 1972-1974; executive officer,
graduate program in physics, City College of New York, 1975-1978
Myriam Sarachik is an experimental condensed-matter physicist who is renowned
for her research on superconductivity, disordered metallic alloys, metal-insulator
transitions in doped semiconductors, hopping transport in solids, properties of
strongly interacting electrons in two dimensions, and spin dynamics in molecular
magnets. She was born Myriam Morgenstein in Antwerp, Belgium, and when
she was just seven years old, her family began their escape from the Nazis that
would take them to France, then Cuba, and on to New York. She attended the pres-
tigious Bronx High School of Science and then majored in physics at Barnard Col-
lege. While at Columbia working on a master's and then doctorate in physics, she
worked as a research assistant and then a research associate in the IBM Watson
Laboratory. After receiving her Ph.D. she worked on the technical staff of AT&T
Bell Laboratories for two years, and then became an assistant professor of physics
at the City College of New York. She rose through the ranks to become full profes-
sor in 1971 and then distinguished professor (the highest faculty rank) in 1995, a
position she still holds.
Sarachik was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences
(NAS) in 1994 and in 2008 was elected to the NAS 17-member Governing Council.
Among her other most recent awards are the New York City Mayor's Award for
Excellence in Science and Technology (1995), the Sloan Public Service Award
from the Fund for the City of New York (2004), the Oliver E. Buckley Prize in
Condensed Matter Physics (2005), and the L'Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women
in Science (2005). She has served on numerous national and international
boards and advisory panels, including for the National Science Foundation,
836 | Savitz, Maxine (Lazarus)
U.S. Department of Energy, American Institute of Physics, National Research
Council, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials of the University of Groningen,
Netherlands, and Science Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology. She is a fellow of the American Physical Society (vice
president, 2001; president, 2003), New York Academy of Sciences, American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Association for the Advancement
of Science. In 2008, she became co-chair (with astronomer Vera Rubin and
geneticist Maxine Singer) of a National Academy of Sciences project to pair
women scientists in the United States with Iraqi women scientists for mentoring
and career support.
Further Resources
National Academy of Sciences. 2008. "International Twinning Project for Iraqi Women
Scientists, Engineers, and Health Professionals." Committee on Human Rights.
(March 2008). http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/humanrights/PGA 044086.
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Savitz, Maxine (Lazarus)
b. 1937
Organic Chemist, Electrochemist
Education: B.A., chemistry, Bryn Mawr College, 1958; Ph.D., organic chemistry,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1961
Professional Experience: National Science Foundation fellow, University of
California, Berkeley, 1961-1962; instructor, chemistry, Hunter College, 1962-1963;
research chemist, Electric Power Division, U.S. Army Engineering Research and
Development Laboratory, Fort Belvoir, 1963-1968; associate professor, chemistry,
Federal City College, 1968-1971, professor, 1971-1972; professional manager,
Research Applied to National Needs, National Science Foundation, 1972-1973;
chief, buildings conservation policy research, Federal Energy Administration,
1973-1975; division director, buildings and industrial conservation, Energy Research
and Development Administration, 1975-1976, division director, buildings and com-
munity systems, 1976-1979, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Conservation, Depart-
ment of Energy, 1979-1983; president, Lighting Research Institute, 1983-1985;
Scarr, Sandra (Wood) | 837
assistant to vice president of engineering, Ceramic Components Division, Garret
Corporation, 1985-1987; general manager, Ceramic Components Division,
AlliedSignal Aerospace Company (now Honeywell, Inc.), 1987-2000, general
manager, Technology Partnerships, 2000-2006; vice president, National Academy
of Engineering, 2006-
Maxine Savitz is an organic chemist who is recognized for her expertise in
research management in both government and industry. Her research includes free
radical mechanisms, anodic hydrocarbon oxidation, fuel cells, more efficient use
of energy in buildings, community systems, appliances, agriculture and industrial
processes, transportation, batteries and other storage systems, new materials, and
advanced structural ceramic materials. She has spent recent years serving as gen-
eral manager of different divisions at Honeywell, Inc. (formerly AlliedSignal)
working on ceramics for aerospace applications. Earlier, she was an executive
with the U.S. Department of Energy, establishing energy-saving guidelines for
buildings during the oil crises of the 1970s. Recommendations of her team in
the areas of longer-burning lighting, new batteries, and new technologies, and
development of alternative fuels for vehicles and improved public transportation,
were among the measures mandated by the Energy Conservation and Production
Act of 1976.
Savitz was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering
(NAE) in 1992, and in 2006 was elected to a four-year term as vice president of
the NAE. Among her committee appointments are the Energy and Engineering
Board of the NAE, the Office of Technical Assessment of the U.S. Congress
Energy Demand Panel, the natural materials advisory board, National Research
Council, the advisory committee of the division of ceramics/materials, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, the advisory board for the secretary of Energy, and the
Defense Science Board. She is one of the directors of the Washington Advisory
Group, and in 2009, she was appointed by President Obama to the Council of Advi-
sors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Savitz is a member of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science and American Ceramic Society, and a
fellow of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST).
Scarr, Sandra (Wood)
b. 1936
Psychologist
Education: B.A., sociology, Vassar College, 1958; M.A., Harvard University,
1963, Ph.D., psychology, 1965
838 | Scarr, Sandra (Wood)
Professional Experience: instructor, University of Maryland, 1964-1965, assis-
tant professor, psychology, 1965-1966; lecturer, University of Pennsylvania,
1967-1968, assistant to associate professor, 1968-1971; associate professor,
University of Minnesota, 1971-1973, professor, 1973-1977; professor, Yale
University, 1977-1983; Commonwealth Professor of Psychology, University of
Virginia, 1983-1995; chief executive officer and chair, KinderCare Learning
Centers, Inc., 1995-1997, director, 1997-1999
Concurrent Positions: visiting associate professor, Bryn Mawr College, 1969; fel-
low, Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University,
1976-1977; visiting professor, Gothenburg, Stockholm, and Uppsala Universities,
Sweden, 1993-1994
Sandra Scarr is renowned for her research on how genetics, psychology, and envi-
ronment can inform public policy debates. Her research interests include genetic
variability in human behavior, particularly intelligence and personality, and the
effects of variation in the quality of home and childcare environments on child-
ren's development. She has investigated how the family influences personality
development, intelligence, and school achievement, and what effects interventions
such as preschool programs have on children. She is considered an expert on
daycare systems and adoption with her studies on the correlation between environ-
ment and intelligence. Scarr attracted national attention with her research on con-
troversial topics such as daycare, racial differences in IQ and school performance,
and the effects of lead exposure on the IQs of children.
Scarr became interested in child development as an undergraduate studying
sociology at Vassar in the 1950s, at a time when the subject was only beginning
to garner serious intellectual consideration. After graduation, she worked for
social service agencies, where she began to differentiate between the psychologi-
cal and economic needs of different client groups. She went on to study psychol-
ogy in graduate school at Harvard and, in 1967, began researching why black
children perform so poorly in school and on intelligence tests. After 10 years of
research, she concluded that such performance was owing to sociocultural disad-
vantage; her work was published as Race, Social Class, and Individual Differences
in IQ (1981). As a career woman with four children, she combined her background
in child development with research on daycare to develop expertise on the contro-
versial subject. Recognizing that childcare is an important social and economic
necessity that allows women to participate in the labor force, she argued against
the concern that childcare may have an adverse effect on the emotional develop-
ment of children, looking at the role of parental attachment and anxiety over
separation. Her book, Mother Care/Other Care (1984), received the National
Book Award of the American Psychological Association, and she has published
Scharrer, Berta Vogel | 839
hundreds of articles and reviews on the topic. In the mid-1990s, she was chief
executive officer and then director of a national childcare chain, KinderCare.
Scarr's awards and recognitions include the Distinguished Contribution to
Research on Public Policy of the American Psychological Association (1988), James
M. Cattell Award of the American Psychological Society (1993), and Dobzhansky
Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Behavior Genetics Association. She is a
fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the American Psychological Asso-
ciation, Behavior Genetics Association (president, 1985-1986), and Society for
Research in Child Development (president, 1989-1991), and a founding member
of the American Psychological Society (president, 1996). She is identified in some
sources as Scarr-Salapatek.
Further Resources
O'Connell, Agnes N. and Nancy Felipe Russo, eds. 2001. Models of Achievement:
Reflections of Eminent Women in Psychology. Vol. 3. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Scharrer, Berta Vogel
1906 1995
Neuroendocrinologist
Education: Ph.D., zoology, University of Munich, 1930
Professional Experience: assistant, Research Institute of Psychiatry, University
of Munich, 1932-1934; guest investigator, Neurological Institute, Frankfurt,
1934-1937; guest investigator, Department of Anatomy, University of Chicago,
1937-1938; guest investigator, Rockefeller Institute, 1938-1940; senior instructor,
Western Reserve University, 1940-1946; instructor to assistant professor, Univer-
sity of Colorado, 1946-1954; professor, anatomy, Albert Einstein Medical
College, 1955-1995
Concurrent Positions: Guggenheim fellow, 1947-1948
Berta Scharrer and her husband, Ernst Scharrer, pioneered the research on neuro-
secretion that helped to create a new discipline in physiology, that of neuroendo-
crinology. Neurosecretion is the theory that nerves secrete hormones into
the blood. Among the most important of the couple's findings was the dis-
covery that, in both mammals and insects, there were two completely analogous
840 | Schwan, Judith A.
neuroendocrine organ systems, each of which controlled a variety of non-nervous
processes. Her other research interests included comparative endocrinology, ultra-
structure, and neuroimmunology. Berta Scharrer concentrated on invertebrates
while her husband studied vertebrates and, therefore, even though they worked
together, they produced few joint publications. Although she held several presti-
gious research positions at institutions in the United States and Europe, due to
anti-nepotism rules, she was unable to obtain a full-time faculty appointment until
the couple joined the Albert Einstein Medical College. In several interviews,
Scharrer said the situation was to her advantage because she could concentrate
on research without the burden of administrative responsibilities and pressure to
publish. Scharrer remained at Albert Einstein for 40 years, formally retiring just
months before her death in 1995.
Scharrer was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1967. She
received honorary degrees from eight universities and numerous awards, including
the Kraepelin Gold Medal Award (1978), the Koch Award (1980), the Henry Gray
Award (1982), the Schleiden Medal (1983), and the National Medal of Science
from the National Science Foundation (1983). She was elected president of the
American Association of Anatomists (1978-1979), and was an honorary member
of the American Society of Zoologists and the International Society of Neuro-
endocrinology. She was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and several German and other European scientific academies.
Further Resources
Purpura, Dominick P. 1998. "Berta V. Scharrer. December 1, 1906 July 23, 1995." Bio-
graphical Memoirs. 74: 288 307. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, http://
books. nap. edu/openbook.php?record id=6201&page=288.
Schwan, Judith A.
1925 1996
Chemical Engineer
Education: B.S., chemical engineering, University of Cincinnati, 1948; M.S.,
physical chemistry, Cornell University, 1950
Professional Experience: research chemist to senior chemist, Emulsion Research
Division, Eastman Kodak Laboratories, 1950-1965, laboratory head, 1965-1968,
assistant director, 1968-1971, director, 1971-1975, assistant director, Kodak
Research and Development Laboratories, 1975-1987
Schwarzer, Theresa Flynn | 841
Judith A. Schwan was a chemical engineer who helped develop new types of film
during her more than 35-year career at Eastman Kodak Laboratories in Rochester,
New York. She eventually received more than 20 patents for her new research pro-
cesses and development of new products related to Kodachrome and Kodacolor
brand color negative films, print films, and Ektachrome motion picture films.
Schwan was part of a generation of women who entered into engineering during
the post-World War II boom in technological and scientific careers. She com-
pleted her undergraduate work at the University of Cincinnati, and went on to
graduate school at Cornell University in New York, where she majored in physical
chemistry and took numerous courses in chemical engineering. She began
working on new product development at the Kodak Emulsion Research labora-
tory immediately after receiving her master's degree in 1950. She rose to senior
research chemist and laboratory head, and held a variety of management positions,
including assistant director and director of the Research and Development
Laboratories.
Schwan was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1982. She
received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Cincinnati, the
Athena Award of Rochester, New York Chamber of Commerce, and the
Technicolor-Herbert T. Kalmus Gold Medal Award of the Society of Motion Pic-
ture Engineers (1979). She was on the council of the Industrial Research Institute
(1979-1981) and was a member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television
Engineers, American Chemical Society, and Society of Photographic Scientists
and Engineers.
Further Resources
Thomas, Leo J. 2002. "Judith A. Schwan. 1925 1996." Memorial Tributes: National
Academy of Engineering. 10: 206 209. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php7record id=10403&page=206.
Schwarzer, Theresa Flynn
b. 1940
Geologist, Petroleum Geologist
Education: B.S., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1963, M.S., 1966, Ph.D.,
geology, 1969
Professional Experience: instructor, geology, State University of New York at
Albany, 1969; research fellow, Rice University, 1969-1972; senior research
842 | Scott, Juanita (Simons)
geologist, Exxon Company, 1972-1974, research specialist, 1974-1976, senior
research specialist, 1976-1978, senior explorer geologist, Gulf Coast Division,
Exxon USA, 1978-1980, project leader, Texas Offshore Division, 1980-1981, dis-
trict production geologist, East Texas Division, 1981-1983, senior supervisor, Exxon
Production Research Company, 1983-1987, geological advisor, Exxon USA, 1987—
Theresa Schwarzer is a geologist who has been recognized for her expertise in
petroleum exploration. Her research interests include inorganic and organic geo-
chemistry; remote sensing; multivariate statistical techniques; and interpretation
and integration of geophysical, geological, and geochemical data for hydrocarbon
exploration. For more than 35 years, she has worked for Exxon Corporation in
increasing levels of responsibility for research in hydrocarbon exploration. Among
her achievements are the discovery of commercial oil and gas deposits, and
research on and development of unconventional exploration methods. As a geolo-
gist, she relies upon detailed maps, soil and rock analyses, soundings, and other
details to conduct remote sensing of a potential site for exploration. Diminishing
energy, mineral, and water resources, and increasing environmental and political
concerns over drilling for oil, have placed a premium on the unique qualifications
of geoscientists.
Schwarzer served as chair of the women geoscientists committee of the Ameri-
can Geological Institute from 1973 to 1977. She is a member of the Geological
Society of America, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Society for
Exploration Geo-Physicists, and Geochemical Society.
Scott, Juanita (Simons)
1936 2001
Developmental Biologist
Education: A.A., Clinton Junior College, 1956; B.S., biology, Livingstone College,
North Carolina, 1958; M.S., biology, Atlanta University, 1962; Ed.D., science educa-
tion, University of South Carolina, 1979
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1958-1960; instructor, biological
science, Benedict College, 1963-1964; instructor, Morris College, 1965-1967; as-
sistant to associate professor, Benedict College, 1968-1981, professor, 1981-1987,
head, Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, 1987-1994, head, Depart-
ment of Biological and Physical Science, 1992-1994, dean, Division of Arts and
Sciences, 1994-2001
Scott, Juanita (Simons) | 843
Juanita Scott was a developmental biologist known for her research on problems
of water pollution in the rivers and streams of South Carolina. She started her
research in the late 1960s on the pollutants being dumped into the waters by indus-
trial firms, and by the mid-1980s, she had become interested in the microscopic
characteristics of individual cells. She studied how pollutants, such as lead, cad-
mium, and mercury, act on different structures within a cell. Her research
indicated that parts of a frog's skin cells are more likely to react to metal contami-
nation than other parts of the skin cells. She and her team of student researchers
found that a frog's skin not only repels some toxic compounds but also has some
antibiotic properties. After receiving a doctorate in science education from the
University of South Carolina in 1979, Scott did additional postdoctoral studies in
biology, microbiology, and human sexuality at North Carolina State University,
Columbia College, Clark College, and New York University, continuing her own
research and publishing papers on environmental and cellular biology. She began
teaching biology at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1963 and
spent her entire career there in various teaching and administrative positions,
including overseeing 10 academic departments as dean of the Division of Arts
and Sciences.
Scott grew up on a farm near Columbia, South Carolina, that had no running
water or electricity. Although there were 15 children in the family, her parents placed
great emphasis on education. She graduated from high school at 16 and, although
she did not have any particular ambition to be a scientist, had a good capacity for
learning and did particularly well in her science courses. Influenced by her biology
teacher, she decided to major in biology at Livingstone College, but also completed
the courses for a teaching certificate. She then taught in a high school that, although
it was relatively new, was segregated and not well-funded; for instance, there was no
scientific equipment available in the laboratory.
After becoming a college instructor and administrator, she remained concerned
about the quality of science teaching in middle and junior high schools, and found
that many students arrived at college or university with little knowledge of the sci-
ences and frequently had the attitude that all science courses were too hard. She
developed summer science project workshops for middle school students (now
operating as the Juanita S. Scott Middle School Summer Enrichment Program
[MSSEP]), and worked with elementary and high school teachers under a National
Science Foundation grant to develop math, science, and technology curricula, and
improve the quality of instruction at each level by assuring that teachers under-
stand the basic scientific concepts. For several years, she was involved with
directing research, teaching biology, and conducting in-service training classes
for teachers.
844 | Seddon, Margaret Rhea
Further Resources
Benedict College. "Juanita Simons Scott, Ed.D." http://www.benedict.edu/news/
accomplishments/bc-news-faculty n staff accomplishments-juanita simons scott
-20070515.html.
Seddon, Margaret Rhea
b. 1947
Physician, Astronaut
Education: B.A., physiology, University of California, Berkeley, 1970; M.D.,
University of Tennessee, 1973
Professional Experience: general surgery resident; medical doctor with a spe-
cialty in medical nutrition; astronaut program, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), 1978-1997; Assistant Chief Medical Officer, Vanderbilt
University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, 1997-2007; patient safety
expert, Lifewing Partners LLC, 2007-
Margaret Rhea Seddon is a physician and retired astronaut who flew on three
space shuttle flights. She was one of the six women who were first selected
for the NASA astronaut program in 1978. She was the first woman to complete
her training in 1979, but when plans for the first shuttle program were near com-
pletion, she learned she was pregnant and was unable to begin the training pro-
gram; it was Sally Ride who became the first woman astronaut in space in 1983.
Seddon was assigned to later missions as a payload specialist, launch-and-rescue
helicopter physician, technical assistant to the director of flight-crew operations,
and member of the Aerospace Medical Advisory Committee. While at NASA,
she also worked part-time, when possible, as an emergency-room physician. All
together, she logged more than 700 hours in space on three different missions
(STS 51-D Discovery [1985], STS-40 Columbia [1991], and STS-58 Columbia
[1993]); on these missions, she conducted experiments on the effects of gravity
and on the effects of space flight on the cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal,
and other systems. She retired from NASA in 1997.
After leaving NASA, Seddon became Assistant Chief Medical Officer at
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) in Tennessee. She was terminated
from Vanderbilt in 2007 and subsequently filed a (still-pending) gender-
discrimination lawsuit, claiming that VUMC "has not made a concerted effort . . .
to recruit, encourage and attract high-level female physicians to key clinical
Sedlak, Bonnie Joy | 845
leadership positions." Seddon also claims she did not receive supplemental pay as
a faculty member, as did male colleagues in the same position. Seddon currently
works with Lifewing Partners LLC, which provides patient-safety training to hos-
pitals. Her work has been profiled in mainstream newspapers and magazines, and
her research published in medical journals such as the Journal of the American
College of Surgeons and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
A recipient of many NASA and scientific awards, Seddon was named a Laurel
Legend for her lifetime contributions to aviation by Aviation Week and Space
Technology magazine in 2004, and in 2005, she was inducted into the Tennessee
Aviation Hall of Fame.
Further Resources
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Margaret Rhea Seddon (M.D.)." http://
www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/seddon.html.
Edgemon, Erin. 2008. "Ex-Astronaut Files Suit against Vanderbilt Medical Center."
Murfreesboro Post. (19 August 2008). http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php
?viewStory= 12539.
Sedlak, Bonnie Joy
b. 1943
Cell Biologist, Developmental Biologist
Education: B.A., Northwestern University, 1965; M.A., Case Western Reserve
University, 1968; Ph.D., biology, Northwestern University, 1974
Professional Experience: instructor, biology, Northwestern University, 1971-1972;
research associate, biochemistry, Rush Medical College, 1974-1975; assistant
professor, biology, Smith College, 1975-1977; assistant professor, biology, State
University of New York, Purchase, 1977-1981; associate research scientist, Uni-
versity of California, Irvine, 1981-1985; sales representative, North American
Science Associates, Irvine, 1986-1987; program manager, Microbics Corporation,
1987-1988; sensor analyst, Fritzsche, Pambianchi Associates, 1988-1990; bio-
technology consultant, 1990-1991; business development and licensing manager,
Becton Dickinson Advanced Cellular Biology, 1991-1992; licensing officer for
technical transfer, University of California, Alameda, 1992-1994; independent
consultant, 1994-
846 | Seibert, Florence Barbara
Bonnie Sedlak is a cell biologist whose early research focused on using the elec-
tron microscope to study cellular aspects of development and endocrine control
in insects. She left research and teaching to work in industry as a business develop-
ment and licensing manager and biotechnology consultant. Her clients have
included healthcare research companies as well as universities and industry
involved in medical and technical engineering. She received a doctorate in biology
in 1974 and, after teaching and conducting research at several universities,
accepted a position as a sales representative for North American Science Associ-
ates. She eventually worked in several locations as a licensing manager, oversee-
ing the patent process for research and negotiating license agreements with
companies, government agencies, and other universities in order to move research
findings to marketable products.
Sedlak is a member of the American Society for Cell Biology, American Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science, Society for Developmental Biology, and
Electron Microscopy Society of America.
Seibert, Florence Barbara
1897 1991
Biochemist
Education: A.B., Goucher College, 1918; Ph.D., physiological chemistry, Yale
University, 1923
Professional Experience: chemist, Hammersley Paper Mill, 1918-1920; instruc-
tor, pathology, University of Chicago, and assistant, Sprague Memorial Institute,
1924-1928, assistant professor, biochemistry, 1928-1932; assistant to associate
professor, Henry Phipps Institute, University of Pennsylvania, 1932-1955, professor,
1955-1959; director, cancer research laboratory, Mound Park Hospital Foundation,
1964-1966
Concurrent Positions: Guggenheim fellow, Sweden, 1937-1938; visiting lec-
turer, various schools, 1946-1948
Florence Seibert was a biochemist who purified the tuberculin PPD that is used
worldwide in skin tests to detect tuberculosis, or TB. Her research interests also
included intravenous therapy and blood transfusions, and the isolation of specific
bacteria to give some immunity in cancer. After receiving her undergraduate
degree from Goucher College, she originally considered medical school, but a
professor helped her get a job as a chemist for a paper mill, possibly due to the
Seibert, Florence Barbara | 847
shortage of male chemists during
World War I. She returned to school
to continue her graduate studies at
Yale, where she received her doctorate
in 1923. At Yale, her main break-
through was development of a distil-
lation method for removal of bacteria
that could contaminate protein solu-
tions used in blood transfusions. Previ-
ously, persons receiving such medical
interventions were at high risk of
infections and fevers due to bacteria.
She held a postdoctoral fellowship at
the University of Chicago that led to
an instructorship in pathology, then a
faculty position in biochemistry. At
Chicago, she developed her method
for purifying the proteins used in the
TB test, which not only protected
patients, but provided better diagnostic
results. She was also affiliated with the
Sprague Memorial Institute, and her
work was supported with funds from the National Tuberculosis Association (now
the American Lung Association). Her method was later adopted as the standard
by the World Health Organization.
In 1932, Seibert followed her mentor and collaborator and accepted a faculty
position in biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1937, she spent a
year conducting research at the University of Upsala in Sweden, under a presti-
gious Guggenheim fellowship. Despite her continued achievements in improving
the existing tuberculin skin test, she did not advance to full professor until 1955.
Even after her formal retirement in 1959, she continued her research and volunteer
activities on behalf of cancer research. In 1968, she published an autobiography,
Pebbles on the Hill of a Scientist. She lived most of her life with her sister, Mabel,
who served as her longtime research assistant.
Seibert was the author or co-author of dozens of scientific papers and articles.
She was the recipient of five honorary degrees, as well as the Trudeau Medal from
the National Tuberculosis Association (1938), the Garvan Medal of the American
Chemical Society (1942), the Gimbal Award (1945), the Scott Award (1947), and
the John Eliot Memorial Award of the American Association of Blood Banks
Biochemist Florence Seibert, ca. 1948. She
developed the protein substance used for the
tuberculosis skin test. (National Library of
Medicine)
848 | Semple, Ellen Churchill
(1962). She was also a member of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science. In 1990, she was inducted in the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Semple, Ellen Churchill
1863 1932
Geographer
Education: A.B., Vassar College, 1882, A.M., 1891; University of Leipzig, 1891-
1892, 1895
Professional Experience: founder and teacher, Semple Collegiate School, 1893—
1895; lecturer, geography, University of Chicago, 1906-1920 (intermittently);
lecturer, anthropogeography Clark University, 1921-1923, professor, 1923-1932
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, Oxford University, 1912, 1922; Wellesley
College, 1914-1915; University of Colorado, 1916; Columbia University, 1918
Ellen Semple was recognized by her contemporaries as one of the outstanding geog-
raphers of her time. After attending the University of Leipzig, she and her sister
opened a private school in which she taught history. She combined this experience
with her interest in geography in her book, American History and Its Geographic
Conditions (1903). The publication of this work resulted in invitations to teach in
the new department of geography at the University of Chicago. Her second book,
Influences of Geographic Environment, on the Basis of Ratzel's System of
Anthropo-Geography (1911), was viewed as one of the most scholarly books on
geography at that time. A third book, published shortly before her death, was The
Geography of the Mediterranean Region: Its Relation to Ancient History (1931).
After Semple received her undergraduate degree from Vassar in 1882, she
returned home to teach in a private school. She opened her own school in 1893
after returning from Europe. Throughout her career, she rode into the backcountry
of Kentucky to study the influence of geographic isolation on the life of the people
there. Her research papers received favorable reviews. She taught off and on at the
University of Chicago and also lectured at Oxford University, Wellesley College,
the University of Colorado, and Columbia University. In 1921, she obtained a
tenure-track faculty appointment at the new graduate department of geography at
Clark University and was quickly promoted to professor. Semple received the
Cullum Medal of the American Geographical Society (1914) and the Gold Medal
of the Geographic Society of Chicago (1932). She received an honorary degree
from the University of Kentucky in 1923, and in 1921, she was the first woman
Shalala, Donna Edna | 849
to be elected president of the Association of American Geographers. She also was
a member of the American Geographical Society.
Shalala, Donna Edna
b. 1941
Political Scientist
Education: B.A., Western College, 1962; M.S., Syracuse University, 1968, Ph.D.,
political science, 1970
Professional Experience: volunteer (Iran), Peace Corps, 1962-1964; graduate
research fellow, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse
University, 1966-1968; lecturer, social science and assistant to dean, 1968—
1970; assistant professor, political
science, Bernard M. Baruch Col-
lege, City University of New York,
1970-1972; associate professor and
chair, Program in Politics and Edu-
cation, Teachers College, Columbia
University, 1972-1979; Assistant
Secretary for Policy Development
and Research, Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), Washington,
D.C., 1977-1980; professor, politi-
cal science and president, Hunter
College, 1980-1987; professor,
political science and chancellor,
University of Wisconsin, Madison,
1987-1993; Secretary, U.S. Depart-
ment of Health and Human Serv-
ices, 1993-2001; professor, political
science and president, University of
Miami, 2001-
Concurrent Positions: visiting
professor, Yale Law School, 1976;
co-chair, Advisory Commission on
Consumer Protection and Quality in
the Health Care Industry, 1996-
Political scientist Donna Shalala was
appointed president of the University of Miami
in 2001 , after serving as Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services
under President Bill Clinton. (U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services)
850 | Shalala, Donna Edna
Donna Shalala occupied one of the most influential offices in Washington, D.C.,
as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under
President Bill Clinton between 1993 and 2001. The agency is one of the largest
in government and has one of the largest budgets, including funds for scientific
research. In that capacity, she oversaw some of the most important government
departments related to public health and policy, such as the National Institutes of
Health, Centers for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration, Social Secu-
rity Administration, and the Indian Health Service, among others. One of her early
actions was to escalate the budgets for cancer prevention at the National Cancer
Institute and the Centers for Disease Control, with a special emphasis on breast
cancer. She was concerned that women's issues were underfunded, underdiag-
nosed, and undertreated. Another of her goals was to shield scientific research from
political pressure and excessive bureaucratic burdens. She also questioned the social
values portrayed in many television programs and their effect on our society.
Shalala is a prominent political scientist who has held a variety of successful
positions in both government and academic settings. She held professorships at
several universities and is past president of Hunter College and chancellor of the
University of Wisconsin, Madison, and is currently president of the University of
Miami. Her first political position was as assistant secretary for policy develop-
ment and research for HUD. During the early 1970s, she wrote four books: Neigh-
borhood Governance (1971), City and the Constitution (1972), Property Tax and
the Voters (1973), and Decentralization Approach (1974). She has been a member
of the Committee on Economic Development (1991-1993), a member of the board
of directors of the Institute of International Economics (1981-1993), a member
of the Children's Defense Fund (1980-1993), and a trustee of the Brookings Insti-
tution (1989-1993). In 2006, she chaired the Committee on Maximizing the
Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering, which investigated
the absence and obstacles to women in high-level research positions in the
sciences. In 2007, she was called upon by President George W. Bush to head a
commission investigating allegations about conditions at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center. Shalala received the Distinguished Service Medal of Teachers
College, Columbia University, in 1989. She is a member of the American Political
Science Association, American Society for Public Administration, and National
Academy of Public Administration.
Further Resources
University of Miami. "President Donna E. Shalala's Biography." http://www.miami.edu/
index. php/about us/leadership/office of the president/president donna e shalalas
biography/.
Shapiro, Lucille (Cohen) | 851
Shapiro, Lucille (Cohen)
b. 1940
Molecular Biologist
Education: B.A., Brooklyn College, 1962; Ph.D., molecular biology, Albert
Einstein College of Medicine, 1966
Professional Experience: assistant to associate professor, molecular biology,
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1967-1977, professor, 1977-1986; Eugene
Higgins Professor and chair, microbiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons,
Columbia University, 1986-1989; Joseph D. Grant Professor and chair, develop-
mental biology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, 1989-; co-founder and
director, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, 2002-
Lucille "Lucy" Shapiro has had a distinguished career as a molecular biologist
working on the genetics and biochemistry of the bacterial cell cycle and unicellu-
lar differentiation. After receiving her doctorate at Albert Einstein College of
Medicine, she continued on as an assistant professor and rose through the ranks
Molecular biologist Lucille Shapiro. (Courtesy of the Stanford University News Service
Library)
852 | Shaw, Jane E.
to full professor. She remained at Albert Einstein for 20 years before becoming
professor and chair of microbiology at Columbia University. In 1986, she moved
to Stanford in California, where she has served as chair and now director of the
Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine. In 2002, she co-founded
Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company developing new antimi-
crobial treatments for bacterial and fungal diseases and infections.
Shapiro's research has been published in numerous medical journals, including
Journal of Bacteriology, Journal of Molecular Biology, Cell, Molecular Biology of
the Cell, Trends in Genetics, and Science, and she has been a distinguished lecturer
at a number of universities. Her expertise has been sought as a board member and
scientific advisor in academia, government, and corporate settings, including for
G. D. Searle Company, Massachusetts General Hospital, SmithKline Beecham,
the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation, Whitehead Institute of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
the president's council of the University of California, Silicon Graphics, Inc.,
and, most recently, Gen-Probe, a medical research company in San Diego. She
has twice served as an American Cancer Society Established Investigator and
was a nonexecutive director of GlaxoSmithKline (2001-2006).
Shapiro was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Acad-
emy of Sciences in 1991. She has received numerous awards, including the Alumna
Award of Honor of Brooklyn College (1983), an Excellence in Science Award of the
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) (1994), and
the Selman Waksman Award of the National Academy of Sciences (2005). She is
a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American
Philosophical Society, and the California Council on Science and Technology
(CCST), and a member of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, American Society for Microbiology, American Society for Cell Biology,
Genetics Society of America, and New York Academy of Sciences.
Further Resources
Stanford University. Faculty website, http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/devbio/faculty/
Lucille Shapiro/.
Anacor Pharmaceuticals, http://www.anacor.com/.
Shaw, Jane E.
b. 1939
Physiologist, Clinical Pharmacologist
Education: B.S., University of Birmingham, England, 1961, Ph.D., physiology, 1964
Shaw, Jane E. | 853
Professional Experience: staff scientist, Worcester Foundation for Experimental
Biology, 1964-1970; senior scientist, Alza Research, 1970-1972, principal scien-
tist, 1972-; president, Alza Research Division, and chair of the board, Alza Ltd.,
1985, executive vice president, Alza Corporation, 1985-1987, president and chief
operating officer, 1987-1994; founder and consultant, Stable Network, 1994-;
chair and chief executive officer, Aerogen, Inc. (now Nektar Therapeutics),
1998-2005; chairman of the board, Intel, 2009-
Concurrent Positions: director and committee chair, McKesson Corporation,
1992-; nonexecutive chairman and committee chair, Intel Corporation, 1993-;
director, OfficeMax, 1994-2006; director, Talima Therapeutics, Inc.
Jane Shaw is renowned for research that led to the development of transdermal
drug patches, such as those used for motion sickness. Her research includes
elucidation of the physiological role of the prostaglandins, mechanism of action
of analeptics, mechanism of gastric secretion, and physiology and pharmacology
of the skin. As a graduate student at the University of Birmingham, England,
she worked with Peter Ramwell identifying prostaglandins. After graduation, she
and several other members of the research team followed Ramwell to the
Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in Massachusetts, part of
the much-publicized brain drain in England in the 1960s.
In 1970, she was invited to join Alza Corporation, a private company that manu-
factures pharmaceutical products and conducts commercial research and develop-
ment on drug-delivery systems for human and veterinary use. Shaw holds several
patents for technology that allows a patient to absorb a prescription drug through
the skin from a bandage-like patch. Transdermal therapeutic systems for drug
delivery are advantageous in chronic conditions such as hypertension because
patients may forget to take medication when they have no symptoms. They are
also advantageous when medications have to be given very frequently. Beginning
as senior scientist, she moved quickly through the ranks to become president of
the research division, executive vice president of Alza Corporation and board chair
of the parent company, Alza Ltd., and then president and chief operating officer
until 1994. She next founded her own biopharmaceutical firm, Stable Network,
and served as a consultant. Between 1998 and her retirement in 2005, she served
as chief executive officer at Aerogen, Inc. (now Nektar Therapeutics), a firm that
develops drug-delivery devices for respiratory ailments. Shaw personally holds
several patents in this area of research.
Shaw has consulted for numerous pharmaceutical research companies and has
been a savvy businesswoman as well, serving on the boards of corporations such
as OfficeMax and, most recently, chair at computer semiconductor manufacturer,
Intel. She has published more than 100 professional articles and received an
854 | Shaw, Mary M.
honorary doctorate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1992. She is a member
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, New York
Academy of Sciences, American Physical Society, American Society of Clinical
Pharmacology and Therapeutics, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scien-
tists, and American Pharmaceutical Association.
Shaw, Mary M.
b. 1943
Computer Scientist
Education: B.A., mathematics, Rice University, 1965; Ph.D., computer science,
Carnegie-Mellon University, 1971
Professional Experience: systems programmer and researcher (part-time), Rice
University Computer Project, 1962-1968; assistant professor, computer science,
Carnegie-Mellon University, 1972-1977, senior research computer scientist,
1977-1982, associate professor, 1982-1986, chief scientist, Software Engineering
Institute, 1984-1987, professor,
1986-, Alan J. Pedis Professor of
Computer Science, 1995—
Concurrent Positions: member,
Human Computer Interaction Insti-
tute, Carnegie-Mellon University,
1994-, fellow, Center for Innovation
and Learning, 1997-1998, member
scientist, Institute for Software
Research, 1999-, co-director, Sloan
Software Industry Center, 2001-2006
Mary Shaw is a renowned expert in
computer software and a leading
proponent of developing software
engineering as a discipline. Her
research includes software architec-
ture, programming language design,
abstraction techniques for advanced
programming, software engineering,
and computer-science education.
Computer scientist Mary Shaw. (Courtesy of
the Carnegie Mellon University)
Shaw, Mary M. | 855
She has made major contributions to the analysis of computer algorithms as well
as to abstraction techniques for advanced programming methodologies, pro-
gramming language architecture, evaluation methods for software, performance
and reliability of software, and software engineering. She developed computer
programs called "abstract data types" as a method for organizing the data and
computations used by a program so that related information is grouped together,
and she created a programming language called "Aphard" that implemented
those abstract data types. She thus made programs more user-friendly for the sci-
entists who are using them to manipulate their research data.
Shaw grew up during the Cold War era of scientific and technological advances,
and her father, a civil engineer and government economist, encouraged her inter-
ests in science and math. As a high school student, she participated in an after-
school program that included a visit to an International Business Machines
(IBM) facility and introduction to an early IBM computer program. For several
summers during high school, Shaw worked at the Research Analysis Corporation
of the Johns Hopkins University Operation Research Office, which gave her the
opportunity to explore fields outside the normal school curriculum. Although there
were no courses in computer science when she attended Rice University, she found
a small group called the Rice Computer Project that had built a computer, the Rice
I, under the direction of an electrical engineering faculty. Shaw joined the group
and worked on a programming language, writing subroutines and studying how
to make an operating system run more rapidly. She received her undergraduate
degree in mathematics at Rice and went on to study computer science at Carnegie
Mellon in Pennsylvania. After receiving her doctorate in 1971, she joined the faculty
as the first female member of the Computer Science Department.
Shaw has been instrumental in developing innovative undergraduate and gradu-
ate computer-science curricula and degree programs. She was one of the early
scientists to see the need for software engineering as a separate discipline. She
even helped develop a curriculum for IBM to offer its own employees and founded
the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon. She has contributed to
several books and published hundreds of scientific papers and reports.
For her contributions to software and systems development and education,
Shaw has received the Warnier Prize (1993), the Stevens Award (2005), the Soft-
ware Engineering Institute Award of Excellence (2006), and the Nancy Mead
Award for Excellence in Software Engineering Education (2010). She is a fellow
of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Institute for Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science (AAAS), and a member of the New York Academy of Sciences
and the International Federation of Information Processing Societies (IFIPS).
856 | Sherman, Patsy O'Connell
Further Resources
Carnegie Mellon University. Faculty website, http://spoke.compose.cs.cmu.edu/shaweb/.
Sherman, Patsy O'Connell
1930 2008
Chemist
Education: B.A., Gustavus Adolphus College, 1952
Professional Experience: chemical researcher, Minnesota Mining and Manufac-
turing (3M), 1952-1992
Patsy Sherman was a chemist who, along with colleague Sam Smith, invented
Scotchgard Fabric Protector, a moisture and stain repellent, while employed at
3M in the 1950s. The discovery of the substance was largely by accident, when
someone in the lab spilled a new latex material onto a shoe and Sherman discov-
ered it could not be washed off. She began to think of new possible applications
for such a waterproof material, along with her supervisor, Smith, and in 1955,
Sherman and Smith introduced Scotchgard, a protective coating for fabrics and
other materials. Sherman began working for 3M immediately after graduating
from college and remained there for 40 years, until her retirement in 1992. She rose
through the ranks from research specialist to manager of the chemical resources divi-
sion to head of technical development, and held several patents for fluorochemical
polymers and processes.
The Scotchgard product made 3M a household name and earned the company
millions of dollars, but in 2002 it was announced that 3M would remove Scotch-
gard from the market over environmental concerns. The property that made its
chemical makeup attractive as a fabric protector, its insolvency or inability to be
broken down, also made it potentially dangerous. Although tests of potential tox-
icity to humans and to the water supply remain inconclusive, elevated levels of
perfluorochemicals have been found in the blood of company employees as well
as in studies of certain animal species. In light of this research, 3M chose to exer-
cise what they called "responsible environmental management" in phasing out the
current chemical process used to create Scotchgard products. The product is still
available as the company experiments with alternative formulas, and government
organizations will continue to monitor the potential environmental and health
effects of perfluorochemicals.
Sherman was committed to science education and was often an invited speaker to
serve as a role model for young students. She received the Joseph M. Biedenbach
Shields, Lora Mangum | 857
Distinguished Service Award of the American Society for Engineering Education
in 1991. In 2001, she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, one
of only a handful of women to be acknowledged, and in 2002, she was one of 37
inventors who appeared at a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office. She was a longtime member of the American Chemical
Society.
Shields, Lora Mangum
1912 1996
Biologist
Education: B.S., biology, University of New Mexico, 1940, M.S., 1942; Ph.D.,
botany, University of Iowa, 1947
Professional Experience: associate professor, biology, New Mexico Highlands
University, 1947-1954, professor and department head, 1954-1978, director,
Environmental Health Division, 1971-1978; researcher and visiting professor,
Navajo Community College, Shiprock, New Mexico, 1978-retirement
Lora Shields was been recognized for her research on the effects of nuclear bomb
testing on Southwestern plants and vegetation, and the human health hazards from
mining uranium. She was the first Native American (Navajo) to receive a doctorate
in botany. She studied at the University of New Mexico, and after receiving her
Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, she returned to New Mexico as associate pro-
fessor of biology at New Mexico Highlands University. She was promoted to full
professor and department head in 1954, and named director of the Environmental
Health Division in 1971. A few years later, she took a position as appointed
researcher and visiting professor at Navajo Community College. By the 1970s, the
U.S. government was mining uranium almost exclusively from Southwestern
Native American lands, and Shields was committed to examining the health and
environmental impact of this development. Her research focused on nuclear
effects on vegetation, birth anomalies in the Navajo uranium district among miners
and other inhabitants, effects of radiation exposure on plants, and streptococcal
disease among the Navajo Indian population. Her work was supported by grants
from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, March of
Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, and Minority Biomedical Research Support,
among others. She also received research grants from some of the agencies that
recently declassified data regarding the effects of nuclear testing on humans, such
as the Atomic Energy Commission, and from pharmaceutical companies.
858 | Shipman, Pat
Dedicated to science education at all levels, Shields was involved throughout
her career with the New Mexico Academy of Science (NMAS) as secretary-
treasurer (1951-1953), president (1954), and recipient of the NMAS Distin-
guished Scientist Award (1965); she also served as state representative to the
National Association of Academies of Science (1960-1984) and became president
of the NAAS ( 1 976). For many years, she was editor of the New Mexico Journal of
Science. She was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science and the Ecological Society of America.
Shipman, Pat
b. 1949
Paleoanthropologist
Education: B.A., Smith College, 1970; M.A., New York University, 1974, Ph.D.,
anthropology, 1977
Professional Experience: visiting lecturer, anthropology, Jersey City State College,
1974; adjunct instructor, Fordham University, 1975; editor and research associate,
American Institutes for Research, 1976-1978; associate research scientist, Depart-
ment of Earth and Planetary Sciences (joint appointment, Department of Cell
Biology and Anatomy), Johns Hopkins University, 1978-1981, assistant professor,
cell biology and anatomy, 1981-1986, assistant dean, Academic Affairs, School of
Medicine, 1985-1990, associate professor, 1986-1995; independent author, 1990-
Concurrent Positions: editor, Anthroquest, 1990-1992; adjunct professor,
biological anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, 1995-
Pat Shipman is a paleoanthropologist who spent many years in Kenya as a research
scientist, excavating paleontological and archaeological sites, and examining fos-
sils stored there. Her research focused on trying to deduce the environmental con-
text in which our earliest ancestors evolved and what their lifestyles and
adaptations were like. She is particularly interested in the history of science and
how scientific information is used. She is the co-author of The Neandertals:
Changing the Image of Mankind (1993), which focuses on how the interpretations
of these finds have fluctuated through the gradual accumulation of information on
both the anatomical characteristics and the geographical distribution of the
remains. The central theme is how scientific opinion on the Neandertals has tended
to shift between two extreme positions: the people who see them as being in the
main course of human evolution, and those who see them as representing a side-
line of human population.
Shockley, Dolores Cooper | 859
Shipman's next book, The Evolution of Racism: Human Differences and the
Use and Abuse of Science (1994), traces the attempts of scientists from the mid-
nineteenth century to the present to grapple with the issues of race, from evolution,
to eugenics, to intelligence testing and debates about immigration. In Taking
Wing: Archaeopteryx and the Evolution of Bird Flight (1998), she draws on
diverse scientific fields to give a comprehensive analysis of the ideas that explain
how the adaptations needed for animal flight came about. Since leaving a full-
time academic position in 1995, Shipman has been committed to bringing scien-
tific information and debates to the general public. She has published on numerous
scientific topics in popular science magazines and appeared on several television
documentaries, such as "In Search of Human Origins" in 1997. In addition to her
numerous articles, she has authored or co-authored more than 10 books on scien-
tists and the history of the science, the most recent including The Man Who Found
the Missing Link: Eugene Dubois' Lifelong Quest to Prove Darwin Right (2001),
To the Heart of the Nile: Lady Florence Baker and the Exploration of Central
Africa (2004), and The Ape in the Tree: An Intellectual and Natural History of
Proconsul (with Alan Walker, 2005).
In 2005, the Center for Research into the Anthropological Foundations of
Technology (CRAFT) and the Stone Age Institute at Indiana University acknowl-
edged Shipman for her "lifetime contributions to paleoanthropology and
taphonomy." She is a member of the American Association of Physical Anthropol-
ogists, Society for American Archaeology, American Society of Mammalogists,
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, and American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science.
Further Resources
Pennsylvania State University. Faculty website, http://www.anthro.psu.edu/faculty staff/
shipman. shtml.
Shockley, Dolores Cooper
b. 1930
Pharmacologist
Education: B.S., pharmacy, Xavier University, Louisiana, 1951; M.S., pharmacology,
Purdue University, 1953, Ph.D., pharmacology, 1955
Professional Experience: assistant, pharmacology, Purdue University, 1951-1953;
assistant professor, pharmacology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee,
1957-1967, associate professor, 1967-
860 | Shoemaker, Carolyn (Spellmann)
Concurrent Positions: Fulbright fellowship, University of Copenhagen, 1955—
1956; visiting assistant professor, Albert Einstein Medical College, 1959-1962
Dolores Shockley is known for her research in pharmacology, which is the science
dealing with research on the preparation, uses, and especially the effects of drugs.
Her research interests are the consequences of drug action on stress, the effects of
hormones on connective tissue, the relationship between drugs and nutrition, and
the measurement of nonnarcotic drugs. When she entered undergraduate school,
she planned to become a pharmacist and operate her own drugstore, but during
college, her interest shifted to research. She was the first African American woman
to earn a doctorate in pharmacology in the United States and the first black woman
to earn any doctorate from Purdue. After completing postdoctoral research at the
University of Copenhagen, Shockley returned to the United States as an assistant
professor at Meharry Medical College, a historically black medical school in
Nashville, Tennessee. At first, she was uncertain that she had made a wise choice
because some of the men thought she was just working there temporarily, but she
soon proved she was there to stay and became a respected member of the faculty.
She was promoted to associate professor in 1967, and later served as chair of
the departments of microbiology and of the graduate program in pharmacology,
the first African American woman to chair a department of pharmacology in the
United States.
Shockley 's awards and honors include the Lederle faculty award (1963-1966),
and she was named Distinguished Alumni at the Purdue University School of
Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (2009). She is a member of the American
Pharmaceutical Association and the American Association for the Advancement
of Science. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine designated the Dolores C.
Shockley Lectureship and Mentoring Award in her honor.
Further Resources
Jordan, Diann. 2006. Sisters in Science: Conversations with Black Women Scientists on
Race, Gender and Their Passion for Science. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University
Press.
Shoemaker, Carolyn (Spellmann)
b. 1929
Planetary Astronomer
Education: B.A., Chico State College, 1949, M.A., history and political science,
1950
Shoemaker, Carolyn (Spellmann) | 861
Astronomer Carolyn Shoemaker has
discovered more comets and asteroids than
any living astronomer. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Professional Experience: visiting
scientist, astrogeology, U.S. Geo-
logical Survey (USGS), Flagstaff,
Arizona, 1980-; research professor,
astronomy, Northern Arizona Uni-
versity, 1989-; staff member, Lowell
Observatory, Flagstaff, 1993—
Concurrent Positions: research
assistant, California Institute of Tech-
nology (CalTech), 1981-1985; guest
observer, Mt. Palomar Observatory,
1982-1994
Carolyn Shoemaker has discovered
more than 30 comets and 800 aste-
roids, more than any living astrono-
mer. She first became known to the
general public when the periodic
comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (named for
Carolyn and husband, Gene Shoe-
maker, and their colleague David
Levy) impacted on Jupiter in July 1994, and she was interviewed on television pro-
grams. However, she was already renowned in the scientific community because of
the number of comets she had identified. Shoemaker uses the 1 8-inch Schmidt tele-
scope at Mt. Palomar, ultra-fine-grain film, and a stereomicroscope. She worked
with her husband, founder of the USGS Center for Astrogeology in Flagstaff,
Arizona, in all of the discoveries except one, but he created the search program for
comets and Earth-crossing asteroids that they used. Another area in which she has
worked is in identifying Earth-approaching asteroids. For two weeks each month,
during the dark of the moon, search teams gather at Mt. Palomar in California to
track asteroids and meteorites that are close enough to impact the Earth. Such
objects regularly fall to Earth throughout the world, and a large one could cause
severe damage. Shoemaker has identified a record 500 asteroids, including 41
Earth-approachers.
Carolyn Shoemaker came to her scientific research later in life. Her husband was a
world expert on impact craters, both on Earth and on other planets, and he trained the
astronauts who landed on the moon in the basics of geology. Carolyn taught school,
but after their own children were grown, she started accompanying her husband as
an unpaid field assistant on his studies of craters on the Earth and then helped with
his work surveying the moon. She got a position reviewing films of the night sky at
862 | Shotwell, Odette Louise
CalTech and soon became expert in identifying the tiny dark smudges on the films.
She discovered her first comet in 1983, at the age of 54, without a degree in astronomy.
Shoemaker has received numerous honors, including a National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) Exceptional Achievement Medal (1996),
Woman of Distinction Award of the National Association for Women in Education
(1996), and Distinguished Alumna of California State University, Chico (1996).
With her husband Gene (who died in 1997 while on a research trip to Australia)
she has been the co-recipient of the Rittenhouse Medal (1988) and the James Craig
Watson Medal (1998); in 1995, the two were also named Scientists of the Year.
She is the author of the report on Shoemaker-Levy 9 in the USGS Yearbook
(1994), and her work has been featured in the media, such as on public television
programs. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a
member of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. She received an honorary
doctorate from Northern Arizona University in 1990.
Further Resources
U.S. Geological Survey. "Carolyn Shoemaker." http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/About/
People/CarolynShoemaker/.
Shotwell, Odette Louise
1922 1998
Organic Chemist
Education: B.S., chemistry, Montana State University, 1944; M.S., University of
Illinois, 1946, Ph.D., organic chemistry, 1948
Professional Experience: teaching assistant, inorganic chemistry, University of
Illinois, 1944-1948; research chemist, Northern Regional Research Laboratory,
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1948-1977, research leader, mycotoxin
analysis and chemical research, 1975-1989
Concurrent Positions: consultant, Bureau of Veterinary Medicine, Food and
Drug Administration, 1981-1986; consultant, Canadian Health and Welfare
Department, 1983-1989; consultant and collaborator, USDA
Odette Shotwell was a chemist who made significant contributions to environmen-
tal science, and was recognized for her work in developing a cancer-producing
toxin from molds. She held three patents, and her work led to or contributed to
the development of several new antibiotics. Her research included synthetic
Shreeve, Jean'ne Marie | 863
organic chemistry; the chemistry of natural products, including isolation, purifica-
tion, and characterization; microbial insecticides; and mycotoxins. Her own father
was a research entomologist and, in one instance, she conducted research on the
chemistry of Japanese beetles as part of a government effort to stop the spread of
the pests. Shotwell suffered from polio as a child and was confined to a wheelchair
for most of her life. Still, she left home in Colorado to study chemistry at Montana
State College (now University of Montana). She went on to pursue graduate stud-
ies at the University of Illinois and, after receiving her doctorate, joined the
Northern Regional Research Laboratory of the USDA in Peoria, Illinois, in 1948.
She was promoted to research leader in mycotoxin analysis and chemical research
in 1975 and research leader in mycotoxin research in 1985, retiring from the
agency (now known as the Northern Center for Agricultural Utilization Research)
in 1989. Before and even after retirement, she consulted for the USDA and other
government agencies in both the United States and Canada.
Among the awards Shotwell received were the Outstanding Woman Alumna of
the Year from the city of Bozeman, Montana (1961), Outstanding Handicapped
Federal Employee Award (1969), and Harvey W. Wiley Award of the American
Oil Chemical Society (1982). She was elected a fellow of the Association of Offi-
cial Analytical Chemists, and was a member of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, and American Association
of Cereal Chemists.
Shreeve, Jean'ne Marie
b. 1933
Inorganic Chemist
Education: B.A., University of Montana, 1953; M.S., analytical chemistry, Uni-
versity of Minnesota, 1956; Ph.D., inorganic chemistry, University of Washington,
1961
Professional Experience: teaching assistant, chemistry, University of Minnesota,
1953-1955; assistant, University of Washington, 1957-1961; assistant professor,
chemistry, University of Idaho, Moscow, 1961-1965, associate professor, 1965—
1967, professor, 1967-1973, acting chair, Department of Chemistry, 1969-1970
and 1973, head of department and professor, 1973-1987, vice provost of research
and graduate studies and professor, chemistry, 1987—
Jean 'ne Shreeve is internationally known and nationally recognized for her contri-
butions to the understanding of synthetic fluorine chemistry. Her research includes
864 | Shreeve, Jean'ne Marie
synthesis of inorganic and organic
fluorine-containing compounds. The
major emphasis of her research has
been the synthesis, characterization,
and reactions of fluorine compounds
that contain nitrogen, sulfur, and
phosphorus. She and her students
made a significant find when they dis-
covered the compound perfluorourea,
which is an oxidizer ingredient. She
has also developed new synthetic
routes to several important com-
pounds, including chlorodifluoro-
amine and difluoradiazine. These
compounds are used in synthesizing
rocket oxidizers, but preparation by
previously known techniques was hard
to accomplish.
At the time she started her appoint-
ment at the University of Idaho, the
chemistry department was poorly
equipped to support research. However, the state had just designated the campus
at Moscow as Idaho's research university and had given it permission to grant doc-
toral degrees; because of her prominence in research, she was able to contribute to
the growth of the chemistry department and its curriculum. She advanced rapidly
through the ranks to full professor, head of the department, and then vice provost
for research and graduate studies. She has devoted her life to educating other
chemists, and she has drawn many exceptional students into graduate studies.
Her own interest in chemistry developed when she was an undergraduate at the
University of Montana because of an exceptional teacher.
Shreeve's work as a fluorine chemist earned her the 1972 Garvan Medal of the
American Chemical Society (ACS) for outstanding achievements by American
women chemists. The honor cited her contributions to the fundamental under-
standing of the behavior of inorganic fluorine compounds and to the synthesis of
important new fluorochemicals. She has served on numerous committees in the
ACS and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and she
has received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Alumni Award,
University of Montana (1970); Outstanding Achievement Award, University of
Minnesota (1975); Senior U.S. Scientist Award, Alexander Von Humboldt
Foundation (1978); Fluorine Award of the ACS (1978); Excellence in Teaching
Inorganic chemist Jean'ne Marie Shreeve
(Courtesy of the University of Idaho)
Simmonds, Sofia | 865
Award, Chemical Manufacturers Association (1980); and an honorary doctorate
from the University of Montana (1982). She began serving on the board of Gover-
nors of Argonne National Laboratory in 1992. She is a fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American
Chemical Society and American Institute of Chemists.
Further Resources
University of Idaho. Faculty website, http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~jshreeve/.
Simmonds, Sofia
1917 2007
Biochemist
Education: B.A., Barnard College, 1938; Ph.D., biochemistry, Cornell University,
1942
Professional Experience: assistant biochemist, medical college, Cornell Univer-
sity, 1941-1942, research associate, 1942-1945; instructor, physiological chemis-
try, School of Medicine, Yale University, 1945-1946, microbiologist, 1946-1949,
assistant to associate professor, biochemistry and microbiology, 1949-1962, bio-
chemist, 1962-1969, molecular biophysicist and biochemist, 1969-1975, professor;
1976-1988, lecturer and dean of undergraduate studies, 1990-1991
Sofia Simmonds has been recognized for her research on bacteria amino acid
metabolism, in particular of the E. coli bacteria. She spent years in administrative
posts at Yale's medical school, some of which continued after her retirement.
After receiving her undergraduate degree from Barnard (the women's college of
Columbia University) in 1938, she attended Cornell University, where she received
her doctorate in biochemistry in 1942. She continued working there as a research
associate until 1945 when she accepted an appointment as instructor of physiologi-
cal chemistry in the school of medicine at Yale; she rose through the ranks at Yale,
becoming a full professor in 1976. During her tenure there, she also served as asso-
ciate dean and then dean of undergraduate studies, a position she continued even
after formal retirement in 1988.
Simmonds's husband, Joseph S. Fruton, was also a biochemistry professor at
Yale, and together they published General Biochemistry (1953), the first compre-
hensive textbook in the field. Their work has been reissued in several editions
and has been translated into Japanese and several European languages. In 2005,
the couple established the Joseph S. and Sofia S. Fruton Teaching and Research
866 | Simon, Dorothy Martin
Fund for the History of Science at Yale. After more than 70 years of marriage, the
couple died within days of each other in July 2007.
Simmonds received the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society in
1969. She was also a member of the American Society of Biological Chemists.
Further Resources
"In Memoriam: Biochemists Joseph Fruton and Sofia Simmonds." Yale Bulletin &
Calendar. 36(2). (14 September 2007). http://www.yale.edu/opa/arc-ybc/v36.n2/
story22.html.
Simon, Dorothy Martin
b. 1919
Physical Chemist
Education: A.B., chemistry, Southwest Missouri State College, 1940; Ph.D.,
physical chemistry, University of Illinois, 1945
Professional Experience: research chemist, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Com-
pany, 1945-1946; chemist, Clinton Laboratory, 1947; associate chemist, Argonne
National Laboratory, 1948-1949; aeronautical research scientist, Lewis Labora-
tory, National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, 1949-1953, assistant chief,
chemical branch, 1954-1955; Rockefeller fellow, Cambridge University, 1953-
1954; group leader in combustion, Magnolia Petroleum Company, 1955-1956;
principal scientist and technical assistant to president, research and advanced
development, Avco Corporation, 1956-1962, director of corporate research,
1962-1964, vice president, defense and industrial products, 1964-1968, corporate
vice president and director of research, 1968-1985; founder, Simon Associates
consulting firm
Dorothy Simon is a chemist who spent most of her career as a distinguished
researcher in the aerospace industry. Her research interests included combustion,
aerothermochemistry, and research management and strategic planning. After
receiving her doctorate from the University of Illinois in 1945, where she com-
pleted some of the earliest work on radioactive fallout, she went to work as a
research chemist for a variety of corporations and government agencies, including
E. I. du Pont de Nemours, Clinton Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, the
National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (the predecessor of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA]), and Magnolia Petroleum Com-
pany. In 1953, she received a prestigious Rockefeller Foundation fellowship to
Simpson, Joanne Malkus (Gerould) | 867
conduct research at key laboratories in England, France, and The Netherlands;
upon returning to the United States, she spent the remainder of her career in
research and administrative positions at Avco Corporation; in 1968, she was
named vice president of research, the company's first female corporate officer.
At Avco, she emerged as an international expert in the field of combustion and
high-temperature composite materials for aircraft and missile systems.
Her father was head of the chemistry department at Southwest Missouri State
College (now Missouri State University), where she received her undergraduate
degree in 1940 and where she later established the Dr. Robert W. Martin Research
Fellowship for chemistry majors in her father's honor. The university recognizes
her as the first student to graduate with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. She
has received two honorary doctorates, from Worcester Polytechnic Institute
(1971) and Lehigh University (1978). Over the course of her career, she has served
on prestigious national and international committees, including the NASA Space
Systems and Technology Advisory Committee and the President's Committee on
the National Medal of Science (1978-1981). She has also served on the boards
of major corporations and was a trustee for two universities. She received the
Rockefeller Public Service Award (1953) and the Society of Women Engineers
Achievement Award (1966), and was named by Business Week magazine as one
of the top 100 women in corporate America (1976). She was elected a fellow of
the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Institute
of Chemists, and was a member of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, the American Chemical Society, and the Combustion Institute.
Simpson, Joanne Malkus (Gerould)
1923-2010
Meteorologist
Education: B.S., University of Chicago, 1943, M.S., 1945, Ph.D., meteorology,
1949
Professional Experience: instructor, meteorology, New York University,
1943-1944; instructor, meteorology, University of Chicago, 1944-1945; instruc-
tor, physics and meteorology, Illinois Institute of Technology, 1946-1949, assis-
tant professor, 1949-1951; research meteorologist, Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, 1951-1960; professor, meteorology, University of California, Los
Angeles, 1960-1965; head, experimental branch, Atmospheric Physics and Chem-
istry Laboratory, Environmental Science Service Administration, 1965-1971;
868 | Simpson, Joanne Malkus (Gerould)
director, experimental meteorology laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce, 1971-1974; professor, envi-
ronmental science and member, Center of Advanced Studies, University of
Virginia, 1974-1976, W. W. Corcoran Professor, 1976-1981; head, Severe Storms
Branch, Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), 1979-1988, chief scientist, meteorology and earth sci-
ences, 1988-1992, science director, 1992-1998
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, University of Miami, 1971-1974;
project scientist, tropical rainfall measuring mission, Goddard Space Flight
Center, 1986-; member, board of directors, Atmospheric Sciences and Climatol-
ogy of National Research Council (NRC) and National Academy of Sciences
(NAS), 1990-; chief scientist, Simpson Weather Associates, 1974-1979
Joanne Simpson was the first woman in the world to receive a doctorate in meteor-
ology, and she had a distinguished career as a meteorologist in academia,
government, and private business. She started college just at the beginning of
World War II, and seized the opportunity to enter the meteorology training pro-
gram on the University of Chicago campus. Meteorology is the science that deals
with the atmosphere and its phenomena, including weather and climate, and after
nine months of training, she and the other women in the program trained weather
forecasters for the military services. At the end of the war, the women were
expected to return to their families or get married, and some faculty members
were openly hostile to women students who planned to continue their educations.
Simpson had difficulty finding a faculty supervisor but eventually worked with a
professor studying clouds and tropical meteorology, the subject of her later book,
Cloud Structure and Distributions over the Tropical Pacific Ocean (1965).
Without a fellowship, she had to work part-time to support herself and obtained
a position teaching physics and meteorology at the Illinois Institute of Technology
while completing the coursework for her doctorate.
Between subsequent academic appointments, Simpson held high-level posi-
tions with government research institutions, such as director of an experimental
meteorology laboratory at Coral Gables, Florida, for NOAA, and, later, head of
the severe storms division of NASA. She devised and developed a new concept
of cloud-seeding experiments aimed at modifying the dynamics of cumulus
clouds. When she was a faculty member in the Environmental Sciences Depart-
ment of the University of Virginia, she and her husband, Robert Simpson, formed
a private meteorology consulting service, Simpson Weather Associates. She was
for many years the lead project scientist for NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring
Mission (TRMM).
Singer, Maxine (Frank) | 869
Simpson was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering
in 1988. She received an honorary doctorate from the State University of
New York, Albany (1991). Among her numerous honors are the Meisinger Award
of the American Meteorological Society (1962) and the highest award of the
American Meteorological Society, the Rossby Research Medal (1983). Other awards
include the Silver Medal (1967) and Gold Medal (1972) of the Department of Com-
merce, the V. J. Schaefer Award of the Weather Modification Association (1979), the
Exceptional Science Achievement Medal of NASA (1982), and the International
Meteorological Organization Price (2002). She was a fellow of the American
Meteorological Society (AMS) and served as the first female president of the AMS
in 1989. She was a member of the American Geophysical Union and the Ocean
Society, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Further Resources
Weier, John. "Joanne Simpson (1923 2010)." Earth Observatory. NASA. (23 April 2004,
updated 2010). http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Simpson/simpson.php.
Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, Cooperative Institute for Research in
Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder. 2002. "Women in the
Atmospheric Sciences Astounding Progress since World War II: Personal Viewpoint
of Joanne Simpson in 2002." WeatherZine. 34. (June 2002). http://sciencepolicy
.colorado.edu/zine/archives/34/editorial.html.
Singer, Maxine (Frank)
b. 1931
Biochemist, Geneticist
Education: B.A., Swarthmore College, 1952; Ph.D., biochemistry, Yale
University, 1957
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, Public Health Service, National
Institutes of Health (NIH), 1956-1958, research biochemist, National Institute of
Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases, 1958-1974; chief, Nucleic Acid
Enzymology Section, Biochemistry Lab, National Cancer Institute, 1975-1980,
chief, Biochemistry Lab, 1980-1987, scientist emeritus; president, Carnegie Insti-
tution of Washington, 1988-2002; chair, Board of Directors, Whitehead Institute
for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2003-
Concurrent Positions: visiting scientist, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel,
1971; instructor, University of California, Berkeley, 1980
870 | Singer, Maxine (Frank)
Maxine Singer is renowned as a leading scientist in the field of human genetics.
Her research laboratory helped to decipher the genetic code, and she is a strong
advocate for responsible use of genetics research. During the controversy in the
1970s over the use of recombinant DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) techniques to
alter genetic characteristics, she advocated a cautious approach, and she helped
develop guidelines to balance the desire for unfettered research on genetics with
designing research programs that make medically valuable discoveries and still
meet goals to protect the public from possible harm. She spent her early career
conducting research at the NIH, where scientists were learning how to take DNA
fragments from one organism in order to insert them into the living cells of
another. This new research potentially could lead to the discovery of cures for seri-
ous diseases, aid in the development of new crops, and otherwise benefit humanity.
In 1972, Singer's colleague, Paul Berg of Stanford University, was the first to cre-
ate recombinant DNA molecules. Later, he voluntarily stopped conducting studies
involving DNA manipulation in the genes of tumor-causing viruses because some
scientists feared that a virus with unknown properties might escape from the labo-
ratory and spread into the general population.
In an unprecedented action in 1973, a group of scientists composed a public
letter to the president of the National Academy of Sciences and published it in
Science magazine. They warned that organisms of an unpredictable nature could
result from the new technique and suggested that the academy recommend guide-
lines. The NIH began formulating guidelines for recombinant DNA research, and
Singer was instrumental in preparing these guidelines. She also wrote a series of
editorials and articles on the topic in Science over a period of about five years.
She was a strong supporter of the first genetically engineered foods, such as "the
Flavr Savr tomato," which reached American supermarket shelves in the 1990s.
In 1988, she became president of the Carnegie Institution, a research organization
that conducts high-level biological, earth science, and astronomical research. She
retired from Carnegie in 2002 and now serves on the Board of Directors for the
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT. She is still affiliated with and
conducts regular research at the National Cancer Institute. Singer and Paul Berg pub-
lished two books on genetics, both of which have received positive reviews: Genes
and Genomes: A Changing Perspective (1990), a graduate-level textbook on
molecular genetics, and Dealing with Genes: The Language of Heredity (1992).
Although not a textbook, it is a summary of the mechanisms of heredity and the
ways in which biologists study and alter the microscopic structure of organisms.
Singer was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1979. She has been
awarded more than 15 honorary doctorates and has been an advisor or committee
member for many academic, governmental, and private organizations. In 1992,
she received the National Medal of Science. Her numerous other awards include
Sinkford, Jeanne Frances (Craig) | 871
a Distinguished Service Medal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (1983) and a Public Service Award from the NIH (1995). Her work
in bringing science education to inner-city children through her "First Light"
weekend science program and through the Carnegie Academy for Science
Education earned her the 2007 Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy
of Sciences. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a
member of the American Society of Biological Chemists, American Philosophical
Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2008, she
became co-chair (with astronomer Vera Rubin and physicist Myriam Sarachik)
of a National Academy of Sciences project to pair women scientists in the United
States with Iraqi women scientists for mentoring and career support.
Further Resources
National Academy of Sciences. 2008. "International Twinning Project for Iraqi Women
Scientists, Engineers, and Health Professionals." Committee on Human Rights.
(March 2008). http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/humanrights/PGA 044086.
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: loseph Henry Press.
Carnegie Institution. Faculty website, http://www.carnegieinstitution.org/singer.
Sinkford, Jeanne Frances (Craig)
b. 1933
Physiologist
Education: B.S., Howard University, 1953, D.D.S., 1958; M.S., Northwestern
University, 1962, Ph.D., physiology, 1963
Professional Experience: research assistant, psychology, U.S. Department
of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1953; instructor, College of Dentistry, Howard
University, 1958-1960; clinical instructor, dentistry, Northwestern University,
1963-1964; associate professor and chair, prosthodontics, Howard University,
1964-1974, professor, 1968-1991, associate dean, College of Dentistry, 1967-1974,
dean, 1975-1991, professor, physiology, Graduate School of Arts and Science,
1976-1991; director, Center for Equity and Diversity, American Dental Education
Association, 1991—
Concurrent Positions: attending staff, Howard University Hospital; Children's
Hospital, National Medical Center; District of Columbia General Hospital; trustee
advisor, American Fund for Dental Health, 1975-1984
872 | Sinkford, Jeanne Frances (Craig)
Lucy Hobbs Taylor, First Woman Dentist
Lucy Beaman Hobbs Taylor (1833-1910) was the first female professional dentist
in the United States. She began her career as a schoolteacher but dreamed of
attending medical school. Denied admission to both medical school and the dental
college because of her sex, she studied privately with a professor from the Ohio
College of Dental Surgery and began practicing in Cincinnati without a diploma
in 1 861 . She gained membership in professional organizations and attended con-
ferences before returning to the Ohio College to complete her formal education,
finally earning her doctorate in dentistry in 1865 and paving the way for more
women to enter the field. She later married and moved to Kansas, where she
and her husband operated a successful joint dental practice. By the year 2003,
women made up 1 7% of practicing dentists and more than 40% of dental students.
Jeanne Sinkford is a physiologist known for her research on dental issues, includ-
ing endogenous anti-inflammatory substances, chemical healing agents, gingival
retraction agents, hereditary dental defects, oral endocrine defects, and neuromus-
cular problems. She has the distinction of being the first black woman in the
United States to become head of a university department of dentistry. She was
born in Washington, D.C., and has spent most of her career at Howard University.
She studied chemistry and psychology as an undergraduate and received her
D.D.S. from Howard in 1958. She taught prosthodontics at the Howard dental
school for two years before moving to Chicago, where she received a master's
degree and then doctorate in physiology from Northwestern University. She
returned to Howard University in 1964, where she rose through the ranks to full
professor and, in 1975, became the first female dean of a dental college in the
United States.
For many years, she also continued her dental practice by serving on the staffs of
various local hospitals. She left Howard University in 1991 and now serves as Direc-
tor of the Center for Equity and Diversity (formerly the Office of Women and Minor-
ities) at the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) in Washington, D.C.
When Sinkford began her career in the 1960s, only about 2% of dentists were
female; the field is still heavily male-dominated, with only about 17% of practicing
dentists female, but the numbers of women in dental schools is steadily increasing.
At the ADEA and in other areas of her professional life, Sinkford has been commit-
ted to increasing the numbers of women and minorities in dentistry and the health
professions in general.
Sinkford is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National
Academy of Sciences. She has received a number of honorary degrees and awards,
Sitterly, Charlotte Emma Moore | 873
including the College of Dentistry Alumni Award for Dental Education and
Research (1969) and the Alumni Federation Outstanding Achievement Award
(1971), both from Howard University; an Alumni Achievement Award from
Northwestern University (1970); a Certificate of Merit from the American Pros-
thodontic Society (1971); the Candace Award of the National Coalition of
100 Black Women (1982); a Trailblazer Award from the National Dental Associa-
tion (2007); and the Herbert W. Nickens Award of the Association of American
Medical Colleges (AAMC) (2009). She is a member of the board of directors for
the NIH and in 1974 was inducted into the International College of Dentists. She
is a fellow of the American College of Dentists and a member of the American
Dental Association, International Association for Dental Research, American Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science, and New York Academy of Sciences.
Sitterly, Charlotte Emma Moore
1898 1990
Astronomer, Astrophysicist
Education: A.B., mathematics, Swarthmore College, 1920; Ph.D., astronomy,
University of California, Berkeley, 1931
Professional Experience: computer, Princeton Observatory, 1920-1925; com-
puter, Mount Wilson Observatory, Los Angeles, 1925-1928; computer, Princeton
University, 1928-1929, assistant spectroscopist, 1931-1936, research associate,
1936-1945; physicist, atomic physics division, National Bureau of Standards,
1945-1968; assistant, Office of Standard Reference Data, 1968-1970; assistant,
Space Science Division, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, 1971-1978
Charlotte Moore Sitterly was an astrophysicist recognized for her work on major
projects concerning atomic spectra, atomic energy levels, and spectroscopic data
for more than 50 years. After studying mathematics at Swarthmore College, she
worked as a "computer" at Princeton University and at Mount Wilson Observatory
in Los Angeles, analyzing solar images, before completing her doctorate in
astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley. She returned to Princeton as
a research associate for several years, during which time she met and married
physicist Bancroft W. Sitterly. She joined the National Bureau of Standards in
1945 and spent more than 20 years there compiling standard wavelengths and
atomic spectral tables, which are still useful reference tools. She also authored or
co-authored eight books, including The Infrared Solar Spectrum (1947), Atomic
Energy Levels (1949-1958), and An Ultraviolet Multiples Table (1950-1962).
874 | Slye, Maud Caroline
She served on numerous scientific committees, including as a member of the
National Research Council, member of the International Astronomical Union,
and consultant to a variety of organizations.
Sitterly received the Annie J. Cannon Prize (1937), the Silver Medal (1951) and
Gold Medal (1960) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the first Federal Wom-
an's Award of the U.S. government (1961), the William F. Meggers Award of the
Optical Society of America (1972), and the Bruce Medal of the Astronomical
Society of the Pacific (1990). She received honorary doctorates from her alma
mater, Swarthmore College (1962), University of Kiel in Germany (1968), and
University of Michigan (1971). The Asteroid 2110 Moore-Sitterly is named in
her honor. She was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society and the
Optical Society of America, and a foreign associate of the Royal Astronomical
Society of London. She also was a member of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science and the American Astronomical Society.
Slye, Maud Caroline
1879 1954
Pathologist
Education: A.B., Brown University, 1899; University of Chicago, 1906, 1908-1911
Professional Experience: professor, psychology and pedagogy, Rhode Island State
Normal School, 1899-1905; staff member, Sprague Memorial Institute, 1911-1944,
instructor, pathology, University of Chicago, 1919-1922, assistant professor,
1922-1926, associate professor and director, Cancer Laboratory, 1926-1944
Maud Slye was a pioneer in the study of the inheritance of cancer in mice and how
it relates to human cancers. The popular press called her the "American Curie" for
her contributions. Her theories on cancer later were proven to be incorrect. At first,
she theorized that susceptibility to cancer was limited to the presence of a single
recessive characteristic, but she later modified her ideas to agree that more than
one gene was involved. A tireless worker, she raised and kept pedigrees on over
150,000 mice during her career. She held a prestigious directorship, although she
did not have a doctorate. After receiving her undergraduate degree from Brown
University in 1899, she was appointed a professor of psychology and pedagogy
at the Rhode Island State Normal School for seven years. She accepted an appoint-
ment as member of the staff at the new Sprague Memorial Institute (later affiliated
with the University of Chicago) in 1911, retiring in 1944. During this time, she
held a joint appointment as a faculty member in pathology at the University of
Small, Meredith F. | 875
Chicago, rising to the rank of associ-
ate professor and director of the
Cancer Laboratory in 1926.
Slye received many honors for
her contributions to cancer research,
including a Gold Medal from the
American Medical Association (1914),
a Gold Medal from the American
Radiological Society (1922), and the
Ricketts Prize of the University of
Chicago (1915). Brown University
granted her an honorary degree in
1937. In addition to her scientific
papers, she wrote two books of poetry:
Songs and Solaces (1934) and / in
the Wind (1936). She was a member
of the American Medical Associa-
tion and the New York Academy of
Sciences.
Pathologist Maud Slye was an early cancer
researcher. (National Library of Medicine)
Further Resources
McCoy, Joseph J. 1 977. The Cancer Lady: Maud Slye and Her Hereditary Studies. Nashville,
TN: Thomas Nelson Books.
Rader, Karen Ann. 2004. Making Mice: Standardizing Animals for American Biomedical
Research, 1900 1955. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Small, Meredith F.
Anthropologist, Primatologist
Education: A.B., anthropology, San Diego State University, 1973; M.A., physical
anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, 1975;Ph.D., anthropology,
University of California, Davis, 1980
Professional Experience: assistant professor, anthropology, Cornell University,
1988-1991, associate professor, 1991-1997, professor, 1997
Meredith Small is an anthropologist and primatologist who specializes in biological
and cultural anthropology, evolutionary biology, and human and primate behavior.
876 | Smith, Elske (van Panhuys)
She began her career observing both wild and captive macaques and focused on
female sexual behavior and care of offspring. She has been a professor of anthropol-
ogy at Cornell University since 1988 and published her first book, Female Choices:
Sexual Behavior of Female Primates, in 1993. Female Choices was a groundbreak-
ing and controversial look at the different sexual choices made by female primates,
showing that females are active participants in sexual and mating relationships.
Since the 1990s, Small has also been a prominent figure in the media with her
articles for popular science magazines and websites on issues related to childrear-
ing, sexuality, DNA analysis, and other issues. Her books include What's Love Got
to Do with It? The Evolution of Human Mating (1995), the immensely popular Our
Babies, Ourselves; How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent (1998),
Kids: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Raise Our Children (2001),
and The Culture of Our Discontent; Beyond the Medical Model of Mental Illness
(2006). In each of these works, Small has examined the intersection between biol-
ogy and culture, and looked for lessons from nonhuman primates to explain
human behavior, especially with regard to mating and parenting. Small character-
ized her work in Our Babies, Ourselves as a contribution to the new field of ethno-
pediatrics, or the cross-cultural study of childhood and childrearing that combines
the fields of anthropology, psychology, child development, and pediatrics. In the
book, Small argued that there is no right or wrong way to raise children and that
our ideas about feeding, sleeping with, bonding with, and disciplining children
has as much to do with culture as it does with natural instinct, and may not even
always be what is "best" for children. In 2005, Small's efforts in bringing scientific
research to the general public were honored with an Anthropology in Media
Award from the American Anthropological Association.
Further Resources
Cornell University. Faculty website, http://falcon.arts.cornell.edu/anthro/faculty/
small.html.
Smith, Elske (van Panhuys)
b. 1929
Astronomer, Environmental Scientist
Education: B.S., astronomy, Radcliffe College, 1950, M.A., astronomy, 1951,
Ph.D., astronomy, 1956
Professional Experience: research fellow, Harvard Observatory Solar Project,
Sacramento Peak Observatory, Sunspot, New Mexico, 1955-1962; visiting fellow,
Smith, Elske (van Panhuys) | 877
Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, Boulder, Colorado, 1962-1963; asso-
ciate professor, astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, 1963-1975, as-
sistant provost, Division of Mathematics and Physical Science and Engineering,
1973-1978, professor, astronomy, 1975-1980, assistant vice chancellor of aca-
demic affairs, 1978-1980; dean, College of Humanities and Science, and profes-
sor, physics, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1980-1992, interim director,
Center for Environmental Studies, 1992-1995, emerita professor, physics
Concurrent Positions: research associate, Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff,
Arizona, 1956-1957; consultant, Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronau-
tics and Space Administration (NASA), 1963-1965; lecturer, Osher Lifetime
Learning Institute
Elske van Panhuys Smith is a solar physicist whose research included active
regions on the sun, especially flares and plages; solar chromosphere; interstellar
polarization; and solar physics. She was on the faculty at the University of Mary-
land for more than 15 years and was dean and director of the Center for Environ-
mental Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, an academic program she
helped establish and for which she taught courses on Earth's atmosphere and on
energy. In addition to her numerous scientific papers, she co-authored two books:
Solar Flares (1963) and Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics (1973; 3rd ed.,
1992). She retired in 1995 and moved to Massachusetts, where she has been active
in the community, and has lectured and taught continuing-education courses on
astronomy, cosmology, archaeology, and environmental issues at the Osher Lifelong
Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College.
As a scientist, teacher, and administrator, Smith was concerned with factors
preventing women from pursuing careers in the sciences. In 1977, she participated
in a symposium at the American Association for the Advancement of Science
national meeting, the papers for which were collected and published as Covert
Discrimination and Women in the Sciences (1978, edited by Judith A. Ramaley).
As an administrator at the University of Maryland, Smith gained insight into the
factors that are involved in hiring and promoting faculty members. She inter-
viewed a number of women scientists in both academia and government positions
throughout the country, and uncovered deliberate as well as covert discrimination,
including discrimination against married women.
Smith is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and a member of the International Astronomical Union and American Astronomical
Society (founding member and first treasurer of Solar Physics Division). The Elske
Smith Distinguished Lecturer Award at Virginia Commonwealth University is
named in her honor.
878 | Solomon, Susan
Solomon, Susan
b. 1956
Atmospheric Chemist
Education: B.S., Illinois Institute of Technology, 1977; M.S., University of
California, Berkeley, 1979, Ph.D., chemistry, 1981
Professional Experience: research chemist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), 1981—
Concurrent Positions: adjunct instructor, University of Colorado, Boulder,
1983-; member, committee on solar and space physics, National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA), 1983-1986, space and earth science advisory
committee, 1985-1988; head project scientist, National Ozone Expedition to
McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, 1986-1987
Susan Solomon led expeditions to McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, to examine the
"hole" in the ozone layer. Her theory was that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) could
lead to Antarctic ozone destruction when CFCs encounter large masses of
stratospheric clouds. CFCs are human-made gases that were widely used in
refrigerators, air conditioners, aerosol spray cans, and the manufacture of semi-
conductors. In 1985, British scientists reported an ozone hole in the Southern
Hemisphere over the South Pole during the pole's spring month of October. The
hole was located between the altitudes of about 32,000 and 74,000 feet (the strato-
sphere), which normally shields the Earth from the sun's ultraviolet radiation. Sci-
entists suspected the damage had been caused by CFCs but were unable to explain
the process, but Solomon hit on the solution while attending a lecture on polar
stratospheric clouds. She theorized that CFC derivatives react on the cloud surfa-
ces. She volunteered to lead the otherwise all-male expedition to McMurdo Sound
in 1986, with a follow-up trip in 1987, and her research supported the theory. Her
explanation for the cause of the ozone hole is now generally accepted by scientists,
and this research led many countries to pass legislation curtailing or outlawing the
production and use of CFCs. Solomon continues to study the atmospheric chemistry
of ozone in Antarctica as well as in the Arctic in the Northern Hemisphere.
A project during her senior year of college turned Solomon's attention toward
atmospheric chemistry. The project involved measuring the reaction of ethylene
and hydroxyl radical, a process that occurs in the atmosphere of Jupiter. The
summer before entering graduate school, she worked on a study of ozone in the
upper atmosphere at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in
Boulder, Colorado. At NOAA, she first worked in the Aeronomy Laboratory
developing computer models of ozone in the upper atmosphere (aeronomy is the
Solomon, Susan | 879
Susan Solomon is an atmospheric scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration who helped explain the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. (NASA)
study of chemical and physical phenomena in the upper atmosphere). Although
she was concentrating on theoretical studies, the McMurdo Sound expeditions pro-
vided an opportunity to take up experimental work in measuring chlorine dioxide
in the atmosphere. In addition to her scientific papers, she is co-author (with Guy
Brasseur) of Aeronomy of the Middle Atmosphere: Chemistry and Physics of the
Stratosphere and Mesosphere (1984, 2nd ed., 1986).
Solomon was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1992. She has received several awards, including the J. B. MacElwane Award of
the American Geophysical Union (1985) and the Gold Medal for exceptional ser-
vice from the U.S. Department of Commerce (1989). She was named Scientist of
the Year in 1992 by R&D Magazine. In 2000, President Clinton honored Solomon
with a National Medal of Science, and in 2004, she received the prestigious Blue
Planet prize for her contributions to finding "solutions to global environmental
880 | Sommer, Anna Louise
problems." In 2007, she took on an even more public role in the debate over global
warming as co-leader of the United Nations and World Meteorological Organiza-
tion's massive new report on global climate change. She is a member of the Royal
Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union, and the American
Meteorological Society.
Further Resources
Morell, Virginia A. 2007. "Ahead in the Clouds." Smithsonian. 82 85. (February 2007).
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ahead clouds.html.
Sommer, Anna Louise
1889 1973
Plant Nutritionist
Education: B.S., University of California, Berkeley, 1920, M.S., 1921, Ph.D.,
plant nutrition and chemistry, 1924
Professional Experience: teaching fellow, botany, University of California,
Berkeley, 1922-1924, plant nutritionist, 1924, assistant, 1924-1926; research fel-
low, University of Minnesota, 1926-1929; associate professor, plant nutrition,
and associate soil chemist, Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University),
1930-1948, professor and soil chemist, 1948-1949
Anna Sommer was one of the earliest women identified as a soil chemist, and was
responsible for identifying the essential nature of three different trace or "micronu-
trient" elements: copper (Cu), zinc (Z), and boron (Bu). Her research on plant nutri-
tion and soil fertility, during what has been termed the "trace nutrient gold rush" of
the early twentieth century, contributed to scientists' understanding that certain ele-
ments were not only beneficial, but necessary for plant growth. She was able to test
the effect of these elements on plant growth and reproduction by isolating them with
purified water and salt. She published her findings in journals such as Science, Plant
Physiology, and the Soil Science Society of America Proceedings. Her work led to the
development of better fertilizers and other improvements in agricultural efficiency.
Sommer received all of her degrees from the University of California, Berkeley,
including her doctorate in 1924. She continued on at Berkeley as a plant nutritionist
and an assistant until relocating to the University of Minnesota, where she spent
three years as a research fellow. She then accepted a position as an associate profes-
sor and soil chemist in the department of agronomy and soils at Alabama Polytech-
nic Institute in Auburn, Alabama (now Auburn University), where she conducted
her experiments on trace elements. She was the only tenured woman in that
Spaeth, Mary Louise | 881
department and was promoted to full professor in 1948, just one year before her
retirement. Sommer was a member of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, the American Society of Plant Physiologists, and the Soil Science
Society of America.
Further Resources
Weaver, David. 2002. "Mystery-Solving Woman: Pioneering Female Agronomist Solved
Early Riddles of Soil Science." ASK Magazine. Alabama Agricultural Experiment
Station, http://www.aaes.auburn.edu/comm/pubs/askmagazine/fall02/pioneering
woman.html.
Mcintosh, Maria S. and Steve R. Simmons. 2008. "A Century of Women in Agronomy:
Lessons from Diverse Life Stories." Agronomy Journal. 100: S-53 S-69. http://
agron.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/100/Supplement 3/S-53.
Spaeth, Mary Louise
b. 1938
Physicist
Education: B.S., physics and mathematics, Valparaiso University, 1960; M.S.,
nuclear physics, Wayne State University, 1962
Professional Experience: technical staff member, later senior scientist and
project manager, Hughes Aircraft Company, 1962-1974; physicist, program
leader, Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation, Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory, 1975-1990, systems engineering and chief technologist, National
Ignition Facility, 1990-
Mary Spaeth is renowned for her work in developing the first tunable dye laser, a
laser whose color could be changed in midstream. The term laser is an acronym
for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," and is the name of
a device that produces a nearly parallel, nearly monochromatic, and coherent
beam of light by exciting atoms to a higher energy level and causing them to radi-
ate their energy in phase. She stumbled upon the method for the tunable dye laser
while working on a government project at Hughes Aircraft Company in the mid-
1960s, and the patent was thus owned by the U.S. Army. While the laser was
developed for military uses, it also had practical consumer applications, such as
the modern supermarket checkout lasers.
Since 1975, Spaeth has been with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in
Berkeley, California, and is also credited with using the dye laser in isotope sepa-
ration. The laser is now the primary source for deriving the isotopes used in
882 | Spelke, Elizabeth
nuclear reactors, and because different isotopes of the same element absorb light at
different frequencies, a properly tuned dye laser can be used to separate and alter
the isotopic composition of many elements. Originally, scientists at Livermore
worked exclusively on refining plutonium for nuclear weaponry, but now most
activity is centered on providing a low-cost means of enriching uranium fuel for
light-water nuclear power reactors. One of the most promising applications of
the tunable dye laser is as part of a guide star project that will allow ground-
based stellar observatories to achieve a resolution comparable to that received
through the Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched in 1990.
Spelke, Elizabeth
b. 1949
Psychologist
Education: B.A., social relations, Radcliffe College, 1971; student, Yale Univer-
sity, 1972-1973; Ph.D., psychology, Cornell University, 1978
Professional Experience: professor, psychology, University of Pennsylvania;
professor, psychology, Cornell University; professor, Brain and Cognitive
Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1996-2001; professor,
psychology, Laboratory for Developmental Studies, Harvard, University, 2001-
Elizabeth Spelke is a cognitive psychologist whose innovative research has
focused on the perceptual and cognitive capacities of young infants. Her philo-
sophical interest in the origins of knowledge led to her conclusion that even very
young babies have innate understandings of location, physical objects, identity,
and even numbers and quantities. Her controversial methods and findings chal-
lenge the previously held belief that humans are born with sensory capabilities
but no specific knowledge or capabilities for understanding abstract concepts, such
as "object permanence." Spelke argues that her experiments have shown babies as
young as two and a half months comprehending the physical boundaries of
objects, and infants as young as six months distinguishing between different sets
of numbers. She sees these capabilities as innate, as part of our evolutionary devel-
opment, and as the foundation for acquisition of other types of knowledge, includ-
ing language. Critics charge that she has overestimated infant mental capabilities,
or that it is nearly impossible to distinguish between innate knowledge and learned
experience, since babies are learning from the moment of birth. Regardless, her
research has influenced the course of cognitive development research.
Her research on infants also relates to her interest in the question of gender and
cognitive development. She has concluded that there are no innate differences
Spurlock, Jeanne | 883
between male babies and female babies, and therefore no biological basis for dif-
ferent aptitudes in, for example, math and science. This subject was one of conten-
tious debate after Harvard University president Lawrence Summers made remarks
in 2005 suggesting that there are fewer women faculty members at prestigious uni-
versities such as Harvard because there are fewer women interested in or capable
of higher-level math and science. Spelke, on the faculty at Harvard since 2001,
was one of those scientists who criticized Summers's remarks, backing up the
innate similarities between male and female with her own scientific research.
She wrote a widely distributed review of the available research, "Sex Differences
in Intrinsic Aptitude for Mathematics and Science: A Critical Review." She has
collaborated and co-authored other papers with brain and cognitive researcher
Nancy Kanwisher of MIT, and with her Harvard colleague in the Laboratory for
Developmental Studies, Susan Carey.
Spelke was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1999. She has
received honorary doctorates from Umea University, Sweden (1993), Ecole
Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris, France (1999), and University of Paris-Descartes
(2007). Her numerous other awards and honors include the Boyd McCandless
Young Scientist Research Award (1984), a prestigious Guggenheim fellowship
(1989), a Cattell Fellowship (1992), the MERIT Award of the National Institutes
of Health (1993), the William James Award of the American Psychological Soci-
ety (2000), a Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of the American
Psychological Association (APA) (2000), the Ipsen Prize in Neuronal Plasticity
(2001), and the Jean Nicod Prize (2008). She is a fellow of the Society of Experi-
mental Psychologists, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American
Association for the Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
Harvard University. Faculty website, http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~lds/index.html
7spelke.html.
Talbot, Margaret. 2006. "The Baby Lab: How Elizabeth Spelke Peers into the Infant
Mind." New America Foundation. The New Yorker. (4 September 2006). http://www
.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2006/the baby lab.
Spurlock, Jeanne
1921 1999
Psychiatrist
Education: student, Spelman College, 1940-1942, Roosevelt University, 1942-
1943; M.D., Howard University, 1947
884 | Spurlock, Jeanne
Professional Experience: intern, Provident Hospital, Chicago, 1947-1948; resident,
general psychiatry, Cook County Hospital, Chicago, 1948-1950; fellow, child
psychiatry, Institute for Juvenile Research, Chicago, 1950-1951, staff sychiatrist,
1951-1953; staff psychiatrist, Women's and Children's Hospital, Chicago, 1951—
1953; Adult and Child Psychoanalytic Training, Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis,
1953-1962; director, Children's Psychosomatic Unit, Neuropsychiatric Institute,
Chicago, 1953-1959; assistant professor, psychiatry, University of Illinois College
of Medicine, 1953-1959; psychiatrist and chief, Child Psychiatry Clinic, Michael
Reese Hospital, Chicago, 1960-1968; chair, Department of Psychiatry, Meharry
Medical College, Nashville, 1968-1973; visiting scientist, National Institute
for Mental Health, 1973-1974; Deputy Medical Director, American Psychiatric
Association, 1974-1991
Concurrent Positions: clinical professor, George Washington University College
of Medicine, and Howard University, College of Medicine; private practice in
psychiatry, 1951-1968
Jeanne Spurlock was a noted psychiatrist who held many high-level appointments
in hospitals and clinics as a specialist in child psychiatry. However, she changed
the emphasis of her career in 1974, when she was appointed deputy medical direc-
tor of the American Psychiatric Association. In that capacity, her work was pri-
marily administrative, although she maintained a small private practice and was
also a clinical professor at two local medical schools. She served as a lobbyist to
policymakers to ensure funding for medical education and postgraduate education,
particularly for minorities. She was involved in the recruitment and training efforts
of minorities for research and was in charge of a fellowship program for minority
psychiatric residents sponsored by the association.
Spurlock was co-editor of Black Families in Crisis: The Middle Class (1988), in
which she wrote about stresses in parenting and male-female relationships. She
was also co-editor of and wrote a chapter on single mothers for Women 's Progress:
Promises and Problems (1990), which focused on various aspects of mothering,
including the changing face of adoption in the United States, the problems of
working mothers, the special problems of mothers of disabled children, and homo-
sexuality and parenting. She was co-author (with Ian A. Canino) of Culturally
Diverse Children and Adolescents (1994), which addresses the mental-health
needs of African American, Latino, Asian American, and Native American chil-
dren and adolescents. In this book, the authors explained how the assessment,
diagnostic, and treatment phases of clinical work may need to be modified for
cultural relevancy. She was also editor and contributor for a volume on Black
Psychiatrists and American Psychiatry, published by the American Psychiatric
Association in 1999.
Stadtman, Thressa Campbell | 885
Spurlock was a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, which has named two fellowships in her honor: the Jeanne Spurlock
Research Fellowship in Drug Abuse and Addiction for Minority Medical Students
(in conjunction with the National Institute on Drug Abuse), and the Jeanne
Spurlock Minority Medical Student Clinical Fellowship in Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry. The American Medical Women's Association recognized her post-
humously with their Elizabeth Blackwell Award in 2000.
Further Resources
National Institutes of Health. "Dr. Jeanne Spurlock." Changing the Face of Medicine: Cel-
ebrating America's Women Physicians. National Library of Medicine, National Insti-
tutes of Health, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/
biography 306.html.
Stadtman, Thressa Campbell
b. 1920
Biochemist
Education: B.S., microbiology, Cornell University, 1940, M.S., microbiology and
chemistry, 1942; Ph.D., microbial biochemistry, University of California, Berkeley, 1949
Professional Experience: bacteriologist, Sealright Co., New York, 1941; graduate
fellow, bacteriology, Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University,
1941-1942, research assistant, 1942-1943; research associate, food technology,
University of California, Berkeley, 1943-1946; research assistant, biochemistry,
Harvard Medical School, 1949-1950; biochemist, Laboratory of Cellular Physiology
and Metabolism, Enzyme Section, National Heart Institute (now National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland,
1950-1974, chief, Section on Intermediary Metabolism and Bioenergetics,
Laboratory of Biochemistry, 1974-1988, senior executive service, chief, 1988—
Concurrent Positions: fellow, Oxford University, England, 1954-1955; Rockef-
eller Foundation fellow, University of Munich, Germany, 1959-1960; institute of
biological and physical chemistry, France, 1961
Thressa Stadtman has been recognized for her work in microbiology at the NIH
since 1950. Her research has included amino acid intermediary metabolism, one-
carbon metabolism, methane formation, microbial biochemistry, and selenium
biochemistry, and her research on vitamin B l2 led to the discovery of new
enzymes. A high school principal helped her get a New York State Regents
886 | Stanley, Louise
scholarship to attend Cornell, where she studied bacteriology, receiving her under-
graduate and master's degrees in bacteriology. She remained at Cornell as a
research assistant at the agricultural experiment station, then moved to the Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley to pursue her doctorate. It was at Berkeley that she met
and married colleague Earl Stadtman, as both of them were working in the food-
technology department researching food spoilage, a major problem for the mili-
tary in shipping food rations overseas during World War II.
After receiving their Ph.D.s in biochemistry in 1949, the couple moved to
Massachusetts, where Thressa was hired as a researcher at Harvard Medical
School and Earl worked at Massachusetts General Hospital. Unable to find joint
academic appointments, in 1950, the couple accepted positions as biochemists at
the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
Unlike most universities at that time, the NIH did not have strict anti-nepotism
rules and so, in the 1940s and 1950s as more women scientists earned doctorates,
and as government research programs expanded in the postwar era, many scientist
couples were hired and made names for themselves as researchers at the NIH. Earl
Stadtman died in 2008, and Thressa remains affiliated with the NIH.
Thressa Stadtman was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 198 1 and has
been an invited researcher and fellow at universities in England, Germany, and France.
Among the other honors she has received are the Hillebrand Award (1979) and Rose
Award (1987), both of the Chemical Society of Washington, the Klaus Schwarz Medal
of the International Union of Biorganic Chemists (1988), the L'Oreal/Helena
Rubenstein "Tribute to a Life Achievement" Award (France, 2000), the Gabriel
Bertrand Prize Medal (Italy, 2001), and the Oxygen Club of Greater Washington's
Lifetime Achievement Award (2007). She served as secretary (1978-1981) of the
American Society of Biochemistry and president (1998-2001) of the International
Society of Vitamins and Related Biofactors, and has been a member of the American
Chemical Society, American Society of Microbiology, British Biochemistry Society,
Northern Germany Academy of Sciences, and Executive Women in Government.
Further Resources
Park, Buhm Soon. "The Stadtman Way: A Tale of Two Biochemists at NIH." National
Institutes of Health, http://history.nih.gov/exhibits/stadtman/.
Stanley, Louise
1883 1954
Chemist and Home Economist
Education: A.B., Peabody College, 1903; B.Ed., University of Chicago, 1906;
A.M., Columbia University, 1907; Ph.D., biochemistry, Yale University, 1911
Stearns, Genevieve | 887
Professional Experience: instructor, home economics, University of Missouri,
1907-1911, professor and department chair, 1911-1923; chief, Bureau of Home
Economics, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1923-1950; consultant for
home economics, Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations, 1950-1953
Louise Stanley was the first woman to direct a bureau in the USDA and was
responsible for some of the earliest studies on food nutrition. After receiving her
master's degree from Columbia University in 1907, she obtained an appointment
as an instructor in the department of home economics at the University of
Missouri. Her career coincided with the emergence of home economics as a pro-
fession and academic discipline, offering more employment opportunities for
women scientists. She earned a doctorate from Yale University and advanced
quickly through the ranks at Missouri, to full professor and chair of the home
economics department, but left academia for government employment. In 1923,
Stanley became the highest-ranking woman scientist in the federal government
when she was appointed the first chief of the Bureau of Home Economics, USDA.
She retired from the USDA in 1950, but spent three more years as a consultant for
the Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations.
At the USDA, Stanley helped development four basic diet plans for families at
different economic levels, and she authored a book, Foods, Their Selection and
Preparation (1935). She directed the first national survey of rural housing and
the first survey of consumer purchasing. Under her direction, the bureau also
conducted time and motion studies of housekeeping methods and worked toward
standardizing clothing sizes. She was the official representative of the USDA to the
American Standards Association, and was the first woman to hold such an appoint-
ment. She later focused on nutritional needs and public education about nutrition
in Latin America, and became involved with the UN Conference for Food and
Agriculture.
Stanley received an honorary degree from the University of Missouri (1940),
which later dedicated the home economics building in her name. She was a
member of the American Chemical Society and the American Home Economics
Association, which has named a scholarship fund for her.
Stearns, Genevieve
1892 1997
Biochemist
Education: B.S., Carleton College, 1912; M.S., University of Illinois, 1920; Ph.D.,
biochemistry, University of Michigan, 1928
888 | Steitz, Joan (Argetsinger)
Professional Experience: high school teacher, 1912-1918; assistant, chemistry,
University of Illinois, 1918-1920; research associate, child welfare research
station, University of Iowa, 1920-1925; assistant, biochemistry, University of
Michigan, 1926-1927; research associate, pediatrics, University of Iowa College
of Medicine, 1927-1930, assistant to associate professor, 1930-1943, research
professor, pediatrics, 1943-1954, research professor, orthopedics, 1954-1958
Genevieve Stearns was recognized for her research on the nutritional needs of
infants, children, and pregnant and nursing women. Her main areas of research
included vitamin and mineral requirements, metabolism, and human growth. In
addition to her scientific publications on nutritional requirements, she was a con-
tributing author to the book Infant Metabolism (1956). Stearns's career followed
the pattern of many women of her generation. After receiving her undergraduate
degree from Carleton College in 1912, she was a high school teacher until 1918.
She returned to school to receive her master's degree from the University of Illi-
nois in 1920, working at the child welfare research station at the University of
Iowa until 1925. She returned to school to receive her doctorate from the Univer-
sity of Michigan in 1928 while continuing to work in pediatrics at Iowa. She spent
the remainder of her career at Iowa, where she rose through the ranks as a research
professor in pediatrics and orthopedics at the University Hospitals, overseeing all
pediatric blood and chemical work. In 1950, Stearns was selected by the UN
World Health Organization to attend a series of seminars on metabolism in
Europe. She traveled abroad again after her retirement, as the recipient of a presti-
gious Fulbright fellowship to work at the Women's College of Ein Shams Univer-
sity in Cairo, Egypt (1960-1961).
Stearns was elected a fellow of the American Institute of Nutrition. She was a co-
recipient of an Alumni Achievement Award from Carleton College, the Borden
Award of the American Home Economics Association (1942) and the Borden Award
of the American Institute of Nutrition (1946). She was a member of the American
Society of Biological Chemists, American Chemical Society, and American Institute
of Nutrition.
Steitz, Joan (Argetsinger)
b. 1941
Biochemist, Molecular Biologist
Education: B.S., chemistry, Antioch College, 1963; Ph.D., biochemistry and
molecular biology, Harvard University, 1967
Steitz, Joan (Argetsinger) | 889
Professional Experience: postdoc-
toral fellow, molecular biology,
Cambridge University, 1967-1970;
assistant professor, molecular bio-
physics and biochemistry, Yale
University School of Medicine, 1970-
1974, associate professor, 1974-1978,
professor, 1978-1992, Henry Ford II
Professor of Molecular Biophysics
and Biochemistry, 1992-1998, Sterling
Professor of Molecular Biophysics and
Biochemistry, Yale University 1998—
Concurrent Positions: Josiah Macy
Scholar, Max Planck Institut fiir Bio-
physikalische Chemie, Gottingen,
Germany, and Medical Research
Council Laboratory of Molecular
Biology, Cambridge, England 1976-
1977; Fairchild Distinguished Fellow,
California Institute of Technology,
1984-1985; investigator, Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, 1986-; scientific director, Jane C. Childs Fund for
Medical Research, 1991-2002
Joan Steitz is one of the most prominent scientists in the field of molecular genetics,
and her research may help in the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases
such as lupus. She discovered small nuclear ribonucleoproteins, or snRNPs, pro-
nounced "snurps." She is working in a field that was only discovered in her lifetime.
While in graduate school at Harvard, her thesis advisor was James D. Watson, who
with Francis Crick had demonstrated the double-helix structure of DNA in the
1950s, for which he won the Nobel Prize. She pursued postdoctoral studies at
Cambridge University, where she worked with Crick on how bacterial ribosomes rec-
ognize where to start protein synthesis on messenger RNA (mRNA). The best known
of the snRNPs are involved in the processing of mRNA in the cell nucleus of mam-
mals. By a process called splicing, the double-stranded DNA is first transcribed into
single- stranded RNA; then the sections are eventually rejoined in the same order in
which they occurred on the DNA molecule. The team discovered that some patients
with rheumatic diseases made antibodies against their own snRNPs, which resulted
in the development of the splicing process. When physicians determine which anti-
bodies patients have, they have additional clues to diagnosing certain diseases.
Biochemist and molecular biologist Joan Steitz
has contributed to research on autoimmune
diseases such as lupus. (AP/Wide World Photos)
890 | Stern, Frances
Lacking any female professors or researchers as role models, Steitz originally
planned to attend medical school, but a summer job in the laboratory at the Univer-
sity of Minnesota piqued her interest in research and paved the way for her
entrance into Harvard's graduate program in biochemistry and molecular biology
instead. Among her honors, she considers the Weizmann Woman and Science
Award (1994) from the New York Academy of Sciences among the most gratify-
ing because it promotes women scientists, and she strongly believes that the pres-
ence of women scientists can be an inspiration to female students. Both she and
her husband, Thomas Steitz, are Investigators at the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute and hold appointments as Professors of Molecular Biophysics and
Biochemistry at Yale University School of Medicine.
Steitz was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1983,
and in 1986, she was awarded the National Medal of Science. She has received six
honorary degrees and numerous other awards, including the Eli Lilly award in
biological chemistry (1976), U.S. Steel Foundation award in molecular biology
(1982), the triennial Warren Prize of Massachusetts General Hospital (1989), the
Discovery Award from the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation for bio-
medical research (1992), the Weizmann Women in Science Award (1994), and the
Gairdner Foundation Prize (2006). She is a fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Society of Biological
Chemists, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical
Society, and New York Academy of Sciences. In 2005, she was elected to the Insti-
tute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
Further Resources
Wasserman, Elga. 2002. The Door in the Dream: Conversations with Eminent Women in
Science. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "Joan A. Steitz, Ph.D." http://www.hhmi.org/research/
investigators/steitzja bio. html.
Yale University. Faculty website, http://www.mbb.yale.edu/faculty/pages/steitzj.html.
Stern, Frances
1873 1947
Social Worker and Dietitian
Education: Garland Kindergarten Training School, Boston, 1897; student, Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology, 1909-1912; student, London School of Economics
Stern, Frances | 891
Professional Experience: secretary and research assistant for Ellen Richards,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); industrial health inspector, Massa-
chusetts State Board of Labor and Industries, 1912-1915; Division of Home Con-
servation, U.S. Food Administration; investigator, U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA); American Red Cross, France, 1918-1922; founder, Boston
Dispensary Food Clinic, 1918
Concurrent Positions: teacher, Simmons College School of Social Work, Tufts
College Medical School, MIT, and State Teachers College, Framingham
Frances Stern was recognized as an early teacher of nutrition and dietetics. She
had an interest in social reform and became interested in child nutrition due to
her early work as a kindergarten teacher. She obtained a position as research assis-
tant and special student of chemist Ellen Richards, founder of the American Home
Economics Association, in New York. Stern attended home economics conferen-
ces with Richards, which stimulated her desire for further scientific knowledge
about the relation of food to sociological problems. She enrolled in courses in food
chemistry and sanitation at MIT. She developed a visiting housekeeping program
for the Boston Association for the Relief and Control of Tuberculosis and later a
similar program for the Boston Provident Association. In 1912, she obtained a
position as an industrial health inspector for the State Board of Labor and Indus-
tries. During World War I, she worked as a member of the Division of Home Con-
servation of the U.S. Food Administration and, in the USDA, as an investigator of
the adequacy of food for the industrial worker.
After consulting with the USDA and with the Red Cross in France during World
War I, Stern studied economics and politics as a special student at the London
School of Economics. She returned to Boston to establish the Boston Dispensary
Food Clinic, which was based on her USDA research on the dietary needs and hab-
its of the urban poor. At the clinic, she worked with immigrants on adapting their
native foods to affordable products that were available in this country. She
addressed the needs of her particular clients, including having her dietary charts
and nutrition information printed in several different languages.
Stern's clinic established an international reputation, and in 1925, she received
funding to establish a nutrition education program to train American and foreign
doctors, dentists, social workers, and nurses in dietetics. She taught nutrition and
social work at various schools, such as Simmons College, Tufts College Medical
School, MIT, and the State Teachers College at Framingham. Stern was awarded
an honorary degree from Tufts Medical School, and the Boston Food Clinic was
eventually renamed the Frances Stern Nutrition Center at Tufts University.
Stern co-authored the book Food for the Worker (1917) to show the need for uni-
fying science, social work, income, and nutrition. Her other co-authored books were
892 | Stickel, Lucille Farrier
Food and Your Body (1932), How to Teach Nutrition to Children (1942), and Dia-
betic Care in Pictures (1946), and she was the sole author of Applied Dietetics
(1936), which incorporated new information about the role of vitamins in nutrition.
Stern was a member of the American Public Health Association, the American
Home Economics Association, and the American Dietetic Association.
Further Resources
Tufts University. "Frances Stern Nutrition Center." http://nutrition.tufts.edu/
1 1 77953 850925/Nutrition-Page-nl2w 1 177953851896.html.
Jewish Women's Encyclopedia. "Frances Stern: 1873 1947." http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/
article/stern-frances.
Stickel, Lucille Farrier
1915 2007
Zoologist
Education: B.A., Eastern Michigan University, 1936; M.S., University of Michi-
gan, 1938, Ph.D., zoology, 1949
Professional Experience: biologist, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 1943-1947, 1961-1972, director, 1972-1982
Lucille Stickel developed original methods for determining pesticide residue levels
in wildlife. Her research included vertebrate population ecology and the ecology
and pharmacotoxicology of environmental pollution. In her work in the pioneering
field of pesticide research, she studied the significance and levels of chemical resi-
dues in animal brain tissue and developed a method still used to determine accept-
able levels today. In 1946, she published one of the earliest reports on the pesticide
DDT. Wildlife toxicology research has important implications for human health as
well, since humans can consume either the polluted water or the contaminated fish
and wildlife. She earned a master's degree from the University of Michigan and
joined the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center at Laurel, Maryland, as a biologist,
in 1943. She returned to Michigan to complete her Ph.D., but then took several years
off from her career before returning to Patuxent as a biologist in 1961. She was pro-
moted to director in 1972, a position she held until her retirement in 1982. Her hus-
band, William F. Stickel, was also a researcher at Patuxent, and the two collaborated
on studies of the environmental effects of pesticides on birds and eggshell thinning,
and on other research related to small mammal populations. In 1989, a chemistry
and physiology lab at the Wildlife Research Center was renamed in their honor.
Stiebeling, Hazel Katherine | 893
Stickel received the Federal Woman's Award of the Department of the Interior
(1968), a Distinguished Service Award of the Department of the Interior (1973),
the Aldo Leopold Award of the Wildlife Society (1974), and the Rachel Carson
Award of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (1998). In
1974, she received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Eastern Michigan
University.
Further Resources
Howell, Judd A. "Lucille Farrier Stickel 1915 2007." http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/what-
snew/events/stickel/.
Stiebeling, Hazel Katherine
1896 1989
Food Chemist and Nutritionist
Education: Skidmore College; B.S., Columbia University, 1919, M.A., nutrition,
1924, Ph.D., chemistry, 1928
Professional Experience: school supervisor, home economics, 1915-1918; super-
vising teacher, home economics, Kansas State Teachers College, 1919-1923;
instructor, nutrition, Columbia University, 1924-1926; senior food economist,
Bureau of Home Economics, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1930-1944,
assistant chief, 1943-1944, chief, 1944-1954, director of research, human nutrition
and home economics, 1954-1957, director, institute of home economics, 1957-
1960, deputy administrator, Agricultural Research Service, 1960-1963
Hazel Stiebeling was a nutritionist noted for her work in developing government
dietary guidelines, including the concept of daily allowances of vitamins and miner-
als, or Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA). During her long career at the
USDA, her research involved the composition and nutritive values of food, energy
metabolism, and food consumption habits of different population and income groups.
Joining the USDA's Bureau of Home Economics shortly after it was established, she
was promoted to assistant bureau chief in 1943 and chief in 1944. Although there
were changes in the name of the bureau, she continued as head until 1960, when
she was appointed deputy administrator of the Agricultural Research Service, retiring
in 1963. Prior to joining the USDA, she had been a school supervisor in home eco-
nomics, a supervising teacher for home economics at Kansas State, and an instructor
in nutrition at Columbia University, where she had received all of her academic
degrees, including a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1928. Stiebeling was part of a generation
of women who brought scientific rigor to home economics and nutrition studies.
894 | Stokey, Nancy
Stiebeling became interested in domestic science and food chemistry while in
high school and then in her courses at Skidmore College. She taught school for
three years before enrolling at Columbia University Teachers College. She went
on for a master's degree and taught food and nutrition courses while completing
her doctorate in chemistry. Her early research was on the effect and content of
vitamins in the human body, and some of her studies were published in the Journal
of Biological Chemistry. She was particularly concerned with the ability of low-
income families to prepare nutritious food. While working at the USDA, she pub-
lished the first research on quantitative dietary recommendations for vitamins and
minerals, standards that were eventually applied nationally and internationally.
Stiebeling received the Borden Award in 1943, the Distinguished Service
Award from the USDA in 1952, and the President's Gold Medal Award for civilian
service in 1959. She was a member of the American Statistical Association and the
American Home Economics Association, and a fellow of the American Institute of
Nutrition. She received several honorary degrees.
Further Resources
Levine, Susan. 2008. School Lunch Politics: The Surprising History of America's Favorite
Welfare Program. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Harper, Alfred E. 2003. "Contributions of Women Scientists in the U.S. to the Develop-
ment of Recommended Dietary Allowances." The Journal of Nutrition. 133: 3698
3702. (November 2003). http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/133/ll/3698.
Stokey, Nancy
b. 1950
Economist
Education: B.A., economics, University of Pennsylvania, 1972; Ph.D., economics,
Harvard University, 1978
Professional Experience: assistant to associate professor, Department of Mana-
gerial Economics and Decision Sciences, Kellogg Graduate School of Manage-
ment, Northwestern University, 1978-1983, professor, 1983-1987, Harold L.
Stuart Professor of Managerial Economics, 1988-1990; professor, economics,
University of Chicago, 1990-1996, Frederick Henry Prince Professor of Econom-
ics, 1997-2004, Distinguished Service Professor, 2004-
Concurrent Positions: visiting lecturer, economics, Harvard University, 1982; visit-
ing professor, economics, University of Minnesota, 1983; visiting professor, econom-
ics, University of Chicago, 1983-1984; visiting scholar, Research Department,
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, 2000-2002
Stokey, Nancy | 895
Nancy Stokey is an economist who
specializes in economic theory and
economic development. She is par-
ticularly interested in the effect of
education and job training on national
economic growth. In addition to her
numerous articles on global aid,
social mobility, free trade, industriali-
zation, development, and taxation,
she has authored or co-authored text-
books, including Recursive Methods
in Economic Dynamics (1989) and
The Economics of Inaction (2008).
After attending the University of
Pennsylvania, she went on to receive
her Ph.D. in economics from Harvard
in 1978. She taught at Northwestern
University for 12 years before mov-
ing to the University of Chicago in
1990, where she is a Distinguished
Service Professor of Economics. In
2004, she was named one of eight
economists (and the only woman) on
the Expert Panel of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, an international think tank
that brings together researchers, policymakers, philanthropists, and nongovern-
mental organizations (NGOs) to address global challenges, such as global warm-
ing, terrorism, clean water, and development.
Stokey was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2004.
She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the
Econometric Society, and served as vice president of the American Economic
Association (1996-1997). She received an honorary doctorate from Northwestern
University (2005), and her research has been supported by numerous grants from
the National Science Foundation. She has been on the editorial board of the Jour-
nal of Political Economy, Journal of Economic Growth, Games and Economic
Behavior, and Journal of Economic Theory.
Economist Nancy Stokey. (Courtesy of the
University of Chicago)
Further Resources
Copenhagen Consensus Center, http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com.
University of Chicago. Faculty website, http://home.uchicago.edu/~nstokey/.
896 | Stoll, Alice Mary
Stoll, Alice Mary
b. 1917
Biophysicist
Education: B.A., Hunter College, 1938; M.S., physiology and biophysics, Cornell
University, 1948
Professional Experience: assistant, allergy, metabolism, and infrared spectropho-
tography, New York Hospital and Medical College, Cornell University, 1938-1943,
temperature regulation, 1946-1948, physiological research associate, environmen-
tal thermal radiation, 1948-1953; physiologist, medical research laboratory, U.S.
Naval Air Development Center (NADC), Pennsylvania, 1953-1956, special tech-
nical assistant, 1956-1960, head, thermal laboratory, 1960-1964, head, biophysical
and bioastronautical division, 1964-1970, head, biophysical laboratory, crew
systems department, 1970-1980
Concurrent Positions: U.S. Naval Reserves, 1943-1946; consultant, Arctic Aero-
space Medicine Laboratory, Ladd Air Force Base, Alaska, 1952-1953
Alice Stoll was a pioneer in bioengineering with the U.S. Navy, and in particular was
responsible for the development of fire-resistant and fire-retardant fibers and fabrics.
Her research on the effects of heat and thermal radiation, and the biophysics of and
engineering guidelines for thermal safety, led to the development of "Nomex"
(manufactured by the Du Pont company), a fabric used in the uniforms worn by fire-
fighters. She also studied the effects of rapid acceleration on the human heart. During
the post-World War II era, the armed services were developing supersonic planes that
made many physiological demands on crews as well as planes. Her work for the
NADC involved assuring that crews can withstand the extremely cold temperature
at high altitudes, the physiological stress of breaking the sound barrier at supersonic
speeds, and the constant danger of fire in a closed environment. She personally devel-
oped and received patents on the specific instrumentation needed for her research.
Stoll received dual master's degrees in physiology and biophysics from Cornell
University in 1948 and subsequently worked as a physiological research associate
in environmental thermal radiation at the medical school. She was simultaneously
in the Naval Reserves and worked as a consultant for other government laborato-
ries, including the Arctic Aerospace Medicine Laboratory in Alaska. She accepted
an appointment at the NADC as a physiologist in the medical research laboratory in
1953. She then rose through the ranks as head of the thermal laboratory in 1960,
and then head of the biophysical and bioastronautical division in 1964, and head
of the biophysical laboratory in the crew systems department in 1970, formally
retiring in 1980.
Stroud-Lee, F. Agnes Naranjo | 897
Stoll received the Federal Civil Service Award (1965), an Achievement Award of
the Society ofWomen Engineers (1969), and the Paul Bert Award of the Aerospace
Medical Association (1972). She was elected a fellow of the American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science and of the Aerospace Medical Association,
and was a charter member of the Biophysical Society. She was also a member of
the American Physiological Society and the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers.
Stroud-Lee, F. Agnes Naranjo
b. 1922
Radiation Biologist
Education: B.S., University of New Mexico, 1945; Ph.D., University of Chicago,
1966
Professional Experience: research technician, hematology, Los Alamos Scien-
tific Laboratory, 1945-1946; associate cytologist, Argonne National Laboratory,
1946-1969; director, Department of Tissue Culture, Pasadena Foundation for
Medical Research, 1969-1970; senior research cytogeneticist, Scientific Data
Analysis Section, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1970-1975; staff cytogeneticist,
health research division, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 1975-1979; indepen-
dent consultant, radiobiology and cytogenetics
Agnes Stroud-Lee has been recognized for her research in radiobiology and
chromosomal abnormalities. Her work has increased scientific understanding of
certain birth defects. Her research has included automation of chromosome analy-
sis by computers, effects of radiation on animal tumors, effects of ionizing radia-
tion in vitro and in vivo, and mammalian radiation biology. During her career,
she worked at several of the major research centers in radiobiology, such as Los
Alamos and Argonne National laboratories. Stroud-Lee is a member of the Tewa
tribe of the Santa Clara Indian Pueblos and was the first Native American woman
to hold a research scientist position at a national laboratory.
After receiving her undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico in
1945, she was employed at Los Alamos for one year before receiving an appoint-
ment as associate cytologist at Argonne, where she worked until 1969. During this
time, she was also working toward her Ph.D. in biology and zoology from the Uni-
versity of Chicago, which she received in 1966. In 1969, she moved to California
as director of the tissue culture program at the Pasadena Foundation for Medical
Research. She then accepted an appointment at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as
898 | Stubbe, JoAnne
a senior research cytogeneticist in 1970. She returned to Los Alamos in 1975 as a
staff cytogeneticist in the health research division. In 1979, she left to consult in
radiobiology and cytogenetics.
Stroud-Lee has received numerous honors and awards, including the Morrison
Prize in Natural Sciences of the New York Academy of Sciences (1955), the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Certificate of Recogni-
tion (1976), and a Diploma of Honor in Cytology at the First Pan-American
Cancer Cytology Congress. She has been a member of the Radiation Research
Society, the American Society for Cell Biology, the Biophysical Society, and the
Tissue Culture Association. She is the subject of a children's book, Scientist from
the Santa Clara Pueblo, Agnes Naranjo Stroud-Lee, published by the Equity Insti-
tute (1985). She was twice married and is listed variously in the sources as Stroud,
Stroud-Schmink, or Stroud-Lee.
Stubbe, JoAnne
b. 1946
Chemist
Education: B.S., chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 1968; Ph.D., chemistry,
University of California, Berkeley, 1971
Professional Experience: postdoctoral fellow, chemistry, University of California,
Los Angeles (UCLA), 1971-1972; assistant professor, chemistry, Williams
College, 1972-1977; assistant professor, pharmacology, Yale University School of
Medicine, 1977-1980; assistant professor to professor, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, 1980-1987; professor, chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), 1987-1992, professor, chemistry and biology, 1992-
Concurrent Positions: National Institutes of Health (NIH) postdoctoral fellow,
Brandeis University, 1975-1977
JoAnne Stubbe has made notable contributions to understanding how enzymes cata-
lyze, or cause, chemical reactions. Her research has potential applications for antitu-
mor, antivirus, and antiparasite activity, because inhibiting these enzymes interferes
with the biosynthesis of DNA and cell growth. She held a prestigious postdoctoral
appointment at UCLA, and was later an NIH fellow at Brandeis University. After
having appointments at the Yale University School of Medicine and the University
of Wisconsin, Madison, she moved to MIT as professor of chemistry and was
appointed a distinguished professor of both chemistry and biology in 1992.
Stubbe, JoAnne | 899
Chemist JoAnne Stubbe is presented with the National Medal of Science by President
Barack Obama, 2009. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Stubbe was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1992, and received the National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical
Sciences (2008) and a National Medal of Science (2009). She received a career devel-
opment award from the NIH and the Pfizer Award in enzyme chemistry from the
American Chemical Society (1986), given each year to a young scientist (under 40)
for outstanding work in the field. She has also received the ICI-Stuart Pharma-
ceutical Award for excellence in chemistry (1989), a teaching award from MIT
(1990), the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (1993), and the F. A. Cotton Medal
900 | Sudarkasa, Niara
for Excellence in Chemical Research (1998). She is a member of the American
Chemical Society, American Society of Biological Chemists, Protein Society,
and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Further Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Faculty website, http://web.mit.edu/chemistry/
www/faculty /stubbe. html.
Sudarkasa, Niara
b. 1938
Anthropologist
Education: student, Fisk University, 1953-1956; B.A., anthropology and English,
Oberlin College, 1957; M.A., anthropology, Columbia University, 1959, Ph.D.,
anthropology, 1964
Professional Experience: assistant professor, anthropology, New York Univer-
sity, 1964-1967; assistant professor, anthropology, and research associate, Center
for Research in Economic Development, University of Michigan, 1967-1970,
associate professor, 1970-1976, professor, 1976-1986, director, Center for Afro-
American and African Studies, 1981-1984, associate vice president, Academic
Affairs, 1984-1986; president, Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, 1987-1998
Concurrent Positions: visiting scholar, Florida Atlantic University; Distin-
guished Scholar-in-Residence, African-American Research Library and Cultural
Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Niara Sudarkasa is renowned as an authority in the fields of African women, espe-
cially Yoruba women traders, West African migration, and the African American
and African family. She has also researched higher-education policies for black
Americans and other minorities, and she is an advocate for minority access to
education at the university level. Born Gloria Marshall, Sudarkasa was her first
husband's name, and she adopted the African name Niara (an adaptation of a
Swahili word for "a woman of high purpose") as a result of her studies of the
African continent in the 1970s. She studied Yoruba culture and language for her
doctoral work, and in 2001, she was honored with the title of "Chief in the Ife king-
dom of the Yoruba of Nigeria, the first African American to hold the title. Sudarkasa
has applied her study of West African culture to the African American family struc-
ture, with an emphasis on the role of black women within the family and society.
Her published works include Where Women Work: A Study of Yoruba Women in
Sullivan, Kathryn D. | 901
the Marketplace and in the Home (1973), Exploring the African-American Experi-
ence (1995), and The Strength of Our Mothers: African and African-American
Women and Families (1996).
At the age of only 14, she won a Ford Foundation Early Entrant Scholarship to
Fisk University. In her junior year, she went to Oberlin College as an exchange stu-
dent and decided to stay there to receive her undergraduate degree. After complet-
ing her undergraduate degree at age 18, she went to Columbia University for
graduate study, receiving another Ford Foundation Foreign fellowship to study in
Nigeria and at the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies.
She also spent two years at the University of Chicago as a fellow with a Carnegie
Foundation project on a comparative study of new nations. She began her aca-
demic career at New York University and then spent 20 years at the University
of Michigan. She directed the Center for Afro- American and African Studies and
was a research scientist at the Center for Research in Economic Development.
She became politically active while she was at Michigan, advocating on behalf
of the students for a black studies program and for increasing the number of black
and minority students in the university. She then spent a decade serving as the first
female president of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, one of the oldest black
colleges in the United States. In 2000, she returned to her native Ft. Lauderdale
as Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Florida Atlantic University, where she
helped establish an African- American Research Library and Cultural Center.
Sudarkasa is a member of the American Ethnological Society, American
Anthropological Association, African Studies Association, American Association
for Higher Education, and Council on Foreign Relations. She has been awarded
more than a dozen honorary degrees from institutions such as Fisk University,
Oberlin College, Sojourner-Douglass College, Franklin and Marshall College,
Susquehanna University, the University of Nigeria, and Fort Haiti University in
South Africa.
Sullivan, Kathryn D.
b. 1951
Geologist, Astronaut
Education: B.S., earth sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1973; Ph.D.,
geology, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, 1978
Professional Experience: staff member, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), 1978, astronaut, 1979-1993; chief scientist, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 1992-1996; president and chief
902 | Sullivan, Kathryn D.
Astronaut Kathryn Sullivan aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, 1984. (NASA)
executive officer, Center for Science and Industry (COSI), Columbus, Ohio, 1996—
2005; director, Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy, Ohio
State University, 2005-
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, Rice University, 1984-1992; captain,
U.S. Naval Reserve; volunteer science advisor, COSI, 2005-
Kathryn D. Sullivan was one of the first women trained in the astronaut program in
1978, and she was the first American woman to perform a space walk. The first six
women were selected for a training program in scientific, engineering, and medi-
cal duties, but none was to be trained in piloting the space shuttle. However, most
of the women in the program took flying lessons anyway so they would be pre-
pared to land the shuttle in an emergency. Sullivan passed her training tests and
became an astronaut in 1979. Her shuttle assignments included software develop-
ment, lead chase photography of launches and landings, and orbiter and cargo test-
ing. She was a member of the spacesuit monitoring and extravehicular activity
(EVA) crew, and served as capsule communicator in Mission Control for numer-
ous shuttle missions. Her first space mission was as a mission specialist on STS
41-G in 1984; Sally Ride was also a member of the crew. Sullivan was the first
woman to perform an EVA, with orbiter commander David Leetsma, and the two
Sullivan, Kathryn D. | 903
demonstrated the feasibility of in-flight satellite refueling. On her second mission,
STS-31 in 1990, she was a mission specialist when the crew deployed the Hubble
Space Telescope (the telescope proved to have a defective mirror, and several
years later, another shuttle crew installed a new mirror). On her third mission,
STS-45 in 1992, she was a mission specialist and payload commander. Overall,
she logged over 500 hours in space in her career as an astronaut.
Prior to completing a doctorate in geology, Sullivan had participated in several
oceanographic expeditions under the auspices of the U.S. Geological Survey and
the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She resigned from the astronaut corps
in 1992 and was selected by President George H. W. Bush to be chief scientist of
NOAA, replacing oceanographer Sylvia Earle in that position. Always looking for
new challenges in her career, Sullivan resigned from NOAA in 1995 to become
director of COSI in Columbus, Ohio. In 2005, she became the director of the new
Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy at the John Glenn
School of Public Affairs, Ohio State University. She remains affiliated with COSI
as a science advisor.
Sullivan has served on various committees and government commissions
related to marine science and ecosystems. She was appointed by President Ronald
Reagan to the National Commission on Space in 1985 and participated in prepar-
ing guidelines for U.S. space exploration. In 2004, she was appointed to the
National Science Board. She also served on the Pew Oceans Commission, which
issued a 2003 report entitled "America's Living Oceans: Charting a Course for
Sea Change," urging reform in ocean wildlife protection policy.
Sullivan has received a number of awards, including the NASA Exceptional
Service Medal (1988 and 1991), National Air and Space Museum Trophy
(1985), NASA Space Flight Medals (1984 and 1990), Haley Space Flight Award
of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1991), Space Achieve-
ment Award of the American Aeronautic Society (1991), NASA Outstanding
Leadership Medal (1992), Public Service Award of the National Science Board
(2003), Astronaut Hall of Fame (2004), and Aviation Week & Space Technology'?,
Aerospace Legend Award (2005). She is a member of the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, Geological Society of America, American Geo-
physical Union, Society of Women Geographers, Explorers Club, Association of
Space Explorers, and American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Kathryn D. Sullivan (Ph.D.)." http://
www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/sullivan-kd.html.
904 | Sweeney, (Eleanor) Beatrice Marcy
Sweeney, (Eleanor) Beatrice Marcy
1914 1989
Botanist
Education: A.B., Smith College, 1936; Ph.D., biology, Radcliffe College, 1942
Professional Experience: laboratory assistant, endocrinology, Mayo Clinic, 1942;
fellow, University of Minnesota, 1942-1943; junior research biologist, Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, California, 1947-1955, assistant research biologist,
1955-1960, associate research biologist, 1960-1961; research staff biologist, Yale
University, 1961-1962, lecturer, biology, 1962-1967; lecturer, biology, University
of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), 1967-1969, associate professor, 1969-1971,
professor, 1971-1981, associate provost, College of Creative Studies, 1978-1981
Beatrice Sweeney was recognized for her research on circadian rhythms (or biological
clocks) in plants, and their effect on plant processes such as bioluminescence,
photosynthesis, and cell division. In addition to hundreds of scientific papers,
she also published a book, Rhythmic Phenomena in Plants (1969; 2nd ed., 1987).
She completed her doctoral research in biology at Radcliffe and in 1947 moved to
the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California. She spent six years as a
research biologist and lecturer at Yale University before returning to California as a
professor at UCSB, where she spent the remainder of her career. Even after formally
retiring in 1981, Sweeney remained active as a researcher, reviewer, and visiting
lecturer. She was lecturing at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massa-
chusetts, when she suffered a stroke and passed away in the summer of 1989.
Sweeney began her scientific studies as an undergraduate botany student at
Smith College. She was greatly influenced by her female teachers at Smith, but
dismayed that, unlike male professors, most of the career women at that time (in
the early 1930s) were not married and did not have families. She resolved to find
her own way to balance family life with a scientific career and, throughout her
years as a professor and administrator (including as an advisor for the UCSB
Women's Studies Program), mentored female students on not giving up on their
career plans. Sweeney was herself a powerful role model, as she was the mother
of four children.
Sweeney's work was recognized by the Botanical Society of America, which
awarded her the Darbaker Award in 1983. She was president of the Western Sec-
tion of the American Society for Plant Physiology (1977-1978), the American
Institute for Biological Sciences (1979-1980), the American Society for Photo-
biology (1979), the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(1980), and the Phycological Society of America (1986), and was also a member
Sweeney, (Eleanor) Beatrice Marcy | 905
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American
Society of Plant Physiologists, the Society of General Physiologists, and the Society
for the Study of Biological Rhythms. She was awarded honorary doctorates from
Umea University in Sweden (1985) and from Knox College in Illinois (1986).
UCSB established the Beatrice M. Sweeney Memorial Fund in her name.
Further Resources
University of California. "Eleanor Beatrice March Sweeney, Biological Sciences: Santa
Barbara." http://content.cdlib.org/xtf/view?docld=hb4p30063r&doc.view=frames
&chunk.id=div00063&toc.depth=l&toc.id=.
T
Talbot, Mignon
1869 1950
Geologist
Education: A.B., Ohio State University, 1892; Ph.D., Yale University, 1904
Professional Experience: high school teacher, physical geography, Columbus,
Ohio, 1896-1902; instructor, geology, Mount Holyoke College, 1904-1905, asso-
ciate professor and chair, 1905-1908, professor and chair, 1908-1935, professor
and chair, geography, 1928-1935
Mignon Talbot was among the first women to enter the field of geology and pale-
ontology, and she made an important discovery of a rare dinosaur skeleton,
Podokesaurus holyokensis, found near Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.
She spent her entire career at Mount Holyoke, where she headed the geology
department and helped build a renowned program there in the early 1900s. Talbot
grew up in Iowa, studied geology at Ohio State University, and then traveled
abroad before returning to Ohio to teach physical geography to high school stu-
dents. She did some graduate work and summer research at Ohio State, Harvard,
and Cornell Universities before settling at Yale, where she received a Ph.D. in
1904. She joined the geology faculty at Mount Holyoke that same year and, three
years later, became head of the department.
In addition to her teaching and research, she built a world-class fossil and min-
eral collection and science library at Mount Holyoke. In 1910, while on an expedi-
tion with her sister, Ellen (a Mount Holyoke philosophy professor), Talbot
discovered the most complete dinosaur skeleton to date found in the Northeast;
the rare find of a 45-foot-long, 150-million-year-old dinosaur was subsequently
reported in the American Journal of Science (June 1911). A cast of the skeleton
was made and kept at Yale University, but the original fossil was lost in a fire at
Mount Holyoke's science hall in 1917. Besides the loss of the fossil, Talbot had
to restock the collections of books as well as specimens, rocks, and minerals from
scratch. She took her female students on numerous field trips to conduct this work
over the next several years, building an even more extensive collection than
before. In 1928, she traveled throughout Europe on a sabbatical, collecting
907
908 | Taussig, Helen Brooke
materials for use in her teaching. Upon her return, she was made chair and profes-
sor of the joint program in geology and geography.
In 1909, Mignon Talbot became the first woman elected to the Paleontological
Society (1909); she was elected vice president of the Society in 1926. She was a
fellow of the Geological Society of America and a member of the American Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
"Lost Dinosaur." 1937. In Frances Lester Warner, On A New England Campus. Boston,
MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Taussig, Helen Brooke
1898 1986
Cardiologist, Endocrinologist
Education: Radcliffe College, 1917-1919; A.B., University of California, 1921;
M.D., lohns Hopkins University,
1927
Professional Experience: fellow,
medicine, lohns Hopkins Hospital,
1927-1928, intern, pediatrics, 1928-
1930; physician in charge, cardiac
clinic, Harriet Lane Home, 1930-
1963; associate professor, pediatrics,
Johns Hopkins University, 1946-
1959, professor, 1959-1963
Helen Taussig originated the idea for
the "blue-baby" operation, first tried
in 1945 as the Blalock-Taussig
procedure, which involves treating
babies with congenital malformations
of the heart within the first few days
after birth. After she received her
M.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1927,
and completed her internship, she
spent her entire career as physician in
charge of the cardiac clinic at the
\
In 1945, physician Helen Taussig developed
a surgical technique for treating "blue baby"
syndrome in newborn babies with heart
defects. (Library of Congress)
Taussky-Todd, Olga | 909
Harriet Lane Home and as a member of the faculty of Johns Hopkins Medical
School from 1946 until retiring in 1963. In 1962, she was the first physician to alert
the United States to the dangers of thalidomide, a medicine routinely given to preg-
nant women to control nausea that was later found to cause deformities in the limbs
of numerous newborns. She was also the first to demonstrate that changes in the
heart and lungs could be diagnosed by X-ray and fluoroscope. Her colleague,
Dr. Blalock, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1946, the year
after the two introduced the Blalock- Taussig procedure; however, Helen Taussig
was not elected to the National Academy of Sciences until 1973.
In addition to many scientific papers, Taussig was the author of Congenital
Malformations of the Heart (1947, rev. 1960). She was elected a master of the
American College of Physicians and was the first woman president of the American
Heart Association (1965). She also was a member of the American Pediatric Soci-
ety and the Society for Pediatric Research. In recognition for her achievements, she
received 20 honorary degrees plus numerous awards, including the Lasker Award
(1954), the Gold Heart Award (1963), and the Medal of Freedom (1964).
Taussky-Todd, Olga
1906 1995
Mathematician
Education: Ph.D., mathematics, University of Vienna, 1930; Bryn Mawr College,
1934-1935; M.A., Cambridge University, 1937
Professional Experience: assistant, University of Gottingen, 1931-1932; assistant,
University of Vienna, 1932-1934; lecturer, University of London, 1937-1943; sci-
entific officer, Ministry of Aircraft Production, England, 1943-1946; researcher,
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1946-1947; mathematician,
National Bureau of Standards, 1947-1957; research associate, California Institute
of Technology (CalTech), 1957-1971, professor, 1971-1977
Concurrent Positions: member, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton Univer-
sity, 1948; visiting faculty, Courant Institute for Mathematical Sciences, New York
University, 1955; Fulbright visiting professor, University of Vienna, 1965
Olga Taussky-Todd was known for her work in algebraic number theory and matrix
theory, which she helped popularize. Born in Austria-Hungary, she enrolled in the
University of Vienna, where she first majored in chemistry but quickly dropped that
study to concentrate on mathematics, graduating in 1930. She received an
910 | Taylor, Kathleen Christine
appointment as an assistant at the University of Gottingen, where she edited several
volumes on number theory. She received a fellowship to study at Bryn Mawr in
Pennsylvania and then at Girton College in Cambridge, England. She taught briefly
at the University of London, where she met fellow mathematician John "Jack"
Todd, and the two were married in 1938. During World War II, she worked for a
government agency in England and then moved to the United States again, where
they both worked at the National Bureau of Standards. In 1957, the couple was
recruited to CalTech, where he was a professor and she was a research associate;
she was promoted to professor in 1971, the first female full professor at CalTech.
During her tenure there, she mentored many graduate students in matrix theory
before retiring in 1977. The couple collaborated for more than 50 years, and she
authored or co-authored more than 300 papers. She was founding editor of the jour-
nal, Linear Algebra and Its Applications, and served as editor of Linear and Multi-
linear Algebra, Journal of Number Theory, and Advances in Mathematics.
Taussky-Todd was named a "Woman of the Year" in 1964 by the Los Angeles
Times. She received the Ford Prize of the Mathematical Association of America
(1970) and the Gold Cross of Honor for Science and Art from the Austrian
government (1978). She was elected a fellow of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science and was a member of the American Mathematical Society.
She was also elected to the Austrian Academy of Sciences (1975) and the Bavarian
Academy of Sciences (1985). She received an honorary Golden Doctorate from the
University of Vienna (1980) and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the
University of Southern California (1988). In 1990, CalTech established the Olga
Taussky-John Todd Lecture Program.
Further Resources
Luchins, Edith H. and Mary Ann McLoughlin. "In Memoriam: Olga Taussky-Todd." Noti-
ces of the American Mathematical Society. 43(8): 838 847. (August 1996). http://
www.ams.org/notices/199608/taussky.pdf.
Case, Bettye Anne and Anne M. Leggett. 2005. Complexities: Women in Mathematics.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Taylor, Kathleen Christine
b. 1942
Chemical Engineer
Education: B.A., chemistry, Douglass College (Rutgers University), 1964; Ph.D.,
physical chemistry, Northwestern University, 1968
Taylor, Kathleen Christine | 911
Professional Experience: fellow, University of Edinburgh, 1968-1970; associate
senior research chemist, General Motors (GM) Corporation, 1970-1974, senior
research chemist, 1974-1975, assistant head, Physical Chemistry Department,
1975-1983, head, Environmental Sciences Department, Research Laboratories,
1983-1985, head, Physics and Physical Chemistry Department, 1985-, chief sci-
entist, GM of Canada, 2000-, director, Materials and Processes Laboratories,
GM Research and Planning (retired)
Concurrent Positions: chair, Center for Automotive Materials and Manufactur-
ing, Canada, 2002-2003
Kathleen Taylor is an expert on catalytic converters for automobiles, and her
research includes surface chemistry, heterogeneous catalysis, and catalytic control
of automobile exhaust emissions. The U.S. Congress passed the Clean Air Act in
1970, demanding that automobile manufacturers begin to significantly reduce auto
exhaust emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides. That
same year, Taylor began working for GM, where her early research led to the
development of the catalytic converter, introduced in new vehicles by the mid-
1970s. Her group was interested in understanding the catalytic conversion of nitro-
gen oxides in automobile exhaust, and she published a book on the topic, Automo-
bile Catalytic Converters (1984). She spent more than 30 years at GM in a variety
of research and administrative positions involving the development of catalysis,
surface chemistry, surface coatings, corrosion, combustion, batteries, fuel cells,
and chemical processes.
Taylor published dozens of scientific papers on her research, a significant number
for a corporate scientist. Even after formally retiring, Taylor remains committed and
active on issues related to energy efficiency, reduction of greenhouse gases, and new
fuel technologies. She has served on numerous government and industry commit-
tees, including the Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical
Advisory Committee, DOE Council on Materials Science and Engineering, DOE
Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee, Advisory Committee for Columbia
University Center for Electron Transport in Molecular Nanostructures, and National
Academies Board on Energy and Environmental Systems.
Taylor was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in
1995. She is the recipient of the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society
(1989) and was nominated by the National Women's History Project as one of
their "Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet" (2009). She has been a
member of the North American Catalysis Society, Materials Research Society
(president, 1987), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), American Academy
of Arts and Sciences, and Indian National Academy of Engineering (elected
2006), and a fellow of SAE International.
912 | Tesoro, Giuliana (Cavaglieri)
Further Resources
"Kathleen C. Taylor." http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/docs/bio taylor.doc.
Tesoro, Giuliana (Cavaglieri)
1921 2002
Polymer Chemist
Education: Ph.D., organic chemistry, Yale University, 1943
Professional Experience: research chemist, Calco Chemical Company, 1943-1944;
research chemist, Onyx Oil and Chemical Company, 1944-1946, head, organic
synthesis department, 1946-1955, assistant director of research, 1955-1957, associ-
ate director, 1957-1958; assistant director of organic research, central research labo-
ratory, J. P. Stevens & Company, Inc., 1958-1968; senior chemist, Textile Research
Institute, 1968-1969; senior chemist, Burlington Industries, Inc., 1969-1971,
director, chemical research, 1971-1972; research professor, Polytechnic Institute,
1982-1996
Concurrent Positions: visiting professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
1972-1976, adjunct professor and senior research scientist, 1976-1982; member,
committee on military personnel supplies, National Research Council, 1979-
1982, committee on toxic combustion products, 1984-1989
Giuliana Tesoro was an internationally recognized expert on the science and tech-
nology of polymers. Her research involved synthesis of pharmaceuticals, textile
chemicals, and chemical modification of fibers, and she made important contribu-
tions to developments in polymer flammability and flame retardants in her work
with several textile companies. After receiving her doctorate in 1943, she worked
summers for Calco Chemical Company before accepting a position as research
chemist at Onyx Oil and Chemical Company in 1944. She was promoted to head
of the organic synthesis department in 1946, assistant director of research in
1955, and associate director in 1957. She was appointed assistant director of
organic research for J. P. Stevens & Company, then moved to the Textile Research
Institute for two years. She accepted a position as senior chemist at Burlington
Industries in 1969 and was appointed director of chemical research in 1971. She
was appointed research professor at Polytechnic Institute in 1982.
Tesoro was a member of several committees of the National Academy of Sci-
ences and the National Research Council concerning toxic materials and fire
safety. She was president of the Fiber Society in 1974, and has been a member
of the American Chemical Society, the American Association of Textile Chemists
Tharp, Marie | 913
and Colorists, the American Institute of Chemists, and the American Association
for the Advancement of Science.
Tharp, Marie
1920 2006
Geologist
Education: B.A., Ohio University, 1943; MA., geology, University of Michigan,
1945; B.S., mathematics, University of Tulsa, 1948
Professional Experience: junior geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, 1944; geolo-
gist, Stanolind Oil & Gas Company, Oklahoma, 1945-1948; assistant, Lamont-
Doherty Geological Observatory, Columbia University, 1949-1952, research
geologist, 1952-1960, research scientist, 1961-1963, research associate, 1963—
1968; oceanographer, U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office, 1968-1983; owner and
consultant, Marie Tharp Maps, 1983-2006
Marie Tharp was a geologist who pioneered charting the ocean floor at a time
when little was known about undersea geology. The detailed maps she prepared
indicated features that helped other scientists understand the structure and evolu-
tion of the bottom of the ocean. Of particular importance was her discovery of
the valley that divides the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which convinced other geolo-
gists that the ocean floor was being created at these ridges in various parts of the
world and spreading outward. The confirmation of "seafloor spreading" led to
the eventual acceptance of the theory of continental drift, or "plate tectonics."
Although a few studies of the Mid- Atlantic Ridge had been done by the 1920s,
scientists had not fully explored the seafloor until an earthquake near the Great
Banks in the Atlantic Ocean in 1929 broke the transatlantic cables and there was
a need to anticipate future earthquakes before laying new cables. Working with
geologist Bruce C. Heezen at the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory in the
1950s, Tharp began preparing a "physiographic" diagram of the Atlantic Ocean
floor. The resulting maps show how the floor would look if all the water were
drained away, and her first map showed a deep valley dividing the crest of newly
formed rocks making up the ridge. At the time, most scientists believed that the
Earth was a shrinking globe, cooling and contracting from its initial hot birth,
and that continental drift was impossible. For many years, Tharp herself was not
able to participate in recording ocean-floor soundings because women were not
permitted on U.S. Navy ships. Beginning in the late 1960s, she went on several
research cruises and, in 1977, Heezen and Tharp published the World Ocean Floor
Panorama, based on all available geological and geophysical data as well as more
914 | Thomas, Martha Jane (Bergin)
than 5 million miles of ocean-floor soundings. They received the Hubbard Medal
of the National Geographic Society in 1978, and their work was chronicled in
the book by John Noble Wilford, The Mapmakers, first published in 1981.
Tharp retired from the observatory and from her later appointment with the
U.S. Navy in 1983 and began doing independent oceanography consulting and
writing articles about Heezen's life and work. She received the Lamont-Doherty
Heritage Award in 2001, and her former institute has established a fellowship in
her name to support women in the sciences. Until her death in 2006, she operated
a map-distribution business, Marie Tharp Maps, which still sells prints of her
ocean floor map.
Further Resources
Marie Tharp Maps, http://www.marietharp.com.
Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. "Marie Tharp, Pioneering
Mapmaker of the Ocean Floor." http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news/2006/
08 23 06.htm.
Wilford, John Noble. 2001. The Mapmakers. 2nd ed. New York: Random House.
Thomas, Martha Jane (Bergin)
1926 2006
Analytical Chemist, Physical Chemist
Education: B.A., chemistry, Radcliffe College, 1945; M.A., Boston University,
1950, Ph.D., chemistry, 1952; M.B.A., Northeastern University, 1981
Professional Experience: senior engineer, chemical laboratory, General Telephone
and Electronics Corporation (GTE), 1945-1959, group leader, lamp material engi-
neering laboratories, Lighting Products Division, 1959-1966, section head, chemical
and phosphor laboratory, Sylvania Lighting Center, 1966-1972, manager, technical
assistance laboratories, Lighting Products, 1972-1981, technical director, technical
service laboratories, 1981-1983, director, technical quality control, 1983-1990
Concurrent Positions: instructor, chemistry, Boston University, 1952-1970;
adjunct professor, chemistry, University of Rhode Island, 1974-1993
Martha Thomas is renowned for her work in phosphor chemistry at Sylvania
Lighting/GTE. Her research includes phosphors, photoconductors, ion exchange
membranes, complex ions, and instrumental analysis. Phosphors are the powdery
substances used to coat the inside of fluorescent lighting tubes, and her inventions
included developing the phosphors that made possible Sylvania's natural-daylight
Thompson, Laura Maud | 915
fluorescent lamps and made mercury lamps 10% brighter. She holds more than 20
patents, including her first for a method of etching the fine tungsten coils that were
designed to improve telephone switchboard lights. She went on to establish
two pilot plants for the preparation of phosphors — pilot plants are experimental
industrial setups in which processes or techniques planned for use in full-scale
operations are tested in advance. She also developed a natural white phosphor that
allowed fluorescent lamps to impart daylight hues and a phosphor that increased the
brightness of mercury lamps.
Thomas studied chemistry at Radcliffe, intending to enter medical school, but
instead accepted a job at Sylvania (later GTE), where she remained for 45 years.
She attended graduate school at Boston University part-time while working and
received her doctorate in 1952. She returned to school again in 1980 to obtain a
master's degree in business administration so she could handle her new responsibil-
ities at GTE as a manager. In 1983, she was the first woman to be made a director in
her division, and she was one of the few women then working in phosphor chemis-
try. Although she had a heavy schedule as a researcher, manager, and mother of
four, she also taught evening chemistry classes at Boston University and then
served as an adjunct professor of chemistry at the University of Rhode Island.
In 1991, Thomas was named New England Inventor of the Year by Boston's
Museum of Science, the Inventors Association of New England, and the Boston
Patent Law Association. She also received the National Achievement Award of
the Society of Women Engineers (1965) and the Gold Plate of the American Acad-
emy of Achievement (1966), and was the first woman to receive the New England
Award of the Engineering Societies of New England. She was a fellow of the
American Institute of Chemists and a member of the American Chemical Society,
Electrochemical Society, and Society of Women Engineers.
Thompson, Laura Maud
1905 2000
Anthropologist
Education: B.A., Mills College, 1927; Ph.D., anthropology, University of California,
Berkeley, 1933
Professional Experience: assistant ethnologist, Bishop Museum, Honolulu,
1929-1934; social scientist, U.S. Navy, Guam, 1938-1940; social scientist, Com-
munity Survey of Education, Territory of Hawaii, 1940-1941; coordinator, Indian
education research project, U.S. Office of Indian Affairs, 1941-1947; research
associate, Institute for Ethnic Affairs, 1946-1954; professor, anthropology, City
916 I Thornton, Kathryn (Cordell)
College of New York, 1954-1956; visiting professor, University of North Carolina,
1957-1958; visiting professor, North Carolina State College, 1958-1960; dis-
tinguished visiting professor, anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, 1961;
professor, anthropology, University of Southern Illinois, 1961-1962; professor,
anthropology, San Francisco State College, 1962-1963; consulting anthropologist
Laura Thompson was recognized for her research on Native Americans. Her
research has included comparative interdisciplinary research in small commun-
ities, especially among Native Americans and Lower Saxons of West Germany;
human ecology; and ecosystem approach toward population control.
She conducted field research in Fiji, Germany, Guam, Hawaii, Iceland, and the
United States with the Papago, Navajo, Zuni, Sioux, and Hopi people. She also con-
sulted for the Hutterite communities in Pennsylvania in tracing their early history in
Germany before they immigrated to the United States. After receiving her doctorate
from Berkeley in 1933, she held numerous faculty and visiting positions, including
at City College of New York, the University of Southern Illinois, and San Francisco
State College. She regularly consulted for educational and government agencies,
including the U.S. National Indian Institute in Mexico, the U.S. Office of Indian
Affairs, and the Hutterite Socialization Project at Pennsylvania State University.
Thompson was a prolific writer as well, publishing numerous scientific papers
and books, including Archaeology of the Mariana Islands (1932), Fijian Frontier
(1940), Guam and Its People (1940), The Hopi Way (1944; co-author), Guam
and Its People (1947), Culture in Crisis: A Study of the Hopi Indians (1950), Per-
sonality and Government (1951), Toward a Science of Mankind (1961), and The
Secret of Culture (1969). She held her last formal academic appointment in
1963, but continued to work as a consulting anthropologist, invited speaker, and
author after that date. She received grants from the Viking Fund, a Wenner-Gren
fellowship to study in New York and Iceland, and Rockefeller Foundation grants
in 1951 and 1952. She was the founder of the Society for Applied Anthropology,
and was elected a fellow of the American Anthropological Association, New York
Academy of Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and
Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania.
Thornton, Kathryn (Cordell)
b. 1952
Physicist, Astronaut
Education: B.S., physics, Auburn University, 1974; M.S., physics, University of
Virginia, 1977, Ph.D., physics, 1979
Thornton, Kathryn (Cordell) | 917
Professional Experience: NATO fellow, Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Phys-
ics, Germany, 1979-1980; physicist, U.S. Army Foreign Science and Technical
Center, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1980-1984; staff member, National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA), 1984, astronaut, 1985-1996; professor and
associate dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Virginia,
1997-
Kathryn Thornton is a physicist who joined the NASA astronaut training program in
1984 and was involved in four shuttle missions: STS-33 (1989), STS-49 (1992),
STS-61 (1993), and STS-73 (1995). She was a mission specialist aboard the space
shuttle Discovery in November 1989. Her second mission was in 1992 aboard the
space shuttle Endeavour on its maiden flight, and her third was again on the Endeav-
our in 1993, which was a Hubble Space Telescope servicing and repair mission.
Her last flight was aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1995, and the mis-
sion included conducting scientific experiments on the SpaceLab module. The
Columbia flight was a unique experience for Thornton, who had a starring role in
footage that was used on the television
show Home Improvement, the first
entertainment footage shot in space.
In the scene, Thornton was taped using
a screwdriver in the gravity-free envi-
ronment. Her technical assignments
have included flight software verifica-
tion in the Shuttle Avionics Integration
Laboratory, serving as a team member
of the Vehicle Integration Test Team
at Kennedy Space Center, and serving
as a spacecraft communicator.
Like the other women astronauts
who entered the NASA program since
the late 1970s, she has a solid scien-
tific background, with a doctorate in
physics and a postdoctoral appoint-
ment at the Max Planck Institute
for Nuclear Physics in Germany. Fol-
lowing that appointment, she was a
physicist with the U.S. Army science
and technology center before joining . . , . . ,, _. , ..
bJ j & Astronaut Kathryn Thornton preparing for the
NASA. She retired from NASA in launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia, 1995.
1996 and remains committed to (NASA)
918 I Tilden, Josephine Elizabeth
science education and to encouraging women in science and technology, including
space flight. At the University of Virginia, she has been a faculty member and
director of the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education. She
has also been a leading voice urging the U.S. Congress to support a manned mis-
sion to Mars.
Thornton received a NASA Distinguished Service Medal. She is a member of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American
Physical Society.
Further Resources
Kevles, Bettyann H. 2003. Almost Heaven: The Story of Women in Space. New York:
Basic Books.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Kathryn C. Thornton (Ph.D.)." http://
www.j sc .nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/thornt-k.html.
"University of Virginia's Kathryn Thornton Urges Congress to Back Manned Space
Exploration to Mars . . . and Beyond." UVA Today. (3 April 2008). http://www
. Virginia. edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=4748.
Tilden, Josephine Elizabeth
1869 1957
Botanist
Education: B.S., University of Minnesota, 1895, M.S., 1897
Professional Experience: instructor, botany, University of Minnesota, 1
1902, assistant professor, 1902-1910, professor, 1910-1937
Josephine Tilden was an expert on algae and phycology of the Pacific Ocean. She
was ahead of her time in realizing the ecological and economic importance of algae
as a marine life food source and spoke often on problems of ocean pollution, con-
servation, and industrial uses of algae. Her primary area of research was the Pacific
Rim, and she conducted research on the shores of Japan, Australia, New Zealand,
Hawaii, and the South Pacific islands, often accompanied by her elderly mother.
She was also a specialist in local freshwater algae, and her book, Minnesota Algae
(1910), remained a widely used technical reference for many decades. Her later
work, The Algae and Their Life Relations (1935-1937), was the first effort by an
American scientist to summarize the known characteristics of these important
marine and freshwater plants.
Tilden spent her entire career in the Department of Botany at the University of
Minnesota, where she was the first woman scientist on the faculty. In 1900, she
Tilghman, Shirley M. | 919
discovered an area of algae, seaweed, and tide pools along a desolate stretch of
Canadian coastline, and subsequently used her own money, and donated land, to
establish the Minnesota Seaside Station for research on Vancouver Island. Tilden
was the subdirector and, along with her mother and the chair of the Minnesota bot-
any department, hosted 25 to 30 professors, students, and lecturers every summer
to conduct research on algae, lichen, animals, and the natural environment. The
station operated between 1900 and 1906, when the University of Minnesota chose
not to continue the program. Throughout her career, Tilden was at odds with the
university over funding for her expeditions, as it was unusual for a Midwestern
university to dedicate resources to ocean research. She retired in 1937 and took
300 boxes of her own algae specimens with her to Florida, which were later
returned to the University of Minnesota after her death. Tilden had built an impres-
sive collection of algae samples from around the world and drawn numerous
students to the botany program; 10 years after her death, however, there was no
longer a program in marine algae studies at Minnesota.
Born in Davenport, Iowa, Tilden received her undergraduate degree from the
University of Minnesota in 1895 and her master's degree in 1897. She was
appointed instructor in botany at the school in 1898 and promoted to assistant
professor in 1902. Her promotion to full professor in 1910, even though she did
not hold a doctorate, was an indication of the recognition she had received for
her research and teaching. She was a delegate to the First Pan-Pacific Scientific
Congress of 1920 and attended succeeding congresses in 1923 and 1926. She
was a member of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, the
American Society of Naturalists, the American Geographical Society, the Botani-
cal Society of America, and the Torrey Botanical Club.
Further Resources
Brady, Tim. 2008. "Of Algae and Acrimony." University of Minnesota Alumni Associa-
tion. (11 January 2008). http://www.minnesotaalumni.Org/s/1118/content.aspx7sid
= 1 1 18&gid=l&pgid=1077&sparam=algae&scontid=0.
Tilghman, Shirley M.
b. 1946
Molecular Biologist
Education: B.Sc, chemistry, Queen's University, Ontario, 1968; Ph.D.,
biochemistry, Temple University, Pennsylvania, 1975
Professional Experience: teacher, Sierra Leone, West Africa, 1968-1970; post-
doctoral fellow, National Institutes of Health (NIH), 1975-1978; assistant
920 | Tilghman, Shirley M.
professor, Fels Research Institute, Temple University School of Medicine, 1978-1979;
adjunct associate professor, human genetics and biochemistry and biophysics, Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania, 1980-1986; Howard A. Prior Professor of Life Sciences, Prince-
ton University, 1986-2001, professor, molecular biology, 1986-, president, Princeton
University, 2001-
Concurrent Positions: independent investigator, Institute for Cancer Research,
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, 1979-1986; investigator, Howard Hughes
Medical Institute, 1988-2001; founding director, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Inte-
grative Genomics, Princeton University, 1998-2003
Shirley Tilghman is a molecular biologist and in 2001 became the first female
president of Princeton University in New Jersey. Tilghman specialized in mamma-
lian developmental genetics and was on the faculty at Princeton for 15 years
before assuming the presidency. She was a founding member of the council on
the Human Genome Project, a project for mapping all human DNA. Born and
educated in Canada, she received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from
Queen's University in Kingston,
Ontario. She went on to earn a doctor-
ate in biochemistry from Temple Uni-
versity in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
and held a postdoctoral fellowship
with the NIH, where she was involved
in the first efforts to clone mamma-
lian genes. She was then an investiga-
tor for the Institute for Cancer
Research in Philadelphia and taught
at the University of Pennsylvania
before joining the life sciences fac-
ulty at Princeton in 1986. In 1998,
she founded and became director of
the interdisciplinary Institute of Inte-
grative Genomics at Princeton.
During this time, she simultaneously
held an affiliation as an investigator
at Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Tilghman has served on numerous
committees and advisory councils
Molecular biologist Shirley Tilghman became for both academic and government
the first female president of Princeton organizations, and has been commit-
University in 2001. (AP/Wide World Photos) ted to science education and to
Tinsley, Beatrice Muriel (Hill) | 921
careers for women in the sciences. She served as chair of Princeton's Council on
Science and Technology for seven years (1993-2000).
Tilghman was elected a foreign associate to the National Academy of Sciences
(1996) and a member of the Institute of Medicine (1995), and served on the
National Research Council's Commission on Life Sciences (1993-2001). She is
a fellow of the American Philosophical Society, American Academy of Arts and
Sciences, New York Academy of Sciences, and Royal Society of London, and a
member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
American Society for Cell Biology, and Society for Developmental Biology. In
addition to 25 honorary degrees from universities in the United States, Canada,
and England, she is the recipient of a Basic Science Award of the Society for the
Advancement of Women's Health Research (1997), the Mellon Prize from the
University of Pittsburgh (2000), the L'Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Award
(2002), a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Developmental Biol-
ogy (2003), the Radcliffe Institute Medal (2004), a Genetics Society of America
Medal for outstanding contributions to the field (2007), and numerous other
awards and honors.
Further Resources
Princeton University. "Office of the President." http://www.princeton.edu/president/.
Tinsley, Beatrice Muriel (Hill)
1941 1981
Astronomer
Education: B.Sc, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, 1961, M.Sc, physics,
1963; Ph.D., astronomy, University of Texas, Austin, 1967
Professional Experience: fellow, University of Texas, Austin, 1967-1968; visit-
ing scientist, physics, University of Texas, Dallas, 1969-1973, assistant professor,
astronomy, 1973-1974; associate professor, astronomy, Yale University, 1975-
1978, professor, 1978-1981
Beatrice Tinsley was the first person to make a realistic, computer-generated
model of how the color and brightness of a galaxy change as the stars that make
up the galaxy are born, grow old, and die. Before her research, astronomers treated
galaxies as static, unchanging objects. Since galaxies are the milestones that
astronomers use to measure the universe as a whole, her evolutionary models of
galaxies have had a profound impact on cosmology, the branch of astronomy that
922 | Tolbert, Margaret Ellen (Mayo)
deals with the general structure and evolution of the universe. In developing her
models of galaxies while working on her doctoral dissertation, she added up the
colors and luminosities of the evolving stars to find the total color and luminosity
of the entire galaxy as it developed. Her models demonstrated how the results of
work in many other areas of astronomy could be synthesized into models of the
evolution of galaxies far more accurately than any previous models, and she was
largely responsible for establishing the photometric evolution of galaxies as a field
of study in astronomy.
Despite her short life, she had an extremely prolific and successful career,
although she encountered many obstacles as a female scientist. A native of New
Zealand, Tinsley studied physics at Canterbury University, and although she was
interested in astronomy and cosmology as an undergraduate, there were no facili-
ties available for her to write a master's thesis on the subject. She moved to the
United States and received her doctorate at the University of Texas, only to find
there were no job opportunities for her as an astronomer in Dallas, where she lived
with her husband, fellow physicist Brian Tinsley, and their two adopted children.
She obtained a position as a visiting scientist at the newly formed University of
Texas, Dallas and received part-time National Science Foundation funding. She
conducted research at Mt. Wilson, Lick, and Mt. Palomar observatories in Califor-
nia, and at the University of Maryland and Cambridge University. After she and
her husband divorced, she took a tenure-track faculty position at Yale. In 1978,
the same year she was promoted as the first female full professor of astronomy at
Yale, she learned that a lesion on her leg was malignant skin cancer. The cancer
later spread to her vital organs, and she died in 1981 at only 40 years old.
Among the several awards Tinsley received was the Annie Jump Cannon prize
in 1974, named for the Harvard astronomer who specialized in stellar spectra.
Tinsley herself is commemorated by a biennial prize awarded by the American
Astronomical Society for exceptionally creative or innovative research and by a
visiting professorship of astronomy at the University of Texas, Austin. She was a
member of the American Astronomical Society, Royal Astronomical Society,
and International Astronomical Union.
Tolbert, Margaret Ellen (Mayo)
b. 1943
Biochemist
Education: B.S., chemistry, Tuskegee University, 1967; M.S., analytical chemis-
try, Wayne State University, 1968; Ph.D., biochemistry, Brown University, 1974
Tolbert, Margaret Ellen (Mayo) | 923
Professional Experience: research technician, biochemistry, Tuskegee University,
1969, instructor, mathematics, 1969-1970; instructor, science and mathematics,
Opportunities Industrialization Center, Providence, Rhode Island, 1971-1972; assis-
tant professor, chemistry, Tuskegee University, 1973-1976; associate professor,
pharmaceutical chemistry, and associate dean, School of Pharmacy, Florida A&M
University, 1977-1979; professor, chemistry, and director, Research and Develop-
ment, Carver Research Foundation, Tuskegee University, 1979-1988; budgets and
control analyst, and senior planner, British Petroleum (BP) America Research
Center, 1988-1990; director, Research Improvement in Minority Institutions (RIMI)
Program, National Science Foundation, 1990-1993; director, educational programs,
Argonne National Laboratory, University of Chicago, 1994-1996; director, New
Brunswick Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, 1996-2002; senior advisor,
Office of Integrative Activities, National Science Foundation, 2002-
Concurrent Positions: instructor, chemistry, summer Transitional Program,
Brown University, 1973; visiting associate professor, medical sciences, Brown
University, 1979; consulting scientist, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1994
Margaret Tolbert has moved successfully from a distinguished research career to
academia to science administration in the corporate and government realms. She
had already established herself as a noted researcher on the biochemistry of the liver
when she changed her career plans in the late 1980s and became an administrator
and dean for the Carver Research Foundation, and then took a number of positions
in government and industry. In 1990, the National Science Foundation recruited
her as program director for the RIMI Program. In 1994, she worked with the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute to establish international research programs in Eastern
Europe. Dr. Tolbert was the first African American and the first female to serve as
Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's New Brunswick facility at Argonne
National Laboratories, which brings together researchers in nuclear science.
Tolbert's high school teachers arranged for her to take advanced placement
courses in mathematics and science, and she enrolled in Tuskegee University.
Her initial goal was to study medicine, but she switched to chemistry for both
financial and research reasons. She also had the opportunity for summer intern-
ships at Central State College in North Carolina and at Argonne National Labora-
tories in Illinois, where she was a member of a team that was studying the various
chemical combinations made by uranium. In her later, high-level positions at
Argonne, she remained committed to creating high school and post-high school
programs and opportunities in science education such as she received.
After graduating from Tuskegee in 1967, she went on to Wayne State University
in Detroit, Michigan, where she earned a master's degree in analytical chemistry
in 1968. She returned as a researcher and mathematics instructor at Tuskegee
924 | Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes
before being recruited to the doctoral program at Brown University in Rhode
Island. While at Brown, she received financial aid from the Southern Fellowship
Fund to research biochemical reactions in liver cells. She also taught basic science
to nurses and mathematics to welders in night school in Providence, Rhode Island,
where adults sought to upgrade their employment skills. In her later positions
representing research institutes and government agencies, she has traveled widely
for her research and educational mission to increase international communication
among scientists and educators in different countries, and to increase the numbers
of women and minorities in science, work she continues as a Senior Advisor for
the National Science Foundation.
Among her numerous awards and honors, Tolbert has received a Certificate of
Distinguished Service from the Federal Reserve System (1987), the Secretary of
Energy Pride Award for Community Service (1998), a Chicago-Tuskegee Alumni
Club President's Merit Award (1999), Performance Awards from the Chicago
Operations Office of the U.S. Department of Energy (1997-2001), the Women of
Color in Government and Defense Technology Award in Managerial Leadership
(2001), and a Performance Award from the National Science Foundation (2005).
In 2007, she received the Dr. George Washington Carver Distinguished Service
Award of Tuskegee University. She is a fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Chemical Society,
New York Academy of Sciences, Institute of Nuclear Materials Management,
and Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
Further Resources
National Science Foundation. "Dr. Margaret E. M. Tolbert, Senior Advisor." http://
www.nsf.gov/od/oia/staff/tolbert.jsp.
Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes
b. 1930
Aerospace Engineer, Electronics Engineer
Education: B.S., electrical engineering, George Washington University, 1951
Professional Experience: aide, physical science, National Bureau of Standards,
1948-1951; electronics engineer, basic and applied sonar research, Naval
Research Laboratory, 1951-1959; section head, design and development of elec-
tronic instruments, Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), 1959-1965, technical assistant to chief of systems
Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes | 925
division, 1965-1966, project manager, small astronomical satellites, 1966-1975,
project manager, applied explorer mission, 1975-1976, manager, preliminary sys-
tems design group of advanced systems design, 1976-1980; consultant, 1980-
1990; director, Space Systems Engineering BDM International, 1990-1993; con-
sultant, 1993-
Marjorie Townsend is renowned for her work in launching the first astronomical
satellites in the Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS) program for NASA in the
1970s. She co-invented (and received a patent for) a digital telemetry system,
and her research includes advanced space and ground systems design for a large
variety of missions in space and terrestrial applications and in the space sciences,
new applications for the use of the space shuttle, and improvements in the data
system design of space stations. During her years with NASA, she was the only
woman to work as a project manager for a satellite program, and as such, she
was responsible for the origination, design, construction, and testing of the satel-
lites, as well as for the actual launches of the instruments.
Townsend was the first woman to earn an engineering degree from George
Washington University. She joined NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in
1959, the year after the agency was established. She had been conducting sonar
research at the Naval Research Laboratory by developing frequency multiplication
systems, an analog logic computer, and new submarine detection and classification
techniques; at NASA, her first assignment was to design a ground system for the
forerunner of meteorological satellites. In 1966, she was placed in charge of the
SAS program, a joint U.S.-Italian project, and she created quite a controversy
when she persuaded NASA administrators to use a launch site owned and operated
by the Italian government. Her research indicated that the launch site in the Indian
Ocean off the coast of Kenya was the best site because it was located in an area
where the satellite could be placed in an equatorial orbit, thereby missing the radi-
ation belt and avoiding a significant amount of background noise. The data
received from SAS revolutionized the study of x-ray-emitting stars.
Townsend left NASA in 1980 and has continued to work and consult on space
systems and satellite programs. She has received numerous awards, including the
Exceptional Service Medal (1971), Knight of the Italian Republic Order from
Italy (1972), Federal Woman's Award from the U.S. Government (1973), George
Washington University Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award (1976), and
NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal (1980). She is a fellow of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and a member of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, American Geophysical Union, and Society of
Women Engineers.
926 | Treisman, Anne
Further Resources
'Marjorie Rhodes Townsend." 2009. Interview for Online Journal of Space Communica-
tion. 15. (Spring 2009). http://satjournal.tcom.ohiou.edu/issuel5/townsend.html.
Treisman, Anne
b. 1935
Psychologist
Education: B.A., psychology, Cambridge University, England, 1957; D.Phil.,
Oxford University, 1962
Professional Experience: research assistant, experimental psychology, University
of Oxford, 1961-1963; staff member, M. R. C. Psycholinguistics Research Unit,
1963-1966; visiting research scientist, Behavioral Sciences Department, Bell
Telephone Laboratories, New Jersey, 1966-1967; university lecturer, psychology,
Oxford University, 1968-1978; professor, psychology, University of British
Columbia, 1978-1986; professor, psychology, University of California, Berkeley,
1986-1994; professor, psychology, Princeton University, 1993-, James S. McDon-
nell Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, 1995—
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, Trinity College, Oxford University, 1961-1977,
Somerville College, 1962-1966, St. Anne's College, 1964-1967, fellow, St.
Anne's College, 1967-1978; fellow, Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sci-
ences, Stanford University, 1977-1978; fellow, Canadian Institute for Advanced
Research, 1984-1986; visiting scholar, Russell Sage Foundation, New York,
1991-1992
Anne Treisman is a research psychologist who has created models for testing vis-
ual perception and analyzing how the brain combines visual and auditory input
in selective attention and memory. Her research combines, and has implications
for, work in cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, and neuroscience. Treisman
developed a Feature Integration Theory (FIT) to explain how human vision pro-
cesses color, shape, size, light, motion, and other input by creating and combining
separate "feature maps" that correspond to different areas of the brain. She studied
patients with behavioral differences, such as attention problems, or with brain
damage, to see how their brains combined the various visual stimuli (a process
called the "binding problem") to make sense of the whole. Her research revealed
that there are neurological as well as behavioral or learned explanations for atten-
tion, memory, and perception.
Treisman, Anne | 927
Research psychologist Anne Treisman with her husband, Daniel Kahneman, in 2002.
Treisman created models for testing visual perception, and analyzes other brain processes,
such as attention and memory. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Treisman holds dual citizenship in the United States and Britain. She was
elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1994 as a foreign associate,
but later became a regular member as a U.S. citizen. Among her awards are the
Spearman Medal of the British Psychological Society for experimental research
(1963), Howard Crosby Warren Medal of the Society of Experimental Psycholo-
gists (1990), Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of the American Psycho-
logical Association (1990), and Golden Brain award of the Minerva Foundation
(1996), and she was named a William James Fellow of the American Psychological
Society (2002). She was elected to the Society of Experimental Psychologists,
Royal Society of London, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a
member of the Psychonomic Society, Association for Research in Vision and
Ophthalmology, and Cognitive Neuroscience Society. She was awarded an honor-
ary doctorate from the University of British Columbia (2004) and was named an
Honorary Professor in the Institute of Psychology by the Chinese Academy of
Sciences (2004). Her husband, Daniel Kahneman, is also a psychologist and won
the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002.
928 | Turkle, Sherry
Further Resources
Princeton University. Faculty/laboratory website, http://weblamp.princeton.edu/~psych/
psychology /research/treisman/index.php.
Turkle, Sherry
b. 1948
Psychologist, Sociologist
Education: B.A., social studies, Harvard University, 1970, M.A., 1973, Ph.D.,
sociology and psychology, 1976
Professional Experience: clinical intern, psychology, University Health Services,
Harvard University, 1974-1975; assistant professor, sociology, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), 1976-1980, associate professor, 1980-1989, pro-
fessor, 1991-
Concurrent Positions: licensed clinical psychologist, Commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts, 1978-; founder and director, MIT Initiative on Technology and Self,
2001-
Sherry Turkle is a psychologist and sociologist who has done pioneering research
on how humans interact with computers and computer programs, and how com-
puters shape our very identities. Her work on robots and computers began before
the age of the Internet, but the intrusion of computers into nearly every aspect of
our lives has raised even more questions about the boundaries between computers
and humans, and between real life and virtual reality. She has written on computer
games, online and digital pets, and Internet chat rooms, and is considered by some
to be an anthropologist or ethnographer of computer culture. A licensed clinical
psychologist, she has been professor of sociology, technology, and science studies
at MIT since 1976, and in 2001 founded an Initiative on Technology and Self
research center. Her work has made her a high-profile media figure on the psychol-
ogy of computer users, and she has been interviewed for popular magazines and
television and radio shows.
Turkle entered Radcliffe College in 1965, but dropped out and moved to Paris
after her mother died. She returned to Harvard to complete her degrees, earning a
bachelor's and a master's, and, in 1976, her doctorate in sociology and psychology
on the influence of Freud's psychoanalytic theory in France, the subject of her first
book, Psychoanalytic Politics (1978). She became interested in computers and
computer users when she accepted a position as an assistant professor of sociology
Tyson, Laura (D'Andrea) | 929
at MIT. She noticed students using computer language in their everyday conversa-
tions, even when talking about their emotions, speaking of "debugging their rela-
tionships" or excusing verbal slips as "information processing errors." In her
second book, The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit (1984; rev. ed.,
2005), she theorized that the computer is not just a tool, but an evocative object
with which one can have intense, almost intimate, relations.
For her third book, Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet (1995),
she interviewed more than 1,000 people, 300 of them children. The use of com-
puters had increased dramatically, and she expressed her concern about the con-
cept of computer literacy defined as teaching computer skills, but not necessarily
critical thinking. She also warned about the abuses of online identities. She is not
against the idea of having multiple identities, but warned of adults assuming false
identities in order to prey on children. Other books were compiled from seminars
and lectures from the Initiative on Technology and Self, including Evocative
Objects: Things We Think With (2007), Falling for Science: Objects in Mind
(2008), The Inner History of Devices (2008), and Simulation and Its Discontents
(2009). New issues on which she has written articles and lectured include cell-
phone use and the effect of an ever-present availability of friends through texting,
chatting, and online access, especially among teenagers.
Turkle has been honored by numerous magazines and organizations as an
innovator and voice of the computer age. She was named Woman of the Year by
Ms. Magazine (1984), one of the Computer 200 innovators for the Association of
Computing Machinery's Fiftieth Anniversary celebration (1997), one of Time
magazine's Innovators of the Internet (2000), and one of the Top Ten Wired
Women by ABC News (2002). She is a member of the American Psychological
Association and the American Sociological Association, and a fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Boston Psychoanalytic
Society and Institute, and World Economic Forum.
Further Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Faculty website, http://www.mit.edu/~sturkle/.
Tyson, Laura (D'Andrea)
b. 1947
Economist
Education: B.A., economics, Smith College, 1969; Ph.D., economics, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1974.
930 | Tyson, Laura (D'Andrea)
Professional Experience: staff economist, World Bank, 1974; assistant professor,
economics, Princeton University, 1974-1977; assistant to associate professor, eco-
nomics, University of California, Berkeley, 1977-1988, professor, 1988-2001,
professor, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, 1990-
2001, dean, 1998-2001; dean, London Business School, 2002-2006; professor,
Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, 2007-2008, S. K.
and Angela Chan Professor of Global Management, 2008-
Concurrent Positions: Director of Research, Berkeley Roundtable on the
International Economy, University of California, Berkeley, 1988-1992; director, Insti-
tute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley, 1990-1992; chair,
President's Council of Economic Advisors, 1993-1995; chair, National Economic
Council, 1995-1996; principal, Law and Economics Consulting Group, 1997-2001
Laura Tyson is an economist renowned as an authority and advisor on global
economic issues, global markets and trade, healthcare reform, government defi-
cits, and the high-tech industry. She has served as economic advisor to two presi-
dents and has been the dean of two
prestigious business schools. As the
first female chair of the National
Economic Council (NEC) under
President Clinton in the 1990s, and
as a member of President Obama's
Economic Advisory Panel to address
the national economic crisis in 2009,
she has been one of the most influen-
tial economists in the nation. In
1992, she published a book that
examined the American trade im-
balance problem in depth, Who's
Bashing Whom: Trade Conflict in
High Technology Industries, in which
she advocated aggressive action
against foreign traders who close
their markets to imports by blocking
U.S. markets to the foreign traders.
She is known for her ability to explain
In the 1 990s, economist Laura Tyson served complex economic concepts in an
as chair of President Bill Clinton's Council of , , .,
r- _. a~i ■ „j u (1 l m t - i understandable and interesting way,
Economic Advisors and chair of the National 6 ■"
Economic Council. (Hulton Archive/Getty whether in the classroom, at a
Images) conference, or in the media.
Tyson, Laura (D'Andrea) | 93 I
As an undergraduate at Smith College in the 1960s, she planned to major in
mathematics and psychology but changed her major to economics after taking an
introductory course in that field. In her graduate program at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, she became more interested in the practical applications
of economic theory rather than the technical and statistical aspects of economics.
After receiving her doctorate, she taught at Princeton before accepting a position
at the University of California, Berkeley in 1977. She has been affiliated with the
Haas School of Business at Berkeley since 1990, and served as dean of the school
for three years before becoming the first female dean of the London School of
Business, where she founded the Centre for Women in Business. She spent four
years in London before returning to teach at Berkeley. In addition to her academic
work and government advisory positions, she has consulted with numerous policy
organizations, such as the Brookings Institution and the Center for American
Progress, and sat on the boards of companies such as Morgan Stanley, AT&T,
and Eastman Kodak, among others.
In addition to numerous reports and dozens of newspaper editorials, Tyson has
published several other books dealing with international competition, trade, pro-
ductivity, and politics. She is a member of the American Economic Association
and the Association for Comparative Economic Studies, and a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has been awarded honorary degrees
from Smith College and from American University.
Further Resources
University of California, Berkeley. Faculty website, http://www2.haas.berkeley.edu/
Faculty/tyson laura.aspx.
u
Uhlenbeck, Karen (Keskulla)
b. 1942
Mathematician
Education: B.A., University of Michigan, 1964; M.A., mathematics, Brandeis
University, 1966, Ph.D., mathematics, 1968
Professional Experience: instructor, mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), 1968-1969; lecturer, University of California, Berkeley,
1969-1971; assistant professor, mathematics, University of Illinois, Champaign-
Urbana, 1971-1976; associate professor, University of Illinois, Chicago, 1977-
1983; professor, mathematics, University of Chicago, 1983-1988; professor and
chair, mathematics, University of Texas, Austin, 1988—
Concurrent Positions: visiting associate professor, Northwestern University,
1976; chancellor's visiting professor, University of California, Berkeley, 1979;
Albert Einstein fellow, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, 1979-
1980; visiting member, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Berkeley,
1982; visiting professor, Harvard University, 1983; visiting professor, Max Planck
Institute for Mathematics, Bonn, 1985; visiting professor, University of California,
San Diego, 1986; visitor, Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, Bures-Sur-
Yvette, France, 1987; visiting professor, mathematics, University of Texas, Austin,
1988; visitor, Mathematics Research Centre, Warwick University, England, 1992;
member, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, 1995, distinguished visiting
professor, 1997-1998
Karen Uhlenbeck is renowned for mathematical research on calculus of variations,
global analysis, and gauge theories. Her work has had applications in theoretical
physics and has contributed to current research on instantons, which are models
for the behavior of surfaces in four dimensions. Mathematicians are looking at
imaginary spaces that have been constructed by scientists who are examining other
problems. For example, physicists who were studying quantum mechanics had pre-
dicted the existence of particle-like elements known as instantons. Uhlenbeck and
other researchers built a model for understanding the behavior of instanton surfaces
933
934 | Uhlenbeck, Karen (Keskulla)
in three and four dimensions. She is the co-author of the books Instantons and
4-Manifold Topology (1984) and Geometry and Quantum Field Theory (1995).
Uhlenbeck had planned to major in physics at the University of Michigan, but
switched to mathematics. After graduating, she spent a year at New York Univer-
sity's Courant Institute; she then married and moved to Boston, where her husband
was attending Harvard. She received a National Science Foundation graduate fel-
lowship to work at Brandeis University; after receiving her Ph.D., she taught at
MIT for a year, then moved to the University of California, Berkeley as a lecturer
in mathematics. In 1971, Uhlenbeck and her husband both obtained positions at
the University of Illinois. In 1988, she joined the faculty at the University of Texas,
Austin, where she began a mentoring program for women in mathematics.
Throughout her career, she has held a number of fellowships and visiting professor-
ships at institutions in both the United States and abroad. In 1990, she traveled to
Japan as only the second woman to present the keynote lecture at the International
Congress of Mathematics.
Uhlenbeck was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1986 and received a National Medal of Science in 2000. She has received several
honorary doctorates and numerous fellowships and awards, including a five-year
MacArthur Fellowship (1983), Alumna of the Year from the University of Michigan
(1984), Alumni Achievement Award from Brandeis University (1988), Common-
wealth Award for Science and Invention of PNC Bank Corporation (1995), and
Steele Prize of the American Mathematical Society (2007). She was named one of
America's 100 most important women in 1988 by Ladies' Home Journal. She is a
member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Mathematical Association
of America, Association for Women in Mathematics, National Association of Math-
ematicians, and American Mathematical Society.
Further Resources
Henrion, Claudia. 1997. Women in Mathematics: The Addition of Difference. Bloomington:
Indiana University Press.
University of Texas. Faculty website, http://www.ma.utexas.edu/users/uhlen/.
V
Van Rensselaer, Martha
1864 1932
Home Economist
Education: Chamberlain Institute, 1884; A.B., Cornell University, 1909
Professional Experience: public school teacher, 1884-1893; school commissioner,
Cattaraugus County, New York, 1893-1899; head, extension program for farm wives,
Cornell University, 1900-1903, instructor, home economics, 1903-1907, co-director,
School of Home Economics, 1907-1925, professor, 1911-1932, co-director,
New York State College of Home Economics, 1925-1932
Martha Van Rensselaer taught some of the first accredited home economics
courses in the country at Cornell University in the early 1900s. Her early career
followed the pattern of many educated women of her generation in that she first
taught in various public and private schools. It was while serving as a country
school commissioner in New York State that she became interested in the educa-
tion of farm women and created a program, through Cornell, to provide reading
and other classes to rural women. In its first few years, the program attracted
thousands of women, and Van Rensselaer began offering other courses in home
economics through the agricultural college. In 1907, a separate School of Home
Economics was formed, with Van Rensselaer and Flora Rose as co-directors.
After completing her own undergraduate degree program in 1909, Van Rensselaer
became a professor in the home economics degree program. Along with Rose and
another colleague, she co-authored A Manual of Home-Making, published in 1919.
In 1925, their popular program was upgraded to a separate school, the New York
State College of Home Economics.
In addition to her academic research, teaching, and administrative duties, Van
Rensselaer served in a variety of government positions, including as a staff
member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and special service for
the American Relief Commission during World War I, and, later, as assistant
director of the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection under
President Hoover. She was also active in professional organizations, serving as
president of the American Home Economics Association (1914-1916), home-
making editor of the journal Delineator (1920-1926), and assistant director of
935
936 | Van Straten, Florence Wilhemina
Home economist, Martha Van Rensselaer.
(Courtesy of Cornell University)
the White House Conference on
Child Health and Protection (1930).
She was chair of the home economics
section of the Association of Land-
Grant Colleges and Universities in
1928 and 1929. She was a member
of the American Association of
University Women committee to
welcome physicist Marie Curie on
her visit to New York City in 1921.
In 2004, Van Rensselaer was post-
humously inducted into the National
4-H Hall of Fame.
Further Resources
Cornell University. "Martha Van Rensse-
laer." http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/
homeEc/bios/marthavanrensselaer.html.
Van Straten, Florence Wilhemina
1913 1992
Meteorologist
Education: B.S., New York University, 1933, M.S., 1937, Ph.D., chemistry, 1939
Professional Experience: assistant instructor, chemistry, New York University,
1933-1942; aerology engineer, U.S. Department of the Navy, 1946-1948, head,
technical requirements section, Naval Weather Service, 1948-1962; consultant
and writer
Concurrent Positions: U.S. Naval Reserve, 1942-1946
Florence Van Straten was a meteorologist whose research focused on metal-gas
catalysis, the upper atmosphere, and atmospheric physics. She taught at New York
University as an assistant instructor in chemistry while completing her
doctorate in chemistry from that university in 1939. She continued teaching there
until she joined the U.S. Navy's Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Serv-
ices (WAVES) and launched her career in meteorology, the study of the physical
processes that combine to produce weather. While she was in the WAVES during
Vaughan, Martha | 937
World War II, she received a Certified Meteorologists diploma, which provided
her entry into what had been solely a male profession. The science of meteorology
really did not develop until World War II, when there was a need for accurate
information to deploy troops and supplies all over the world. She was in the first
group of 25 WAVES selected for training to overcome the shortage of available
male meteorologists; 22 of these women completed the course. Her responsibility
as a meteorologist, or aerology engineer, was to advise commanders of the Pacific
Fleet on weather conditions for planning strategy. She also developed safety tech-
niques using sonar and radar, and contributed other innovations to the field.
Van Straten continued working for the Naval Weather Service as a civilian until
1962, forecasting weather for the launching of long-range missiles. One study she
initiated was to investigate the pattern of radioactive fallout in case of an atomic
attack on the United States. She received the Navy's Meritorious Civilian Service
Award in 1956 after 10 years of civilian service. After she left her civilian job with
the Navy, she turned to consulting and writing. She was a member of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Meteorological Soci-
ety, and the American Geophysical Union.
Further Resources
Williams, Kathleen Broome. 2001. Improbable Warriors: Women Scientists and the US
Navy in World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.
Vaughan, Martha
b. 1926
Biochemist
Education: Ph.B., University of Chicago, 1944; M.D., Yale University, 1949
Professional Experience: intern, New Haven Hospital, Yale, 1950-1951;
research fellow, University of Pennsylvania, 1951-1952; National Research
Council fellow, cellular physiology, National Heart Institute, 1952-1954, member
of research staff, 1954-1968, head, Metabolism Section, National Heart and Lung
Institute, 1968-1974, acting chief, molecular disease, 1974-1976, chief, cell
metabolism laboratory, 1974-1994, deputy chief, pulmonary critical care branch,
1994-; principal investigator
Concurrent Positions: senior assistant surgeon to medical director, U.S. Public
Health Service, 1954-1989
938 | Vennesland, Birgit
Martha Vaughan is renowned for her research at the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) on the mechanism of hormone action. She has worked for the same institute
during her long career with the NIH, but the name has changed from National
Heart Institute, to National Heart and Lung Institute, to National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute. She and her husband, Jack Orloff, were among the several
scientist couples hired by the NIH in the post-World War II era. Serving on the
research staff, she was appointed head of the Metabolism Section in 1968, acting
chief of the molecular disease branch in 1974, chief of the cell metabolism labora-
tory in 1974, and deputy chief of the pulmonary and critical care medical branch in
1994. She also was senior assistant surgeon to the medical director of the U.S.
Public Health Service from 1954 to 1989. She is a co-editor of the book ADP-
Ribosylating Toxins and G Proteins: Insights into Signal Transduction (1990),
published by the American Society for Microbiology, and has written many scien-
tific papers.
Vaughan was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences
in 1985. She has received numerous awards, including the Harvey Society
Lecturer award (1982); the G. Burroughs Mider Lecturer award, National
Institutes of Health (1979); and the Meritorious Service Medal (1974),
Distinguished Service Medal (1979), Command Officer Award (1982), and
Superior Service Award (1993), all of the U.S. Public Health Service. She is a
member of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
American Society of Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians,
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Society of Biological
Chemists.
Vennesland, Birgit
1913 2001
Enzymologist, Plant Biologist
Education: B.S., biochemistry, University of Chicago, 1934, Ph.D., biochemistry,
1938
Professional Experience: assistant biochemist, University of Chicago, 1938-1939;
research fellow, Harvard University medical school, 1939-1941; instructor, Univer-
sity of Chicago, 1941-1944, assistant to associate professor, 1944-1957, professor,
1957-1968; director, Max Planck Institute of Cell Biology, 1968-1970, director,
Vennesland Research Institute, Max Planck Society, 1970-1981
Villa-Komaroff, Lydia | 939
Concurrent Positions: civilian consultant, Office of Scientific Research and
Development, 1944; adjunct professor, biochemistry and biophysics, University
of Hawaii, 1987-
Birgit Vennesland was a biochemist and plant biologist whose research focused on
carboxylation reactions in animals and plants, mechanisms of hydrogen transfer in
pyridine nucleotide dehydrogenases, and the enzymology and mechanism of plant
photosynthesis. She was one of the first chemists to use radioactive carbon 1 1 to
study carbohydrate metabolism. She served on several study teams for the National
Science Foundation and the Public Health Service. After receiving her doctorate in
biochemistry from the University of Chicago in 1938, she received a fellowship to
study in Paris, but World War II interfered with those plans, and she went to Harvard
University medical school instead. After working as a research fellow at Harvard for
two years, she returned to Chicago as an instructor in 1941 and rose through the
ranks to full professor by 1957. She left Chicago in 1968 for a position at another
prestigious institute in Germany, being appointed a director at the Max Planck Insti-
tute of Cell Biology in 1968 and then, in 1970, director of another institute of the
Max Planck Society that became known as the Vennesland Research Institute. She
retired in 1981 and moved to Hawaii with her twin sister, a retired medical doctor.
She remained affiliated as an adjunct professor at the University of Hawaii.
Vennesland received the Hales Award of the American Society of Plant Physiol-
ogists (1950) and the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society (1964), as
well as an honorary degree from Mount Holyoke College (1960). She was elected
a fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences and the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, and was a member of the American Chemical
Society, American Society of Biological Chemists, and American Society of Plant
Physiologists.
Further Resources
Conn, Eric E. and Larry P. Solomonson. "Birgit Vennesland." Women Pioneers in Plant
Biology. American Society of Plant Biologists. http://www.aspb.org/committees/
women/pioneers.cfm#Birgit%20Vennesland.
Villa-Komaroff, Lydia
b. 1947
Molecular Biologist, Neurobiologist
Education: B.A., biology, Goucher College, 1970; Ph.D., cell biology, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, 1975
940 | Villa-Komaroff, Lydia
Professional Experience: research fellow, biology, Harvard University, 1975-
1978; assistant professor, molecular genetics and microbiology, University of
Massachusetts Medical Center, 1978-1982, associate professor, 1982-1985;
senior research associate, Division of Neuroscience, Children's Hospital, Boston,
1985-1996, acting head, 1988-1994, associate director, 1995; associate professor,
neuropathology (genetics), Harvard Medical School, 1985-1988, associate profes-
sor, neurology (neuroscience and genetics), 1988-1996; associate vice president,
Research, Northwestern University, 1996-1997, vice president, 1998-2002, and
professor, neurology, Northwestern University, 1996-2002; vice president of
research and chief operating officer, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2003-2005; chief scientific officer,
Cytonome, Inc., 2005-, chief executive officer, 2006-
Concurrent Positions: visiting postdoctoral fellow, Cold Spring Harbor Laborato-
ries, 1976-1977; director, Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Mental Retardation
Research Center, Children's Hospital, Boston, 1985-1996, associate director,
1987-1994, director, Transgenic Mouse Facility, 1990-1994
Lydia Villa-Komaroff is renowned for her theory of brain development. Her
research includes growth factors in brain development, structure and function of
insulin-like growth factors in brain development, and the structure and function
of genes expressed in central and peripheral nervous systems. Her particular focus
is the flow of information in the cell from DNA to RNA to protein. She has held a
variety of research and teaching positions at Harvard University, the University of
Massachusetts, Northwestern University, and MIT. In 2005, she became Chief
Scientific Officer of Cytonome, Inc., a Boston-based biotechnology company that
sells a device for cell sorting.
Both of Villa-Komaroff 's parents were the first in their respective families to
attend college, and she became one of the first generation of Mexican Americans
to receive a doctorate in this country. She became interested in a scientific career
after taking part in a National Science Foundation summer program during high
school. She began her undergraduate studies at the University of Washington in
Seattle, but transferred to Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, to follow her
husband's job. She received her degree in biology and gained experience working
for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) during the summers. She went on to
graduate school at MIT, receiving her Ph.D. in cell biology in 1975. During her post-
doctoral work at Harvard, she first worked on making proteins in bacteria. In 1976, a
national controversy arose over recombinant DNA technology. Some people feared
that taking the genes from one organism, such as a human, and putting them into
bacteria, might somehow create a supergerm or a new disease. The Cambridge city
Vitetta, Ellen Shapiro | 941
council temporarily banned certain experiments, and the Harvard research team
had to move to a laboratory in Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island for a year.
Villa-Komaroff ' s research team was the first to produce insulin from bacteria, a
patented process that is now responsible for most insulin used by diabetics.
Villa-Komaroff has received several honorary degrees, and has been recognized
with numerous awards and honors, including the Hispanic Engineer National
Achievement Award (1992), the first Catalyst Award from the Science Club for
Girls (2008), and MOSFs (Museum of Science and Industry) National Hispanic
Scientist of the Year (2008). She was a member of the mammalian genetics study
section of the NIH (1982-1984) and member of the Neurological Disease Program
Project Review Committee (1989-1994). She is a member of the American Society
for Microbiology, American Society of Hematology, American Society of Cell
Biology, American Association for the Advancement of Science, International
Society for Cellular Therapy, American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplan-
tation, Society for Neuroscience, and Association for Women in Science, and is a
founding member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native
Americans in Science (SACNAS). She has served on the National Academy of
Sciences Committee on Women in Science and the National Research Council
Committee on Underrepresented Groups.
Further Resources
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. "Lydia Villa-Komaroff among 100 Most
Influential Hispanics in America." (16 October 2003). http://www.wi.mit.edu/news/
archives/2003/wi 1016.html.
Vitetta, Ellen Shapiro
b. ca. 1 942
Microbiologist, Immunologist
Education: B.A., Connecticut College, 1964; M.S., New York University, 1966,
Ph.D., immunology, and M.D., 1968
Professional Experience: research assistant, biology, New York University, 1964-
1968; postdoctoral fellow, New York University School of Medicine, 1968-1970,
assistant research scientist, 1970-1971, assistant professor, microbiology, and
associate research scientist, Department of Medicine, 1971-1974; associate pro-
fessor, microbiology, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, 1974-
1976, professor, 1976-, director, Cancer Immunobiology Center, 1988-
942 | Vitetta, Ellen Shapiro
Concurrent Positions: member, Medical Research Council, Cambridge, England,
1986
Ellen S. Vitetta is a renowned microbiologist whose most recent research has led to
the development of a vaccine against ricin, a highly toxic compound made from
castor beans that could be used as a biological weapon. After receiving her
master's, doctorate, and M.D. degrees from New York University, she conducted
research in the Medical School and Department of Medicine at that university
for more than 10 years. She then moved to the University of Texas Southwestern
Medical Center, where, in addition to being director of the Cancer Immunobiology
Center, she holds the S. S. Patigan Distinguished Chair in Cancer Immunobiology.
Her work in immunotoxicology also has implications for the treatment of cancer
and of AIDS. In the late 1990s, she and her research team first discovered that a
specific form of antibodies, chemically altered with ricin, could kill cancer cells.
They applied their findings to target HIV cells as well and then to a vaccine against
ricin known as RiVax. One of Vitetta's former students, Linda Buck, went on to
win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Vitetta has received a merit grant award from the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) every year since 1987. She is a member of many distinguished committees
and commissions, including the science board of the Ludwig Institute, the Task
Force on Immunology of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,
the science advisory board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the
National Cancer Institute's Cancer Treatment Board, and is a consultant for phar-
maceutical and biotech companies such as Eli Lilly, Abbott, and Genetics Insti-
tute. She has also served on the editorial boards of numerous journals in the field.
Vitetta was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1994
and the Institute of Medicine in 2006. She is a recipient of the Taittinger Breast
Cancer Research Award from the Komen Foundation (1983), NIH Merit Award
(1987), Pierce Immunotoxin Award (1988), Women's Excellence in Science Award
from the Federation of American Societies in Experimental Biology (FASEB)
(1991), Abbott Award of the American Society of Microbiologists (1992), Rosenthal
Award (1995) and Charlotte Friend Award (2002), both of the American Association
of Cancer Research, and Mentoring Award (2002) and Lifetime Achievement Award
(2007) of the American Association of Immunologists. In 1994, she served as
president of the American Association of Immunologists, and in 2006, she was
elected to the Texas Women's Hall of Fame.
Further Resources
University of Texas. Faculty website, http://www8.utsouthwestern.edu/findfac/
professional/0,2356, 17609,00.html.
w
Waelsch, Salome Gluecksohn
1907 2007
Geneticist
Education: Ph.D., zoology, University of Freiburg, 1932
Professional Experience: assistant, department of experimental cell research, Uni-
versity of Berlin, 1932-1933; research associate and lecturer, zoology, Columbia
University, 1936-1953, lecturer, College of Physicians and Surgeons, 1953-1955;
associate professor to professor, anatomy, Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
1955-1963, professor, molecular genetics, 1958-1978
Salome Waelsch was a mammalian geneticist whose research on the role of genes in
normal and abnormal cell differentiation and on genetically controlled congenital
abnormalities helped establish the field of developmental genetics. Her research
focused on genetic mutations of mice spines and tails, and she later researched the
hereditary nature of blood cells and chromosomal defects that affect liver function.
After receiving her doctorate from the University of Freiburg in 1932, she worked
briefly at the University of Berlin before fleeing to the United States in 1933. She
and her husband (a Freiburg-trained biochemist who also obtained a position at
Columbia in New York) were among the many Jewish scientists and academics
forced to leave Nazi Germany. Salome did not have a job for three years but finally
accepted an initially nonpaying research-associate position at Columbia University
in 1936, where she also lectured in zoology. Waelsch joined the faculty of Albert
Einstein College of Medicine in 1955, where she taught anatomy and molecular
genetics for more than 20 years. She also served as chair of the genetics department
between 1963 and 1976. Although she formally retired in 1978, she remained active
in her research well into her eighties and nineties.
Waelsch was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in
1979 and was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1993. She was awarded
the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal of the Genetics Society of America and the first
Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Cancer Society. In 1982, Freiburg
University awarded her an honorary degree, which she was hesitant to accept
due to the circumstances that led her to have to leave Germany 50 years earlier.
She was a fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the American Academy
943
944 | Walbot, Virginia Elizabeth
of Arts and Sciences, New York Academy of Science, American Association of
Anatomists, Genetics Society of America, Society for Developmental Biology,
and American Society of Zoologists.
Further Resources
Solter, Davor. 2008. "In Memoriam: Salome Gluecksohn-Waelsch (1907 2007)." Devel-
opmental Cell. 14(1): 22 24. (January 2008). http://www.sciencedirect.com/science
? ob=ArticleURL& udi=B6WW3-4RKDVWC-7& user=10& rdoc=l& fmt=& orig
=search& sort=d& docanchor=&view=c& acct=C000050221& version=l& urlVersion
=0& Userid=10&md5=a49e98dbcfl507db2038cc06a0ca4ac6.
Walbot, Virginia Elizabeth
b. 1945
Biologist, Plant Geneticist
Education: B.A., biology, Stanford University, 1967; M.Phil., biology, Yale
University, 1969, Ph.D., biology, 1972
Professional Experience: National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow, bio-
chemistry, University of Georgia, 1972-1975; assistant to associate professor,
biology, Washington University, St. Louis, 1975-1980; associate professor to
professor, biological sciences, Stanford University, 1981—
Concurrent Positions: Guggenheim fellow and visiting scientist, C.S.I.R.O.,
Australia, 1987; adjunct associate professor, agronomy, University of Missouri,
1979-1990
Virginia Walbot is a plant geneticist whose research focus is corn genetics. Her
research combines interests in plant molecular biology and development, genetics,
and botany. She and other scientists have found corn to be the ideal organism for study-
ing fundamental questions about genetics and development. The plant geneticist
Barbara McClintock received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1983
for her fundamental research on corn, and Walbot was able to confer with her while
McClintock was still active in research in the late 1970s, and worked with her in her lab-
oratory at Cold Spring Harbor. Transposable genetic elements, or mobile DNA, discov-
ered by McClintock more than 50 years ago, figure prominently in Walbot's research.
Walbot is particularly interested in developmental timing, as plants have continu-
ous development — that is, they are continuously making organs from scratch. For
example, if one places a plant with dark leaves in sunlight, the dark leaves will fall
off to be replaced by light-colored leaves to filter the sunlight. Scientists are using
Wallace, Phyllis Ann | 945
recombinant DNA methods to
manipulate plant genomes to breed
for resistance to disease, while ensur-
ing that there is a diversity of varieties
that have any new trait. If only a few
genetic variants are developed, it
means that the food sources are more
susceptible to a new disease or envi-
ronmental conditions that are fatal to
that one type. While she was on the
faculty of Washington University, she
developed, in cooperation with a team
of University of Missouri researchers
and commercial corn breeders, a corn
that is genetically incapable of losing
its sweetness and turning starchy. In
addition to Walbot's numerous scien-
tific publications, she is co-author of a
textbook, Developmental Biology
(1986), and co-editor of The Maize
Handbook (1993), a compendium of
the standard procedures and protocols
for maize research.
Walbot has consulted on numerous scientific, government, and industry advisory
boards. She is the recipient of the Eppley Foundation Award (1993) and a National
Geographic Society Explorer Award (1998). She is a member of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, Botanical Society of America, Society
for Developmental Biology, and American Society of Plant Physiologists, and a
Corresponding Member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences.
Further Resources
Stanford University. Faculty website. http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/Virginia Walbot/.
Wallace, Phyllis Ann
1920 1993
Economist
Education: B.A., New York University, 1943; M.A., Yale University, 1944, Ph.D.,
economics, 1948
Biologist and plant geneticist, Virginia Walbot.
(Courtesy of the Stanford University News
Service Library)
946 | Wallace, Phyllis Ann
Professional Experience: economist and statistician, National Bureau of Eco-
nomic Research, 1948-1952; associate professor, economics, Atlanta University,
1953-1957; senior economist, U.S. government, 1957-1965; chief of technical
studies, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1966-1969; vice
president for research, Metropolitan Applied Research Center, New York City,
1969-1972; visiting professor, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Insti-
tute of Technology (MIT), 1972-1975, professor, 1975-1986
Concurrent Positions: lecturer, City College of New York, 1948-1951
Phyllis Wallace was a pioneer in research on the economics of racial and sexual
discrimination in the workplace. She was the first black woman to receive a doc-
torate in economics from Yale University and the first black woman on the faculty
to be tenured at MIT. She was also the first African American and first woman
president of the Industrial Relations Research Association. Early in her career,
she concentrated her research on issues dealing with international trade. She had
written her dissertation on commodity trade relationships, concentrating on
international sugar agreements. She first had a non-tenure-track position at
New York University and, at the same time, did research for the National
Bureau of Economic Research. She then moved to Atlanta University, where she
was an associate professor, before working as a senior economist for an unnamed
government agency that was later revealed to be the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA).
Wallace became chief of technical operations for the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) a few months after it started operations in
1965. She worked to coordinate hearings for the EEOC about racial employment
patterns in many industries, and her research focused on the status of African
Americans in urban poverty neighborhoods. At the Metropolitan Applied
Research Center, she worked on issues affecting urban youth in labor markets
and on issues affecting young black women, which had not been explored at that
point. After joining the faculty of MIT, Wallace consulted on a federal lawsuit
against communications company AT&T for discrimination against women and
minority men. She wrote about this case in her 1976 book, Equal Employment
Opportunity and the AT&T Case. Her other books included Pathways to Work:
Employment among Black Teenage Females (1974) and Women, Minorities and
Employment Discrimination (1977); in 1980, she published a study on Black
Women in the Labor Force, in which she concluded that young black women have
the highest unemployment rate and the lowest economic status of any group.
Even after her retirement in 1986, Wallace continued to work on issues related
to discrimination and consulted with the Sloan School at MIT on sexual harass-
ment issues and policies. The Sloan School established two funds for black
Warga, Mary Elizabeth | 947
students and scholars in her name. Wallace received numerous honorary degrees,
and was a member of the American Economic Association and the Industrial Rela-
tions Research Association.
Further Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Professor Phyllis A. Wallace Dies." http://web
.mit.edu/newsoffice/ 1 993/wallace-0 113 .html.
Warga, Mary Elizabeth
1904 1991
Physicist
Education: B.S., University of Pittsburgh, 1926, M.S., 1928, Ph.D., spectroscopy,
1937
Professional Experience: industrial assistant, Mellon Institute for Industrial
Research, 1928-1930, industrial fellow, 1930-1933; industrial fellow, University
of Pittsburgh, 1934-1936, instructor to professor of physics and director of spec-
troscopy laboratory, 1936-1962, adjunct professor, physics, 1962-1972, emeritus
Concurrent Positions: executive secretary, Optical Society of America (OSA),
1959-1972
Mary Warga was a physicist whose research involved ultraviolet, visible, and
infrared optical emission spectroscopy; optical absorption; and upper atmosphere
spectroscopy. She worked at the Allegheny Observatory between 1926 and 1928.
After receiving her master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1928,
she received several fellowships before being appointed instructor of physics in
1936. She rose through the ranks to professor of physics and director of the spec-
troscopy laboratory after receiving her doctorate in spectroscopy in 1937. After a
distinguished career in teaching and research, Warga served as the first executive
secretary of the OSA, having previously served four years on the Board of
Directors. During her first few years in this position, which was headquartered in
Washington, D.C., she still directed the spectroscopy laboratory at the University
of Pittsburgh, but in 1962, she reduced her teaching load to become adjunct pro-
fessor of physics. The laser had been invented in 1960, and the field of optics
was an exciting new area of research. In her role as executive secretary of the
OSA during this time, Warga brought together many top scientists working in this
field by encouraging society membership, organizing conferences, and writing a
948 | Washburn, Margaret Floy
monthly news column. She retired from teaching and from the OS A in 1972,
although she remained involved in professional activities for several more years.
Warga was named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania (1954) and
Woman of the Year in Science Research (1959), and received a District Service
Award in Applied Spectroscopy (1962). Upon her retirement, she was honored
with a Distinguished Service Award from the OSA (1973). She was a member of
the governing board of the American Institute of Physics beginning in 1960 and
served as secretary of the Joint Council on Quantum Electronics. She was elected
a fellow of the OSA, American Physics Society, Physics Society of London, and
American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was a member of the
U.S. and International Commission for Optics, American Association of Physics
Teachers, American Chemical Society, and Society for Applied Spectroscopy.
Further Resources
Howard, John N. 2002. "An Executive Secretary for OSA." Optics & Photonics News. 13(6):
14 15. http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPN-13-6-14.
Washburn, Margaret Floy
1871 1939
Psychologist
Education: A.B., Vassar College, 1891, A.M., 1893; Ph.D., Cornell University,
1894
Professional Experience: professor, psychology and ethics, Wells College, 1894-
1900; dean, Sage College, Cornell University, 1900-1902, lecturer, psychology,
1901-1902; assistant professor and head, psychology, University of Cincinnati,
1902-1903; associate professor, philosophy and psychology, Vassar College,
1903-1908, professor, psychology, 1908-1937
Margaret Washburn was recognized in the new field of experimental psychology,
in particular for her research on a motor theory of consciousness, or the idea that
all thoughts and perceptions produce some type of physical reaction. She merged
her interests in science and philosophy in her work on social consciousness,
emotions, animal psychology, and comparative psychology. She authored or
co-authored (with her Vassar students) hundreds of scientific papers; her most
important books were The Animal Mind (1908) and Movement and Mental
Imagery (1916), which presented her theory of consciousness and linked different
Watson, Patty Jo (Andersen) | 949
schools of psychological thought at the time. Her name was included in a study of
50 eminent American psychologists in 1903.
Washburn earned a bachelor's and master's degree at Vassar, then applied to the
doctoral program in psychology at Columbia University. Columbia would not
admit a woman in the graduate program, however, so she went to Cornell Univer-
sity instead and received her Ph.D. in 1894. She spent six years as a professor of
psychology and ethics at Wells College before returning to Cornell as a lecturer
in psychology. She spent one year as an assistant professor and head of the psy-
chology department at the University of Cincinnati before returning to her alma
mater at Vassar College as associate professor of philosophy and psychology in
1903; she was promoted to full professor in 1908 and remained at Vassar until
her retirement in 1937. Between 1925 and 1935, she served as co-editor of the
American Journal of Psychology.
In 1931, Washburn was only the second woman (after Florence Sabin, 1925) to
be elected to the National Academy of Sciences. She served as vice president of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science and, in 1921, became
president of the American Psychological Association. In 1929, she became a
member of the Society of Experimental Psychologists, which had previously
barred women from membership; two years later, the Society met at Vassar, a
women's college, at Washburn's invitation.
Watson, Patty Jo (Andersen)
b. 1932
Anthropologist, Archaeologist
Education: B.A., University of Chicago, M.A., 1956, Ph.D., anthropology, 1959
Professional Experience: field assistant, Oriental Institute Iraq-Jarmo project,
University of Chicago, 1954-1955; National Science Foundation (NSF) fellow, Uni-
versity of Michigan, 1957-1958; NSF fellow, University of Minnesota, 1958-1959;
archaeologist and ethnographer, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, 1959-
1960, research associate, archaeology, 1964, 1967; assistant to associate professor,
anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis, 1969-1973, professor, 1973-1993,
distinguished university professor, 1993—
Concurrent Positions: instructor, anthropology, University of Southern California
and Los Angeles State College, 1961; summer lecturer, anthropology, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1962-1963; project associate, anthropology curriculum
study project, American Anthropological Association, 1965-1967
950 | Wattleton, (Alyce) Faye
Patty Jo Watson is a distinguished anthropologist and archaeologist who pioneered
the field of ethnoarcheaology. Her research interests have ranged from the prehis-
tory of Iran, to the archaeology of the Mammoth Cave area in Kentucky, to method
and theory in shipwreck archaeology. Early in her career, she was a field assistant
for the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, through which she
was involved as an archaeologist and ethnographer on an Iranian prehistory
project and directed the excavation of an ancient site in Turkey on behalf of the
Istanbul-Chicago Joint Prehistoric Project. Her dissertation project was an investi-
gation of early village farming in the Levant.
Married to an avid caver, she became interested in cave archaeology in North
America and has conducted research in Kentucky, New Mexico, and Tennessee;
this work has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the
Humanities and National Geographic Society. She is author of Archaeology of
the Mammoth Cave Area (1974) and co-editor of the book, Of Caves and Shell
Mounds (1996). She also co-authored Archaeological Explanation: The Scientific
Method in Archaeology (1984) and co-edited The Origins of Agriculture: An
International Perspective (1992), a collection of papers from a symposium of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science at which all of the speakers
were experts in crop evolution or the archaeological record for early plant cultiva-
tion. She has served on the editorial board of the journals Anthropology Today,
American Anthropologist, and American Antiquity.
Watson was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences in 1988.
She received the Fryxell Award for interdisciplinary research given by the Society for
American Archaeology at a symposium on interdisciplinary research held in her
honor in 1990, and in 1996 received a Distinguished Service Award of the American
Association of Anthropology. She is a fellow of the American Anthropological Asso-
ciation and a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Society for American Archaeology, Middle East Studies Association of North
America, Cave Research Foundation, and the St. Louis Society, a branch of the
Archaeological Institute of America. In 1995, she was featured in a three-part public
television miniseries on women scientists called "Discovering Women."
Wattleton, (Alyce) Faye
b. 1943
Nurse-Midwife
Education: B.S., nursing, Ohio State University, 1964; M.S., maternal and infant
healthcare, and certificate, nurse-midwifery, Columbia University, 1967
Wattleton, (Alyce) Faye | 95 1
Professional Experience: instructor,
Miami Valley School of Nursing,
1964-1966; assistant director, nurs-
ing, Dayton Public Health Nursing
Association, 1967-1970; executive
director, Planned Parenthood Associ-
ation of Miami Valley, Dayton, Ohio,
1970-1978; president, Planned
Parenthood Federation of America
(PPFA), 1978-1992; host, syndicated
television show, Chicago, 1992;
president and founder, Center for
Gender Equality, 1995; president,
Center for the Advancement of
Women, 1995-2010
Faye Wattleton was the first African
American woman to serve as
president of the PPFA. She led the
nation's oldest and largest voluntary
family-planning organization in a
crusade to guarantee every person's
right to decide if and when to have a
child. With a background in nursing,
she became president of Planned Parenthood in 1978, believing that family
planning is the best solution to a host of problems that are intensified by the high
rate of unintended pregnancies. These problems include child abuse, teenage
pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases, as well as poverty, hunger, and death
and injury from unsafe abortions. She was inspired to work with Planned
Parenthood on the local level in Dayton, Ohio, after seeing the number of girls
and women who suffered or died from illegal or self-induced abortions. In the
early twentieth century, Margaret Sanger founded the American birth-control
movement and created an organization that was the forerunner of the PPFA.
Continuing Sanger's vision of medical services as well as education and informa-
tion, Planned Parenthood offers pregnancy diagnosis, prenatal care, infertility
counseling, AIDS testing, and contraceptive services, as well as information
on sexual health, not only in the United States but through international efforts
as well.
In the 1960s and early 1970s, some black activists criticized Planned Parent-
hood as a white-managed agency whose mission was to reduce the black birthrate
Faye Wattleton, a former president of Planned
Parenthood, has been a world leader in the
struggle to safeguard women's reproductive
rights. (Getty Images)
952 | Way, Katharine
through population control. The selection of Wattleton as president expanded the
vision and operation of Planned Parenthood. New controversies arose in the
1980s and 1990s with an active anti-abortion movement's attacks on patients and
clinics, and even death threats sent to Wattleton personally. The courts continued
to address the abortion issue, and setbacks to the pro-choice movement came in
the form of decreased funding and efforts to limit abortion rights through parental
notification or waiting periods. Throughout her presidency, Wattleton (like her
successors) emphasized Planned Parenthood's message of education and choice.
She resigned as president in 1992 but remained active as a public figure through
hosting a television show and in her work with various organizations on a range
of women's issues.
Wattleton has received numerous awards, including the American Humanist
Association's Humanist of the Year (1986), Claude Pepper Humanitarian Award
(1990), Boy Scouts of America Award (1990), Spirit of Achievement Award of
the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University (1991), Margaret
Sanger Award (1992), Jefferson Public Service Award (1991), and Dean's Distin-
guished Service Award of the Columbia School of Public Health (1992). In addi-
tion to her scientific papers, she has written a book, How to Talk to Your Child
about Sexuality (1986), and her autobiography, Life on the Line (1996).
Further Resources
Faye Wattleton. http://www.fayewattleton.com/.
Way, Katharine
1903 1995
Physicist
Education: B.S., Columbia University, 1932; Ph.D., physics, University of North
Carolina, 1938
Professional Experience: research fellow, Bryn Mawr College, 1938-1939;
instructor, physics, University of Tennessee, 1939-1941, assistant professor,
1941-1942; physicist, Naval Ordnance Laboratory, 1942; physicist, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, 1942-1948; physicist, National Bureau of Standards, 1949-
1953; director, nuclear data project, National Research Council (NRC), 1953—
1963; director, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1964-1968; editor, Nuclear Data
Tables, 1965-1973; editor, Atomic Data, 1969-1973; editor, Atomic Data and
Nuclear Data Tables, 1973-1982; director, surgery and bioengineering, National
Institutes of Health (NIH) study section, 1981-1985
Weertman, Julia (Randall) | 953
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, physics, Duke University, 1968-1988
Katharine Way was a physicist whose research included nuclear fission, radiation
shielding, and nuclear constants. One of her most notable contributions to science,
however, was the vast project of compiling and editing the Atomic Data and
Nuclear Data Tables, a journal of regularly updated research information for
experimental and theoretical physicists that is now available online. Way was in
on the ground floor of the entire project during World War II, when she was
involved in the Manhattan Project at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory, the Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, and the National Bureau of Standards. She had been
a research fellow at Bryn Mawr College and then on the faculty at the University
of Tennessee. She moved to Washington, D.C., during the war and worked at vari-
ous laboratories on nuclear physics. She worked with Eugene Wigner on what
became known as the Way-Wigner formula on the decay of nuclear fission products;
Wigner was later awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Way's work in nuclear physics led to her concern about the ethical uses and
threat of the atomic bomb. In 1946, she co-edited a book, One World or None: A
Report to the Public on the Full Meaning of the Atomic Bomb, which included
essays by top scientists of the era (including Albert Einstein) and became a New
York Times bestseller; the book has been reprinted numerous times, most recently
in 2007. After the war, she worked for the National Bureau of Standards and then
as director of the nuclear data project for the NRC, where she served as editor of
the new publications for collecting and organizing research data. She and other
physicists began compiling the "Nuclear Data Sheets" in 1964 and, after the
project moved to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they published the first issue
of the new journal. The project culminated in the combined Atomic Data
and Nuclear Data Tables, which Way worked on from 1965 to 1982, leaving to
accept a directorship at the NIH. During this time, she also spent 20 years as
adjunct professor of physics at Duke University. Way was an elected fellow of
the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science.
Weertman, Julia (Randall)
b. 1926
Solid-State Physicist, Metallurgist
Education: B.S., Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1946, M.S., 1947, D.Sc,
physics, 1951
954 | Weertman, Julia (Randall)
Professional Experience: Rotary International fellow, Ecole Normale Superieure,
University of Paris, 1951-1952; physicist, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory,
1952-1958; visiting assistant professor, Northwestern University, Illinois, 1972-
1973, assistant to associate professor, materials science, 1973-1981, pro-
fessor, 1982-1987, director, Material Science and Engineering Department,
1987-1992
Julia Weertman is renowned for her research on high-temperature metal failure
and the nanocrystalline structures of metals. Her research includes dislocation
theory, high-temperature fatigue, small-angle neutron scattering, and nanocrystal-
line material. She has also contributed to the understanding of the basic character-
istics of different materials in her research on small-angle neutron scattering. She
received all of her degrees at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now part of
Carnegie-Mellon University). After completing postdoctoral studies at the Ecole
Normale Superieure, she was appointed to a position as a physicist at the U.S.
Naval Research Laboratory. Her work there centered on ferromagnetic spin reso-
nance and the study of the basic concepts of magnetism. She interrupted her for-
mal research to accompany her husband to London, where he worked for the
Naval Research Laboratory. She and her husband, Johannes Weertman, collabo-
rated on a textbook during this period, Elementary Dislocation Theory (1964).
When they returned to the United States, her husband accepted a position at
Northwestern University, and she took several years off from her career to raise
children.
Weertman returned to research formally when she joined Northwestern in 1972
as a visiting assistant professor, then rose through the ranks to full professor, direc-
tor of the materials science and engineering program, and a distinguished profes-
sorship by the time she retired in 1992. She has been an advisor to several
government agencies, including the National Science Foundation, Department of
Energy, National Bureau of Standard and Technology, and Argonne and Oak
Ridge National Laboratories.
Weertman was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering
in 1988. In addition to her scientific papers, she has been co-author of six books.
She was a member of the Evanston (Illinois) Environmental Control Board
(1972-1979) and a member of the National Research Council's National Materials
Advisory Board (1999-2005). She has received a number of awards, including the
Creativity Award of the National Science Foundation (1981 and 1986), a Guggen-
heim fellowship (1986), the Distinguished Engineering Educator Award of the
Society of Women Engineers (SWE) (1989), an Achievement Award of SWE
(1991), the Leadership Award of the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society
(TMS) (1996), the Von Hippie Award of Materials Research Society (2003), and
Weisburger, Elizabeth Amy (Kreiser) | 955
the Gold Medal of American Society for Metals (ASM) International (2005). She
is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science and a member of the
American Institute of Physics, American Crystallographic Association, American
Society for Testing and Materials, Materials Research Society, and American
Physical Society.
Further Resources
Northwestern University. Faculty website, http://www.matsci.northwestern.edu/faculty/
jrw.html.
Weisburger, Elizabeth Amy (Kreiser)
b. 1924
Biochemist, Toxicologist
Education: B.S., chemistry, Lebanon Valley College, 1944; Ph.D., organic
chemistry, University of Cincinnati, 1947
Professional Experience: research associate, University of Cincinnati, 1947-1949;
postdoctoral research fellow, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of
Health, 1949-1951, researcher, Biochemistry Laboratory, 1951-1961, Carcinogen
Screening Section, Experimental Pathology, 1961-1973, chief, Carcinogen
Metabolism and Toxicology, Division of Cancer Cause and Prevention, 1973—
1981, assistant director, Chemical Carcinogenesis, Division of Cancer Etiology,
1981-1988; consultant, 1989-
Elizabeth Weisburger had a distinguished career as a toxicologist with the
National Cancer Institute (NCI), where she conducted pioneering research on the
carcinogenic effects of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food additives, and environ-
mental pollutants. Her research has aided in providing insight at the molecular
level of carcinogenesis, which is vital in developing methods for the treatment
and prevention of cancer. Among the compounds that she has studied are fluo-
renes, nitrosamines, aromatic amines, halogenated hydrocarbons, fumigants, and
food preservatives. She has also investigated the relationship between mutagens
and cancers, and emphasized developing improved test systems for evaluating car-
cinogenic risk. She was among the first scientists to test some of the drugs used in
clinical cancer chemotherapy and to point out their potential dangers.
Weisburger was originally interested in biology as an undergraduate, but
changed her major to chemistry, and studied mathematics and physics as well.
During World War II, graduate assistantships in chemistry were readily available
956 | Weisstein, Naomi
to women because so many men were in the military service. Weisburger received
an assistantship at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, where she began work in
cancer research and continued working as a research associate after graduation.
She and her husband, medical researcher John H. Weisburger, then joined the
NCI, where they collaborated until their divorce in 1974; he later became research
director of the American Health Foundation. Elizabeth Weisburger published
more than 200 papers on cancer-causing chemicals, nutrition, and other topics,
and for many years was editor of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
She retired from the NCI in 1988 and became a consultant, including as an advisor
on project funding for the American Institute of Cancer Research, and as a senior
associate with Mandava Associates, a consulting firm that advises biotechnology,
pharmaceutical, and related companies on compliance with government safety,
environmental, and other regulations.
Weisburger has been a member of the Chemical Substances Committee of the
American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists since 1978. She has
received honorary degrees from the University of Cincinnati (1981) and from
Lebanon Valley College (1989). Her numerous awards include the Meritorious
Service Medal (1973) and Distinguished Service Medal (1985) of the U.S. Public
Health Service, the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society (1981), the
Hillebrand Prize of the Chemical Society of Washington (1981), and the Herbert
E. Stokinger Award of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists (1996). She is a member of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, American Association for Cancer Research, American Chemical
Society, Society of Toxicology, American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, and Royal Society of Chemistry.
Weisstein, Naomi
b. 1939
Psychologist
Education: B.A., Wellesley College, 1961; Ph.D., psychology, Harvard University,
1964
Professional Experience: lecturer, University of Chicago, 1965; assistant to asso-
ciate professor, Loyola University, Chicago, 1966-1973; professor, psychology,
State University of New York at Buffalo, 1973-emerita
Concurrent Positions: consultant, Xerox Corporation, 1973-1974
Weisstein, Naomi | 957
Naomi Weisstein is an experimental psychologist known for her research in vision,
perception, and cognition. She is also known for her activity in civil rights and
feminist causes starting in the 1960s, first as a graduate student at Harvard and
then as a postdoctoral lecturer at the University of Chicago. She was one of the
first women to speak out about employment practices in academia and, specifi-
cally, on the difficulties of women entering the scientific professions. Weisstein
attended the Bronx High School of Science and went on to Wellesley College as
an undergraduate, where she took for granted the dedicated female professors
who had received degrees from first-class universities, not realizing many of them
were teaching at a women's college because they were unable to secure positions
at other universities. Such faculty members often had heavy teaching loads and lit-
tle time, equipment, or funds to conduct scientific research. Weisstein went on to
Harvard, where the department chair told first-year graduate students that women
did not belong in graduate school and restricted women's use of lab equipment.
She attended Yale University briefly to use their equipment and transferred her
credits and work back to Harvard in order to receive her doctorate in psychology
in 1964.
Weisstein was promised a position at the University of Chicago, but about
10 days before classes started, the department invoked an unwritten anti-
nepotism rule to deny her a position because her husband, Jesse Lemisch, was a
faculty member. She was hired instead as a lecturer to teach in areas outside her
research and, after one year, was notified that her contract would not be renewed.
She then obtained a tenure-track faculty position at Loyola University in Chicago,
where she taught for seven years before both she and her husband relocated for
faculty positions at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
One of Weisstein's research interests was the discipline of psychology itself,
and the way it describes male and female personalities differently in ways that dis-
advantage women. She has also questioned the effectiveness of psychotherapy and
the clinical definitions of schizophrenia, homosexuality, and even heterosexuality.
In a landmark 1968 paper, "Psychology Constructs the Female," she argued that
psychology provides little insight into woman's true "nature," instead defining
women according to sexist ideas of desired social roles as wives and mothers,
and finding them psychologically unstable when they do not fulfill those roles.
She went on to write dozens of scientific papers, but by the early 1980s, Weisstein
was struck with physical health problems and forced into early retirement. Although
bedridden, she continued for some years to write, collaborate, consult, and sit on the
editorial board of scientific journals.
In 1970, Weisstein, along with Phyllis Chesler and others, helped found American
Women in Psychology. She also founded the Women's Caucus of the Psychonomic
Society (1972) and Women in Eye Research (1980), a caucus of the Association
958 | Westcott, Cynthia
for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. She has been a member of the Optical
Society of America, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and
American Psychological Association.
Further Resources
Lemisch, Jesse and Naomi Weisstein. 1997. "Remarks on Naomi Weisstein." http://
www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/CWLUMemoir/weisstein.html.
Weisstein, Naomi. 2003. "Adventures of a Woman in Science." In Autobiographical Writ-
ings Across the Disciplines, edited by Diane P. Freedman and Olivia Frey, 397 413.
Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Westcott, Cynthia
1898 1983
Plant Pathologist
Education: B.A., Wellesley College, 1920; Ph.D., plant pathology, Cornell
University, 1932
Professional Experience: science teacher, Northboro High School, Massachusetts,
1920-1921; assistant in plant pathology, Cornell University, 1921-1923, instructor,
1923-1925, research assistant, 1925-1931; assistant horticulturist, seed laboratory,
New Jersey Experiment Station, 1931-1933; independent horticulturist, The Plant
Doctor, New Jersey, 1931-1961; independent writer and lecturer, New York,
1961-1983
Concurrent Positions: plant pathologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), 1943-1945
Cynthia Westcott was a plant pathologist whose research focused on rose diseases,
diseases of ornamental trees and flowers, and garden diseases and pests. She estab-
lished a private practice as the "Plant Doctor" when she was unable to find a full-
time professional position, and worked briefly for the USDA. As an independent
plant consultant, she maintained the gardens of her wealthy customers, lectured
at women's clubs, and published several books: The Plant Doctor: The How,
Why and When of Disease and Insect Control in Your Garden (1937), The Garden-
er's Bug Book (1946), Anyone Can Grow Roses (1952), Garden Enemies (1953),
and Are You Your Garden's Worst Pest? (1961). Many of her books went through
numerous editions, including Westcott' s Plant Disease Handbook, originally pub-
lished in 1950 and released in a seventh edition in 2008. She also wrote an
West-Eberhard, Mary Jane | 959
autobiography, Plant Doctoring Is Fun (1957), and wrote articles for popular mag-
azines and newspapers, as well as leaflets on pesticides for the Manufacturing
Chemists Association.
Westcott received her Ph.D. in plant pathology from Cornell University in 1932.
She had previously taught high school science courses and spent 10 years working
on her doctorate at Cornell, supporting herself by working as a research assistant
and instructor. She worked in the seed laboratory at the New Jersey Experiment
Station for three years before setting up her own business. During World War II,
she worked as a plant pathologist for the USDA in order to earn money to obtain
the supplies she needed for her business.
Westcott's work was honored with a citation from the American Horticultural
Council (1955), a Gold Medal from the American Rose Society (1960), a Gold
Medal from the Garden Club of New Jersey, and a Garden Writers Award from
the American Association of Nurserymen (1963). She was active in professional
scientific and gardening organizations, and was the first president of the North
Jersey Rose Society (1954-1956) and director of the American Rose Society
(1954-1960), and served as committee chair for the American Rose Foundation
and the National Council of State Garden Clubs. She was a fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American
Phytopathological Society, American Association of Economic Entomologists,
American Entomological Society, American Horticultural Society, and Garden
Writers Association of America, and an honorary life member of the Garden Club
of New Jersey.
Further Resources
Horst, R. K. 1984. "Pioneer Leaders in Plant Pathology: Cynthia Westcott, Plant Doctor."
Annual Review of Phytopathology. 22: 21 26. (September 1984). http://arjournals
.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.py. 22. 090184. 00032 l?cookieSet=l
&journalCode=phyto.
West-Eberhard, Mary Jane
b. 1941
Entomologist
Education: B.A., University of Michigan, 1963, M.S., 1964, Ph.D., zoology, 1967
Professional Experience: teaching fellow, zoology, University of Michigan, 1963—
1965; fellow, biology, Harvard University, 1967-1969; associate entomologist,
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 1973-1975, entomologist, 1975-
960 | West-Eberhard, Mary Jane
Concurrent Positions: staff member, biology, University of Valle, Colombia,
1972-1978; distinguished visiting scientist, Museum of Zoology, University of
Michigan, 1982
Mary Jane West-Eberhard is a renowned entomologist who has studied the evo-
lution of social behavior in insects of all types, primarily in Central and South
America. She has published papers on insects' chemical communication, scent
trails, social behavior, and diversity. She has theorized that evolved traits such
as cyclic reproductive behavior, aggressiveness, and group life presumably
reflect the genetic makeup of the individuals performing them. It seems that
even caste determination, according to which some individuals end up as helpers
and others as egg-laying queens, depends to some degree on heritable differ-
ences in aggressiveness, for example, especially in relatively simple societies
in which there is no extensive manipulation of the brood, which can overwhelm
heritable variation. She is the co-editor of Natural History and Evolution of
Paper-Wasps (1996), which is based on a workshop held in Italy in 1993 to cel-
ebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Leo Pardi's original description of dominance
hierarchies. In her chapter in the volume, she discusses how the differentiation
of paper-wasp behavior and physiology may provide an illuminating model for
some of the largest questions concerning the interface between development
and evolution.
West-Eberhard was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sci-
ences in 1988. Her 2003 book, Developmental Plasticity and Evolution, won the
R. R. Hawkins Award of the American Association of Publishers for Outstanding
Professional, Reference or Scholarly Work. Soon after the book's publication,
she was awarded the 2003 Sewall Wright Award of the American Society
of Naturalists. In 2005, she received a prestigious international honor when
she was elected to Italy's Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the oldest scientific
society in the world. She has been a member of several distinguished committees
and commissions, including the International Committee for the International
Union for the Study of Social Insects, the Organization for Tropical Studies, and
the advisory committee of the Monteverde Conservation League Committee on
Human Rights of the National Academy of Sciences. She is a member of the
American Society of Naturalists, and Society for the Study of Evolution
(president, 1992).
Further Resources
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. "Mary Jane West-Eberhard." http://www.stri.org/
english/scientific staff/staff scientist/scientist. php?id=35.
Westheimer, (Karola) Ruth (Siegel) | 96 1
Westheimer, (Karola) Ruth (Siegel)
b. 1928
Psychologist
Education: degree, psychology, University of Paris, Sorbonne; M.S., sociology,
New School for Social Research, 1959; Ed.D., Columbia University, 1970
Professional Experience: research assistant, Columbia University School of Public
Health, 1967-1970; associate professor, Department of Sex Counseling, Lehman
College, 1970-1977; radio talk show host, television show host, author, private
practice in psychology, 1980-1997, independent author and lecturer, 1997-
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, New York University; associate fellow,
Calhoun College, Yale University; fellow, Butler College, Princeton University
Ruth Westheimer is popularly known as "Dr. Ruth," a psychologist and sex thera-
pist who has appeared on hundreds of television and radio shows, and who has
written numerous books for the general public. She is a trained counselor and also
American psychologist and sex therapist, Ruth Westhiemer, 2007. Dr. Ruth has appeared
on hundreds of television and radio shows, and written numerous books for the general
public. (AP/Wide World Photos)
962 | Westheimer, (Karola) Ruth (Siegel)
maintained a private practice for a number of years. She pioneered the call-in radio
and television era of media psychology shows with her show, Sexually Speaking,
which began in 1980. For more than 20 years, she has engaged the public on con-
troversial subjects related to sexuality, sexual dysfunction, marriage, and relation-
ships. She has joked that her German accent allows her, a diminutive older woman,
to call body parts and functions by their proper name and to advise both men and
women, and that the American public would not have accepted her if she had an
English or American accent. Although formally retired in 1997, she still travels,
gives talks, teaches university courses on the family and sexuality, makes televi-
sion and documentary appearances, and maintains a website.
Karola Ruth Siegel was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1928. When she was
10 years old, her parents decided to flee Germany, but sent Ruth to a children's ref-
uge in Switzerland. Her father was arrested before she left, and she presumes all of
her family died in the concentration camps. Since the school considered her a wel-
fare case, she was trained only as a maid. After the war, she emigrated to Palestine
and joined Haganah, an underground movement fighting for the creation of a Jewish
homeland. She dreamed of becoming a physician, but without family support and
money, it was an impossible dream. She married and accompanied her first husband
to Paris, where he studied medicine and she received a degree in psychology from
the Sorbonne. She was divorced and remarried a Frenchman, whom she accompa-
nied to New York in 1956 with their young daughter. After divorcing again, she
attended evening classes for a master's degree at the New School for Social Research
and went on for a doctorate of education from Columbia University Teachers
College. In 1961, she married her third husband, Manfred Westheimer, and had
another child. She had a position at Lehman College in the Department of Sex Coun-
seling for a time and then worked for Brooklyn College and a few other schools.
After giving a lecture to a group of New York broadcasters about the need for
sex education programming, she was invited in 1980 to tape a 15-minute radio
show, Sexually Speaking. She was immediately popular and went on to nationally
and internationally syndicated newspaper columns and award-winning television
shows such as The Dr. Ruth Show, Ask Dr. Ruth, and What's Up, Dr. Ruth?, a show
for teens. Her career as an author began with Dr. Ruth 's Guide to Good Sex (1983).
She went on to publish more than 30 titles, including Dr. Ruth's Guide to Safer Sex
(1992), Dr. Ruth's Encyclopedia of Sex (1994; now available completely online), Sex
for Dummies (1996; 3rd ed., 2006), Rekindling Romance for Dummies (2001),
Human Sexuality: A Psychosocial Perspective (2002, co-authored with Sanford
Lopater), and Dr. Ruth's Guide to Talking about Herpes (2004, co-authored with
Pierre A. Lehu). Her autobiography is All in a Lifetime (1987).
Westheimer is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and has received
honorary doctorates from Hebrew Union College (2000), City University of
Wexler, Nancy Sabin | 963
New York, Lehman College (2001), Trinity College (2004), and Westfield State
College (2008). Her most recent awards include the Ellis Island Medal of Honor
and the Leo Baeck Medal of the International Society for Sexual and Impotence
Research, both in 2002, and a 2006 Medal for Distinguished Services from
Columbia University Teachers College. In 2009, Playboy magazine named her
one of the "55 Most Important People in Sex" of the past 55 years.
Further Resources
Dr. Ruth, http://www.drruth.com.
Wexler, Nancy Sabin
b. 1945
Neuropsychologist
Education: B.A., Radcliffe College, 1967; Ph.D., clinical psychology, University
of Michigan, 1974
Professional Experience: intern and teaching fellow, University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, 1968-1974; assistant professor, psychology, New School of Social
Research, New York City, 1974-1976; executive director, Congressional Commis-
sion for Control of Huntington's Disease, National Institute of Neurology,
National Institutes of Health (NIH), 1976-1978, health science administrator,
1978-1983; associate professor, clinical neuropsychology, College of Physicians
and Surgeons, Columbia University, 1985-1992, professor, 1992-
Concurrent Positions: psychologist, private practice, 1974-1976; president,
Hereditary Disease Foundation, Santa Monica, California, 1983—
Nancy Wexler is renowned as one of the primary leaders in the fight to discover the
cause of and cure for the hereditary Huntington's disease, named for George
Huntington, a physician who identified the disease in 1872. The disease appears in
middle age and slowly kills nerve cells in the brain, causing dementia and rapid,
uncontrollable movements of the joints and limbs. Patients live an average of 15 years
after the symptoms first appear. In 1968, when she was in graduate school at the Uni-
versity of Michigan, Wexler learned that her mother had developed symptoms of the
disease, which had killed her grandfather and three of her uncles. Her mother's illness
meant that both Nancy and her sister had a 50% chance of having inherited the defec-
tive gene that causes the disease — and that they might pass it on if they ever had chil-
dren. Her father, a psychoanalyst, founded the Hereditary Disease Foundation in
order to support research; Nancy assumed the presidency of the Foundation in 1983.
964 | Wheeler, Anna Johnson Pell
Wexler received her doctorate in 1974 and wrote her dissertation on the neuro-
psychological and emotional consequences of being at risk for Huntington's dis-
ease. She was executive director of the Congressional Commission for the
Control of Huntington's Disease through the NIH. She also helped to organize
the Huntington's Disease Collaborative Research Group in 1984, an international
consortium of scientists whose mandate was to track down the gene. The gene
was isolated in 1993, but unfortunately, there is not yet a treatment for the disease.
She has been a member of government committees concerned with ethical, legal,
and social issues in medicine, and advisor to several groups related to the Human
Genome Project, an international effort to map and identify the approximately
25,000 genes in the human body.
In 1997, Wexler was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Acad-
emies of Science. She has received several honorary medical doctorates and was
awarded the Albert Lasker Public Service Award (1993) for her efforts connected
with finding a cure for Huntington's disease. A partial listing of her numerous other
awards includes an Alumnae Athena Award from the University of Michigan (1989),
Venezuelan Presidential Award (1991), Distinguished Service Award of the National
Association of Biology Teachers (1993), National Medical Research Award of the
National Health Council (1993), J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine
(1994), Public Advocacy Award of the Society for Neuroscience (2003),
Distinguished Investigator Award of NARSAD (National Alliance for Research on
Schizophrenia and Depression) (2006), and Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life
Science (2007). She is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, American Acad-
emy of Arts and Sciences, and New York Academy of Sciences, and has been a
member of the American Psychological Association, American Society for Human
Genetics, American Neurological Association, American Society of Law and
Medicine, Society for Neuroscience, and World Federation of Neurology.
Further Resources
Hereditary Disease Foundation. "Meet Nancy Wexler." http://www.hdfoundation.org/bios/
nancyw.php.
Wheeler, Anna Johnson Pell
1883 1966
Mathematician
Education: A.B., University of South Dakota, 1903; M.A., University of Iowa, 1904;
A.M., Radcliffe College, 1905; Ph.D., mathematics, University of Chicago, 1910
Wheeler, Anna Johnson Pell | 965
Professional Experience: instructor, mathematics, Mount Holyoke College,
1911-1914, associate professor, 1914-1918; associate professor, Bryn Mawr
College, 1918-1925, department chair, 1924-1948, professor, 1925-1927, non-
research professor, 1929-1932, professor, 1932-1948
Anna Pell Wheeler was a distinguished research mathematician whose work was
primarily in the area of linear algebra of infinitely many variables and integral
equations. She was only the second woman to receive a doctorate in mathemat-
ics at the University of Chicago, and was one of the few professional women
mathematicians recognized in the early twentieth century. She graduated from
the University of South Dakota in 1903 and went on to obtain master's degrees
from both the University of Iowa and Radcliffe. She received a one-year fellow-
ship to study at the University of Gottingen (1906-1907), then returned to South
Dakota, where she married one of her former mathematics professors and taught
some classes. The couple moved to Chicago, where she completed her doctorate
in mathematics in 1910. When her husband suffered a paralytic stroke, she sub-
stituted for him at the Armour Institute of Technology, but she was unable to
obtain a position there. She accepted a position at Mount Holyoke in 1911 in
order to support them, but she did not have time for her research. She moved
to Bryn Mawr as an associate professor in 1918, served as head of the depart-
ment, and was promoted to professor in 1925, the same year she married her
second husband, Arthur Wheeler, a classics professor. They moved to Princeton,
New Jersey, but she continued to teach at Bryn Mawr on a part-time basis.
When her husband died in 1932, she returned to full-time work at Bryn Mawr,
retiring in 1948.
During her 30-year affiliation with Bryn Mawr, Wheeler encouraged female
students to pursue mathematics and advised several who went on to earn doctoral
degrees. In addition to her teaching and research, Wheeler was active in profes-
sional mathematical associations and was an editor of the Annals of Mathematics
for almost 20 years. She received honorary degrees from the New Jersey College
for Women (1932) and Mount Holyoke College (1937). In 1927, she was the first
woman invited to give the American Mathematical Society Colloquium Lecture;
the next female lecturer was not until 1980. Wheeler was a member of the
American Mathematical Society, the Mathematical Association of America, and
the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
Agnes Scott College. "Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler." Biographies of Women Mathematicians.
http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/wheeler.htm.
966 | Wheeler, Mary F.
Wheeler, Mary F.
b. 1931
Mathematician, Engineer
Education: B.S., social sciences and math, University of Texas, Austin, 1960,
M.A., mathematics, 1963; Ph.D., mathematics, Rice University, 1971
Professional Experience: instructor, mathematics, Rice University, 1971-1973,
assistant to associate professor, mathematical sciences, 1973-1980,
professor, 1980-1988; M.D. Anderson Professor of Mathematics, University
of Houston, 1988-1990; Noah Harding Professor of Computational and
Applied Mathematics, Rice University, 1988-1995; Ernest and Virginia
Cockrell Chair in Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, 1995-, professor,
mathematics, aerospace engineering, and petroleum and geosystems engineering,
1995-
Concurrent Positions: adjunct professor, University of Texas M. D. Anderson
Cancer Center; affiliated senior scientist, University of Houston, 1990-
Mary Wheeler is a mathematician whose research links theory and application in a
focus on numerical solutions of partial differential equations, parallel computa-
tion, and modeling subsurface and surface flows. Specifically, her work has had
industry-related applications to projects in oil recovery, reservoir engineering,
and solutions for reducing pollutants in groundwater, bays, and estuaries. Born
in Texas, she received her doctorate in mathematics from Rice University in
1971 and has taught at several Texas institutions, including Rice and the Univer-
sity of Houston, and, since 1995, has been a faculty member at the University of
Texas, Austin. She is also the director of the Center for Subsurface Modeling in
the Texas Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics (TICAM).
She is the author of hundreds of scientific technical papers and has edited or
co-edited several books. She has also served on the editorial board of several pro-
fessional journals, including Computational Geosciences.
Wheeler began her college career with interests in pharmacology, or
government and law. But her passion was in math, and she held a double major
in social sciences and mathematics while an undergraduate at the University of
Texas. She went on to study math at the graduate level and became interested in
physical and engineering applications rather than theory and economics.
She was invited to give the prestigious Emmy Noether Lecture in 1989 and has
been an invited lecturer at universities and organizations around the world. She has
served on committees on science policy, industrial mathematics, and science
education, and mathematical sciences and research review committees for
Whitman, Marina (von Neumann) | 967
government organizations such as the National Science Foundation, Argonne and
Oak Ridge National Laboratories, and U.S. Department of Energy.
Wheeler was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1998. Among
her numerous awards and honors is an Educator Award from American Women in
Aerospace (1997), Distinguished Alumna Award from Rice University (2000),
USACM Computational Fluid Mechanics Award (2003), Joe J. King Award from
the University of Texas at Austin (2006), and several IBM Faculty Recognition
Awards (2006, 2007, 2008). She has also received honorary doctorates from Tech-
nische Universiteit Eindhoven (2006) and the Colorado School of Mines (2008).
She is a member of the Mathematical Association of America, American Geo-
physical Union, Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), Society
of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), and American Women in Mathematics, and a
fellow of the International Association for Computational Mechanics.
Further Resources
Agnes Scott College. "Mary F. Wheeler." Biographies of Women Mathematicians, http://
www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/mwheeler.htm.
University of Texas. Faculty website, http://users.ices.utexas.edu/~mfw/.
Whitman, Marina (von Neumann)
b. 1935
Economist
Education: B.A., government, Radcliffe College, 1956; M.A., economics, Columbia
University, 1959, Ph.D., economics, 1962
Professional Experience: administrative assistant, Educational Testing Service,
1956-1957; consultant, Pittsburgh Regional Planning Association, 1961, staff
economist, Economic Study of the Pittsburgh Region, 1962; lecturer, economics,
University of Pittsburgh, 1962-1964, assistant to associate professor, 1964-1971,
professor, 1971-1973, Distinguished Public Service Professor of Economics,
1973-1979; vice president and chief economist, General Motors (GM) Corpora-
tion, New York, 1979-1985, vice president and group executive, public affairs
and marketing staff, 1985-1992; distinguished visiting professor, business
administration and public policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1992-
1994, professor, 1994-
Concurrent Positions: fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral
Sciences, Stanford University, 1978-1979
968 | Whitman, Marina (von Neumann)
Marina v. N. Whitman is a renowned international economist who has worked in
business, education, and government. She has served as a senior staff economist
for the Council of Economic Advisers, its first woman member, and she was the
only woman member of the National Price Commission. She earned her doctorate
in economics from Columbia University in 1962 and subsequently joined the fac-
ulty at the University of Pittsburgh. She rose quickly through the ranks to full pro-
fessor, but left academia in 1979 to join GM as vice president and chief economist
in charge of economic and environmental policy and industry-government rela-
tions. She left GM in 1992 to return to teaching at the University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor. In all of her work, in teaching, business, or as a government advisor,
Whitman has advocated for a greater global vision and international economic role
for the United States.
As the only daughter of the eminent mathematician John von Neumann, she
grew up in an atmosphere of stimulating people. Many famous people visited her
family home, and she had tremendous intellectual drive and intense pressure to
achieve as an undergraduate at Radcliffe. She married after graduation and, in
order to be near her husband's job at Princeton, worked as an administrative assis-
tant for Educational Testing Service, a nonprofit organization specializing in edu-
cational measurement and research. She then enrolled in Columbia University,
planning to receive a master's degree in economics and journalism, and to pursue
a career in financial writing. Instead, she concentrated on economic theory and, as
part of her graduate studies, prepared an economic development plan for the
Pittsburgh Regional Planning Association. She then accepted an appointment as
a lecturer in economics at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1970, she was selected
as a member of the prestigious Council of Economic Advisers under President
Nixon. In this role, Whitman made a special report on women in the American
economy, stating that, despite 10 years of civil rights legislation, women had made
little progress toward job equality with men; in 1971, the average female worker
earned only 59.5 cents on the male dollar for comparable work. She later served
on President Carter's Economic Advisory Committee.
Whitman has published numerous articles and books, including Government
Risk-Sharing in Foreign Investment (1965), Reflections of Interdependence: Issues
for Economic Theory and U.S. Policy (1979), New World, New Rules: The Changing
Role of the American Corporation (1999), and American Capitalism and Global
Convergence (2003). She has examined the effect of global markets on American
corporations and society, and advocated for an open market economy. She has been
a member of several government committees, including the President's Council of
Economic Advisors (1970-1973), National Price Commission (1971-1972), Eco-
nomic Advisory Committee of the U.S. Department of Commerce (1979-1980),
Commission on Security and Economic Assistance (1983-1984), President's Export
Whitson, Peggy A. | 969
Council (1986-1987), and President's Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and
Negotiations (1987-1993). She has also been a board member or trustee of numer-
ous national, international, and academic advisory committees.
Whitman has been awarded honorary doctorates from more than 20 universities
and is the recipient of a Columbia University Medal for Excellence (1973 and
1984), the George Washington Award of the American Hungarian Foundation
(1975), the Catalyst Award for women in business (1976), a Women's Equity
Action League Achievement Award (1979), and the William F. Butler Memorial
Award of the New York Association of Business Economists (1988). She is a
member of the American Economic Association, National Association of Business
Economists, and Council on Foreign Relations, and a fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Further Resources
University of Michigan. Faculty website. http://www.bus.umich.edu/FacultyBios/
FacultyBio.asp?id=0001 19718.
Whitson, Peggy A.
b. I960
Astronaut
Education: B.S., biology and chemistry, Iowa Wesleyan College, 1981; Ph.D.,
biochemistry, Rice University, 1985
Professional Experience: Robert A. Welch postdoctoral fellow, Rice University,
1986; National Research Council Resident Research Associate, National Aero-
nautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas,
1986-1988; supervisor, Biochemistry Research Group, KRUG International,
1988-1989; research biochemist, Biomedical Operations and Research Branch,
NASA Johnson Space Center, 1989-1993, deputy division chief, Medical Sci-
ences Division, 1993-1996, astronaut, 1996-, deputy chief, Astronaut Office,
2003-2005, chief, Station Operations Branch, Astronaut Office, 2005
Concurrent Positions: adjunct assistant professor, Departments of Internal Medi-
cine and Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics, University of Texas Medical
Branch, Galveston, 1991-1997; adjunct assistant professor, Maybee Laboratory
for Biochemical and Genetic Engineering, Rice University, 1997-
Peggy Whitson is a biochemist and astronaut who was the first woman commander
of the International Space Station (ISS). She logged two long-term stays at the
970 | Whitson, Peggy A.
ISS, in 2002 and 2007, and has accu-
mulated more than 377 days in space
and almost 40 hours of space walks,
more than any other female astronaut.
Whitson completed her doctorate in
biochemistry at Rice University in
Houston, Texas, and was a research
associate at NASA before working
briefly for KRUG International, a
NASA-contracted medical sciences
company. She returned to NASA in
1989 in Biomedical Operations and
Research, and became a member of
the U.S.-USSR Joint Working Group
in Space Medicine and Biology, train-
ing astronauts in both the United
States and Russia. Between 1992 and
1995, she was a project scientist on
the Shuttle-Mir Program. She applied
to the astronaut training program sev-
eral years before being accepted in
1996. In 2002, she flew aboard the
Endeavour for the Expedition-5 mis-
sion to dock with the ISS. She spent
6 months (nearly 1 85 days) with only
two other astronauts on the ISS as NASA Science Officer, conducting research on
human biology and microgravity conditions. It was unusual for a first-time astronaut
to be assigned such an extended mission, but her science research background, and
her 10 years of NASA training on the ground, had prepared her well. In 2005,
she began training as a backup ISS Commander and flew as Commander of the
ISS for a second long-term stay (more than 191 days) with Expedition- 16 in the fall
of 2007.
Besides setting records for women in space, Whitson has been acknowledged
for her numerous achievements at NASA, including but not limited to the follow-
ing awards: Sustained Superior Performance Award (1990), Certificate of
Commendation (1994), Exceptional Service Medal (1995, 2003, 2006), Silver
Snoopy Award (1995), Space Act Board Award (1995, 1998), Group Achievement
Award for Shuttle-Mir Program (1996), Space Flight Medal (2002), and Outstanding
Astronaut Peggy Whitson preparing for the
launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a
mission to the International Space Station,
2002. (NASA)
Widnall, Sheila (Evans) | 971
Leadership Medal (2006). She was also awarded the Randolph Lovelace Award of
the American Astronautical Society (1995).
Further Resources
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Peggy A. Whitson (Ph.D.)." http://www
.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/whitson.html.
Widnall, Sheila (Evans)
b. 1938
Aeronautical Engineer
Education: B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1960, M.S., 1961, D.Sc,
aeronautical engineering, 1964
Professional Experience: staff, Boeing, summers 1947-1959, 1961; staff,
Aeronautical Research Institute of Sweden, summer 1960; research staff engineer,
aerodynamics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1961-1962, research
assistant, 1962-1964, assistant to associate professor, aeronautics, 1964-1974,
professor, 1974-1986, Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor and Chair, 1986-1993;
Secretary of U.S. Air Force, 1993-1997; Institute Professor, aeronautics and
astronautics, MIT, 1998-
Concurrent Positions: director, university research, U.S. Department of Trans-
portation, 1974-1975; associate provost, MIT, 1992-1993; vice president,
National Academy of Engineering, 1998-2006
Sheila Widnall is an aeronautical engineer whose research interests include
unsteady aerodynamics, aeroelasticity, aerodynamic noise, turbulence, applied
mathematics, vortex flows, numerical analysis, aerospace, transportation, aerody-
namics and fluid mechanics, acoustics, and noise and vibration. She has been a
professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT for more than 40 years, where
her research has centered particularly on problems associated with fluid dynamics
and air turbulence. Another area of research is the vortices of aircraft that make
vertical, short takeoffs and landings (V/STOL), and the noise associated with
them. One of her projects was to design an anechoic wind tunnel at MIT to study
V/STOL aircraft — a wind tunnel that has a low degree of reverberation and is
echo-free. In 1993, she became the first woman to head a branch of the U.S. mili-
tary when she was selected to be Secretary of the U.S. Air Force. In this position,
Widnall was responsible for recruiting, organizing, training, administration,
972 | Widnall, Sheila (Evans)
logistical support, maintenance, and welfare of personnel, as well as overseeing
research and development projects outlined by the president or the Secretary
of Defense. She co-chaired the Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual
Harassment and Discrimination. She left the Air Force in 1997 to return to her faculty
position at MIT.
As a young woman, she was encouraged by teachers and parents to pursue a
career in science. Still, there were only 20 women in her class of about 900 at
MIT. As president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(1988), she was committed to encouraging more women to pursue careers in sci-
ence and engineering, and outlined the problems they face in attaining their degrees
and achieving professional goals. She has been an advisor for numerous government
and industry projects and scientific agencies, including for the Carnegie Corporation,
Sloan Foundation, Institute for Defense Analysis, Smithsonian Institution of
Washington, Boston Museum of Science, GenCorp Inc., Chemfab Inc., Space
and Aeronautics Board of the National Research Council, and National Science
Foundation, to name just a few.
Widnall was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering in
1985 and was vice president of the National Academy of Engineering from 1998 to
2006. Her numerous awards and honors include the Lawrence Sperry Award of the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1972), Outstanding Achieve-
ment Award of the Society of Women Engineers (1975), Washburn Award of the
Boston Museum of Science (1986), Distinguished Service Award of the National
Academy of Engineering (1993), Medal of Distinction from Barnard College
(1994), W. Stuart Symington Award (1995) and Maxwell A. Kriendler Memorial
Award (1995), both from the Air Force Association, Applied Mechanics Award of
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (1996), Distinguished Civilian
Service Medals from both the Army and Navy (1997), Reed Aeronautics Award from
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) (2000), and Spirit of
St. Louis Medal from ASME (2001). In 1996, she was inducted into the Women in
Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame. She is a fellow of the AIAA (president, 1999-2000),
American Physical Society, Royal Aeronautical Society, and American Association
for the Advancement of Science. She is a member of the Society of Women
Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Puerto Rican Academy of
Sciences, International Academy of Astronautics, Institute of Electrical and Electron-
ics Engineers (IEEE), and American Philosophical Society.
Further Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Faculty website, http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/
www/people/widnall/.
Wilhclmi, Jane Anne Russell | 973
Wilhelmi, Jane Anne Russell
1911 1967
Endocrinologist
Education: B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1932, Ph.D., biochemistry,
1937
Professional Experience: technical assistant in biochemistry, University of
California, Berkeley, 1932-1933, assistant, institute of experimental biology, 1934-
1937; research associate, pharmacology, Washington University, St. Louis, 1936;
National Research Council (NRC) Fellow, School of Medicine, Yale University,
1938-1939, fellow, 1939-1941, instructor, physiological chemistry, 1941-1950;
assistant professor, biochemistry, Emory University, 1950-1953, associate profes-
sor, 1953-1965, professor, 1965-1967
Jane Russell Wilhelmi was an endocrinologist whose research interests
included endocrine control of intermediate metabolism; adrenal cortex, anterior
pituitary, growth hormone, and insulin in carbohydrate and protein metabolism;
the metabolic aspects of shock; and the use of isotopic tracers in metabolism.
After receiving her undergraduate degree at the University of California,
Berkeley, she worked as a technical assistant while she completed her doctorate
in biochemistry in 1937. She spent a year in 1936 as a pharmacology research
associate working on carbohydrate metabolism with Carl and Gerty Cori at
Washington University in St. Louis. She was appointed a research fellow at Yale
School of Medicine in 1938, a fellow in 1939, and an instructor in physiological
chemistry in 1941. In 1940, she married her colleague, Alfred Ellis Wilhelmi,
with whom she collaborated on research and co-authored dozens of scientific
papers on metabolism and the role of growth hormones in breaking down
proteins.
Jane Wilhelmi received outside recognition for her pioneering research, and
consulted on committees of the National Institutes of Health, NRC, National
Science Foundation, and National Science Board. Her research was acknowl-
edged and supported with a California Fellowship in Biochemistry, a Rosenberg
Fellowship, and the American Physiological Society's Porter Fellowship.
Despite these honors, she did not advance at Yale, remaining at the rank of
instructor before accepting a position as assistant professor of biochemistry
at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1950. She finally reached the
rank of full professor in 1965, just two years before her death. Up until the
time of her death, she remained active in research, writing, and working as
an editor for the American Journal of Physiology. She received the Ciba
974 | Williams, Anna Wessels
Award in 1946, and she shared the Upjohn Award of the Endocrine Society
with her husband in 1961. She was also named Atlanta's Woman of the Year
in 1961.
Williams, Anna Wessels
1863 1954
Bacteriologist
Education: diploma, New Jersey State Normal School, Trenton, 1883; M.D.,
Women's Medical College, New York, 1891
Professional Experience: public school teacher, 1883-1885; instructor, pathology,
Women's Medical College of the New York Infirmary, 1891-1893, assistant
to department chair, pathology and hygiene, 1891-1895; assistant bacteriologist,
diagnostic laboratory, New York City Department of Health, 1895-1905, assistant
director, 1905-1934
Concurrent Positions: consulting pathologist, Women's Medical College of the
New York Infirmary, 1902-1905
Anna Williams was a pioneering bacteriologist who gained national recognition
for her work on infectious diseases. At the diagnostic laboratory of the New York
City Department of Health, she made significant contributions on effective immu-
nization for diphtheria, streptococcal (strep throat) and pneumococcal (pneumo-
nia) infections, scarlet fever, and rabies. In the first year of her research, she
isolated a strain of the diphtheria bacillus that made possible the widespread
immunization of children and almost complete eradication of the disease that, at
that time, was one of the primary causes of death among young children. She
played a significant role in building the New York laboratory into a nationally
known center as the first municipal laboratory to apply bacteriology to the
problems of public health. After receiving her diploma from the New Jersey State
Normal School, she taught public school for several years to earn funds to obtain
her M.D. in 1891 from the Women's Medical College of New York. She had con-
vinced her family to allow her to become a physician after a sister almost died due
to complications of childbirth.
After working as a pathologist for the Women's Medical College for several
years, she was initially a volunteer with the diagnostic laboratory before joining
the staff of the New York City Department of Health in 1895. She spent a year at
the Pasteur Institute in Paris, unsuccessfully researching an antitoxin for scarlet
Williams, Roberta | 975
fever, but her work did lead to the development of a rabies vaccine by 1898 and a
new, faster method for identifying rabies in animals. She later served as chair of a
new rabies committee for the American Public Health Association and, during
World War I, worked on government programs related to diagnosing influenza and
meningitis. She was appointed assistant director of the diagnostic laboratory of the
New York Department of Health in 1905, a position she held until forced into
mandatory retirement in 1934 at the age of 71.
Williams was co-author of a book for the general public entitled Who 's Who
among the Microbes (1929). In addition to her scientific papers, she was also
co-author of Pathogenic Microorganisms Including Bacteria and Protozoa:
A Practical Manual for Students, Physicians and Health Officers (1905) and author
of Streptococci in Relation to Man in Health and Disease (1932). She was a
member of the American Public Health Association and the New York Women's
Medical Association (president, 1915).
Further Resources
National Institutes of Health. "Dr. Anna Wessels Williams." Changing the Face of Medi-
cine: Celebrating America's Women Physicians. National Library of Medicine,
National Institutes of Health, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/
physicians/biography 331.html.
Williams, Roberta
b. 1952
Computer Games Designer
Education: high school
Professional Experience: part-time programmer; designer of computer action
games, 1979-1980; co-founder and chief game designer, Sierra On-Line, Inc.,
1980-1999
Roberta Williams is considered a pioneer of the graphic adventure multimedia
computer game. Williams did not attend college, but had some technical training
and experience with mainframe computers in the 1970s. She became intrigued
by text-based video games after purchasing an Apple computer. Her career started
when her husband, programmer Kenneth Williams, brought home a computer
game that she found was too easy to solve, so she was challenged to create more
difficult games. The couple founded their own company, On-Line Systems (later
known as Sierra On-Line) in 1980. Their first game, "Mystery House," debuted
976 | Williams, Roberta
in 1980 and became part of a six-part
series of Apple games that included
the first bestselling games with col-
ored graphics. Their second game,
"The Wizard and the Princess," was
programmed on a disk rather than
on a cassette, a format that revolu-
tionized the microcomputer game
industry by making possible much
longer games. They also designed a
computer game based on the Jim
Henson movie The Dark Crystal,
released at the same time, in 1992.
Roberta also advised on some of
the layouts for the movie. She was
one of the first designers to use a
female protagonist in an adventure
game. She has also designed a range
of other computer software products
for home use.
By 1983, Sierra On-Line was
earning $10 million a year in sales,
and by 1991, annual sales were
$43 million and the company employed some 500 people. When the Williamses sold
the company to CUC International, Inc. in 1996 for about $1 billion, Roberta stayed
on briefly as chief designer. In 1997, Sierra On-Line, Inc. released the "Roberta
Williams Anthology," a collection of 15 of her games. Most of the early ones are
primitive by today's standards, but the anthology is a compact history of the
form. She began all of her games by drawing them out on large sheets of paper,
but the later games eventually involved the work of more than 100 people, including
animators, programmers, musicians, and composers. Williams has won numerous
awards and honors for her games. She retired from Sierra On-Line in 1999 to travel
with Ken, and the couple maintain a website and message boards for gaming
enthusiasts.
Roberta Williams poses with a copy of her
computer game, Phantasmagoria, 1995.
(AP/Wide World Photos)
Further Resources
MobyGames. "Roberta Williams: Developer Bio." http://www.mobygames.com/
developer/sheet/view/developerld,60/.
Sierra Gamers, http://www.sierragamers.com.
Witkin, Evelyn Maisel | 977
Witkin, Evelyn Maisel
b. 1921
Geneticist
Education: B.A., zoology, New York University, 1941; M.A., Columbia Univer-
sity, 1943, Ph.D., zoology, 1947
Professional Experience: research associate, bacterial genetics, Cold Spring
Harbor Laboratories, Carnegie Institution, 1945-1955; associate professor, medi-
cine, Downstate Medical Center, State University of New York, 1955-1969, pro-
fessor, 1969-1971; professor, biology, Douglass College (Rutgers University),
1971-1983, Barbara McClintock Professor of Genetics, Rutgers, 1979, professor,
Waksman Institute of Microbiology, 1983-1991, emerita
Concurrent Positions: postdoctoral fellow, American Cancer Society, 1947-1949
Evelyn Witkin is a geneticist who has been recognized for her work on mutation in
bacteria. Her research has involved mechanism of spontaneous and induced muta-
tion in bacteria, genetic effects of radiation, and enzymatic repair of DNA damage.
While completing her doctorate in zoology from Columbia University, she spent a
summer as a research associate in bacterial genetics at Cold Spring Harbor Labora-
tories where she first isolated a radiation-resistant strain of E. coli. She became a
regular staff member at Cold Spring Harbor in 1945 and remained there for 10 years.
She was appointed an associate professor of medicine at the State University of New
York in 1955 and promoted to full professor in 1969. She moved to Douglass Col-
lege, the women's campus at Rutgers University in New Jersey, in 1971 and joined
the Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers in 1983. In the early 1970s, she
made a breakthrough discovery on bacterial response to genetic damage and repair.
She retired in 1991 as the Barbara McClintock Professor Emerita of Genetics.
Witkin was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1977 and
awarded a National Medal of Science by President George W. Bush in 2003. She is
also the recipient of honorary doctorates from New York Medical College (1978),
Rutgers University (1995), and Clark University (2006). Among her other honors
are the Lindback Award (1979), the American Women of Science Award for
Outstanding Research (1982), the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal of the Genetics
Society of America (2000), and the Distinguished Research Award of the New
Jersey Association for Biomedical Research (2004). She is a fellow of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences and American Society of Microbiology, and a
member of the Genetics Society of America, American Society of Naturalists, and
Radiation Research Society.
978 | Wood, Elizabeth Armstrong
Further Resources
Rutgers University, Office of Media Relations. "President Bush Names Rutgers' Evelyn
Witkin for Nation's Highest Science Honor." (22 October 2003). http://ur.rutgers.edu/
medrel/viewArticle.html?ArticleID=3545.
Wood, Elizabeth Armstrong
1912 2006
Crystallographer
Education: B.A., Barnard College, 1933; M.A., Bryn Mawr College, 1934, Ph.D.,
geology, 1939
Professional Experience: instructor, geology, Bryn Mawr College, 1934-1935,
1937-1938; assistant, Barnard College, 1935-1937, lecturer, geology and mineral-
ogy, 1938-1941; research assistant, Columbia University, 1941-1942; technical
staff, crystal research, Bell Telephone Uaboratories, AT&T, 1942-1967
Elizabeth Wood was recognized for her research on x-ray crystallography and the
physical properties of crystals. She also studied the geology and petrology of
igneous and metamorphic rocks, and optical mineralogy. Wood received her
undergraduate degree from Barnard in 1933. After earning her master's degree
at Bryn Mawr in 1934, she was employed there as a demonstrator in geology
while she did further graduate work. In 1938, she returned to Barnard as a lec-
turer, and in 1939, she received her doctorate in geology from Bryn Mawr. She
was promoted to research assistant at Barnard in 1941 before joining the technical
staff in crystallographic research at Bell Telephone Uabs in 1942 — the first
woman scientist in the physical research department. Her career coincided with
the beginning of the discipline of solid-state physics, and Bell Uabs was one of
the first developers of lasers and other solid-state devices that required crystals.
Wood became an acknowledged authority at Bell and was even called upon to
receive the first call on a "picture-phone," made from First Uady Johnson from the
White House to Wood in New York in 1964. She spent 25 years at Bell/ AT&T,
retiring in 1967.
Wood was also committed to science education and published several textbooks
and guides, including Rewarding Careers for Women in Physics (1962) and Press-
ing Needs in School Sciences (1969), both published by the American Institute of
Physics, and Crystal Orientation Manual (1963) and Crystals and Light: An Intro-
duction to Optical Crystallography (1964), which remain classics in the field. In
Woods, Geraldine (Pittman) | 979
the 1960s, she also published (through Bell Labs) a high school curriculum, Experi-
ments with Crystals and Light, and a general-interest book, Science for the Airplane
Passenger, which was sold through airport bookstores. The American Crystallo-
graphic Association (ACA) established the Elizabeth A. Wood Science Writing
Award in her honor.
Wood was active in professional scientific organizations, serving as secretary of
the American Society for X-Ray and Electron Diffraction (ASXRED) in 1947, and
was the first female president of the American Crystallographic Association in
1957 (Isabella Karle became the second, in 1976). She received honorary doctor-
ates from Wheaton College (1963), Western College, Ohio (1965), and Worcester
Polytechnic (1970). She was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences, American Physical Society, International Union of Crystallography,
and Mineralogical Society of America.
Further Resources
Abrahams, S. C. "Death Notice. Elizabeth A. Wood. 19 October 1912 23 March 2006."
Physics Today. (12 May 2006). http://www.physicstoday.org/obits/notice 060.shtml.
Woods, Geraldine (Pittman)
1921 1999
Embryologist, Science Consultant
Education: B.S., biology, Howard University, 1942; M.A., Radcliffe College,
1943, Ph.D., neuroembryology, 1945
Professional Experience: instructor, biology, Howard University, 1945-1946;
special consultant, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Insti-
tutes of Health (NIH), 1969-1987
Geraldine Woods was an embryologist who was primarily known for her efforts to
improve access to higher education for minorities. In addition to her volunteer
work, she served as a consultant to the National Institute of General Medical Sci-
ences in implementing various programs. She was one of the earliest black women
to hold a Ph.D. in the biological sciences, and her doctoral research involved the
early development of nerves in the spinal cord, studying whether the nerve spe-
cialization process was governed by the cell's heredity or by stimulation from
nearby cells. While attending Talladega College in Alabama, her mother became
seriously ill. The physicians recommended she take treatments at lohns Hopkins
University, so Geraldine transferred to nearby Howard University in Washington,
980 | Woods, Geraldine (Pittman)
D.C. An embryology professor at Howard encouraged her to continue her studies
at Harvard University. At that time, the women enrolled in Radcliffe College took
all of their science classes at Harvard, and she earned two graduate degrees in
three years.
After receiving her doctorate, Woods taught biology at Howard before moving
to California, where her husband set up his dental practice. She raised three
children and began volunteering with social services projects and civil rights
efforts, first locally, in Los Angeles, and then statewide. She served four years
(1963-1967) as president of Delta Sigma Theta, a national public-service sorority
of black, college-educated women. It was through this group that she helped estab-
lish several Head Start preschools in the Los Angeles area. Her work attracted
national attention when Lady Bird Johnson, wife of President Lyndon Johnson,
invited her to the White House in 1965 to help launch Project Head Start, a federal
program to help children from low-income families attend preschool. In 1968,
President Johnson appointed her chair of the Defense Advisory Committee on
Women in the Services.
In 1969, Woods was appointed as a special consultant to the National Institute
of General Medical Sciences of the NIH, where she addressed problems of
minority students and institutions gaining access to grants and other funding, their
overall lack of adequate equipment for scientific research, and educational oppor-
tunities for minority students in the sciences. The NIH installed two programs
under her guidance: the Minority Biomedical Support (MBS) program to guide
researchers through the grant application process, and Minority Access to
Research Careers (MARC), which provided counseling and scholarships for
students and faculty members in science careers.
Woods was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence and the New York Academy of Sciences. Among her awards and honors are
several biomedical scholarships given in her name, and the Mary Church Terrell
Award of Delta Sigma Theta (1979), the Scroll of Merit of the National Medical
Association (1979), the Howard University Achievement Award (1980), and a
Distinguished Leadership Achievement Award from the National Association for
Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (1987). She received honorary degrees
from several institutions, including Benedict College (1977), Talladega College
(1980), Fisk University (1991), Bennett College (1993), Meharry Medical College
(1988), and Howard University (1989).
Further Resources
Giddings, Paula A. 1994. In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of
the Black Sorority Movement, 2nd ed. New York: William Morrow.
Woolley, Helen Bradford Thompson | 981
Warren, Wini. 1999. Black Women Scientists in the United States. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
Woolley, Helen Bradford Thompson
1874 1947
Psychologist
Education: B.A., University of Chicago, 1897, Ph.D., neurology, 1900
Professional Experience: instructor and professor, psychology, Mount Holyoke
College, 1901-1905; experimental psychologist, Bureau of Education, Philippine
Islands, 1905-1906; health inspector, serum laboratory, Bangkok, Thailand, 1907-
1908; instructor, philosophy, University of Cincinnati, 1910-1912; director, Bureau
for the Investigation of Working Children, Cincinnati public schools, 1911-1921;
psychologist and assistant director, Merrill-Palmer School, Michigan, 1921-1926;
professor of education and director, bureau of child development, Teachers
College, Columbia University, 1926-1930
Helen Woolley was a pioneer in the study of child development and of gender
differences. Her research involved the psychology of adolescence and of young
childhood, mental development, testing, and educational methods, and exposing
what she termed the "inconsistencies, contradictions, and lack of data behind the
conventional wisdom on sex differences." Woolley (then Thompson) challenged
beliefs about women's "natural" roles and interests, and used scientific data to sup-
port women's participation in academia and the workplace. For her doctoral
research at the University of Chicago, she created a series of tests of male and
female students' physical and mental processes. In her thesis, Psychological
Norms in Men and Women (published in 1903 as The Mental Traits of Sex), she
concluded that there were few biological or psychological differences between
men and women, and that social and environmental factors accounted for most
differences. Not surprisingly, Woolley became an advocate of both civil rights
and women's rights, becoming a member and chair of the Ohio Woman Suffrage
Association.
After she received her doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1 900, she
undertook further studies at the Universities of Berlin and Paris before she
accepted a position in the psychology department at Mount Holyoke in 1901.
When she was married in 1905, she and her husband spent several years in
Southeast Asia, where she worked in the Philippine Bureau of Education and at
982 | Wright, Margaret H.
a laboratory run by her physician husband in Thailand. The couple returned to the
United States, where she taught at the University of Cincinnati for three years and
became involved in child welfare reforms and child psychology. After Ohio passed
a child labor law in 1910, she served as director of a program to compare the
development of working children with those who stayed in school, and her work
contributed to educational reforms, such as compulsory attendance laws. She
accepted a position as assistant director and psychologist at the Merrill-Palmer
School, a child development institute in Detroit, in 1921, and she helped
develop a teacher-training program and design educational tests, such as the
Merrill-Palmer Scale of Mental Tests. In 1926, Woolley took a position at
Teachers College, Columbia University, as professor of education and director
of the bureau of child development. She was forced to retire in 1930 due to
health issues.
Woolley contributed a chapter on "The Psychologist" for a 1920 guide to
Careers for Women (edited by Catherine Filene). She was elected president of
the National Vocational Guidance Association in 1921. She also was a member
of the American Psychological Association and the American Association for
the Advancement of Science.
Further Resources
Morse, Jane Fowler. 2002. "Ignored but Not Forgotten: The Work of Helen Thompson
Bradford Woolley." NWS A Journal. 14(2): 121 147. (Summer 2002).
Scarborough, Elizabeth and Laurel Furumoto. 1987. Untold Lives: The First Generation of
American Women Psychologists. New York: Columbia University Press.
Wright, Margaret H.
b. 1944
Computer Scientist, Mathematician
Education: B.S., mathematics, Stanford University, M.S., computer science,
Ph.D., computer science, 1976
Professional Experience: research associate, Systems Optimization Labora-
tory, Operations Research, Stanford University, 1976-1981, senior research
associate, 1981-1988; technical staff, Bell Laboratories, AT&T, 1988-1993,
Distinguished Member of Technical Staff, 1993-2001, head, Scientific Computing
Research Department, 1997-2000; Silver Professor of Computer Science and
Wrinch, Dorothy Maud | 983
Chair, Department of Computer Science, Courant Institute of Mathematical
Sciences, New York University, 2001-
Margaret Wright is a computer scientist and applied mathematician whose
research interests include optimization, linear algebra, numerical analysis, scien-
tific computing, and scientific and engineering applications. She builds math-
ematical and computer models for problem solving in a variety of practical
applications. She earned degrees from Stanford University and spent more than
20 years in Scientific Computing Research at AT&T's Bell Laboratories (now
Lucent Technologies) before entering academia in 2001 as professor and chair of
computer sciences at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York
University. She has co-authored two books on optimization and has published
dozens of scientific papers, articles, and technical reports.
Wright was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1997 and the
National Academy of Sciences in 2005. She has been a distinguished lecturer and
committee member for numerous academic and government scientific organizations,
including the National Science Foundation, National Research Council, and U.S.
Department of Energy. She has received an honorary doctorate from the University
of Waterloo (2003) and was the Emmy Noether Lecturer of the Association for
Women in Mathematics (2000). Her other awards and honors include a Special
Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession from the Society for Industrial
and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) (2000) and an Award for Distinguished Public
Service from the American Mathematical Society (2001). She served as president
of SIAM in 1995-1996. She is a fellow of the Institute for Operations Research
and the Management Sciences and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
and a member of the Mathematical Programming Society.
Further Resources
Agnes Scott College. "Margaret Wright." Biographies of Women Mathematicians, http://
www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/wright.htm.
New York University. Faculty website, http://cs.nyu.edu/mhw/.
Wrinch, Dorothy Maud
1894 1976
Biochemist, Mathematician
Education: mathematics and philosophy, Girton College, Cambridge; M.Sc, Uni-
versity of London, 1920, D.Sc, 1922; M.A., Oxford University, 1924, D.Sc, 1929
984 | Wrinch, Dorothy Maud
Biochemist and mathematician, Dorothy Maud Wrinch, right, shows physicist Katharine
Blodgett of General Electric her protein molecule model, 1938. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Professional Experience: lecturer, pure mathematics, University College, Uni-
versity of London, 1918-1920; lecturer, mathematics and director, studies for
women, member, faculty of physical sciences, Oxford University, 1923-1939;
research fellow, Somerville College, Oxford, 1939-1941; lecturer, chemistry,
Johns Hopkins University, 1939-1941; visiting professor, natural sciences,
Amherst College and Mount Holyoke College, 1941-1942; lecturer, physics, Smith
College, 1941-1954, visiting professor, 1954-1971
Dorothy Wrinch was a biochemist and mathematician whose interests spanned
mathematical physics, molecular biology, chemistry, genetics, the philosophy of
science, and sociology. In 1929, she was the first woman to receive a doctorate
in science from Oxford University. In the mid- 1930s, she developed an important
contribution to science — the first theory of protein structure, or the "cyclol theory"
of amino acids holding the keys to the genetic code. She received a Rockefeller
Foundation grant for this groundbreaking work applying mathematics to molecu-
lar biology, but her funding and her reputation were damaged when prominent sci-
entists, notably Linus Pauling, publicly rejected her theory. Although her theory
Wu, Chien-Shiung | 985
was proven incorrect (as was Pauling's early theory), it later applied to other
aspects of chemical bonds in alkaloids and thus contributed to scientific advances.
Her argument with Pauling began in the late 1930s, but she published her research in
two books, Chemical Aspects of the Structure of Small Peptides: An Introduction
(1960) and Chemical Aspects of Polypeptide Chain Structure: An Introduction
(1960). Wrinch held a wide range of scientific interests and engaged in collaborative
work with other scientists on topics related to theoretical physics and philosophy,
and published nearly 200 articles and papers.
In addition to the degree from Oxford, Wrinch also received a doctorate from
the University of London and spent many years at a student at Cambridge and at
the Universities of Vienna and Paris. She alternated between teaching at London
and Oxford before coming to the United States with her daughter after her mar-
riage ended in 1938. Wrinch accepted a position as a lecturer in chemistry at Johns
Hopkins and went on to hold lectureships and fellowships at Amherst, Mount
Holyoke, and at Smith College, where she spent 30 years as a teacher but never
secured a permanent faculty appointment.
Wrinch was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society and the London
Royal Society, and was a member of the American Chemical Society and the
American Crystallographic Association. In 1930, she published a book, The Retreat
from Parenthood, under a pseudonym (Jean Ayling), in which she addressed the
choice many educated women had to make between careers and family life, and
advocated for greater childcare services.
Further Resources
Abir-Am, Pnina G. and Dorinda Outram. 1987. Uneasy Careers and Intimate Lives:
Women in Science, 1789 1979. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Agnes Scott College. "Dorothy Maud Wrinch." Biographies of Women Mathematicians.
http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/wrinch.htm.
Wu, Chien-Shiung
1912 1997
Nuclear Physicist
Education: B.S., physics, National Central University, China, 1934; Ph.D., physics,
University of California, Berkeley, 1940
Professional Experience: lecturer, University of California, Berkeley, 1940-1942;
assistant professor, Smith College, 1942-1943; instructor, Princeton University,
986 | Wu, Chien-Shiung
Physicist Chien-Shiung Wu with a particle accelerator at Columbia University, 1963.
(Robert W. Kelley/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)
1943-1944; senior scientist, Columbia University, 1944-1947, associate, 1947-1952,
associate professor to professor, physics, 1952-1972, professor, physics, 1972-1981
Concurrent Positions: member, advisory committee to director, National Institutes
of Health (NIH), 1975-1982
Chien-Shiung Wu was one of the top women in elementary particle physics in the
world in the mid-twentieth century, and her work contributed to the research that
earned two of her Columbia University colleagues, Drs. Tsung Dao Lee and Ning
Yang, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957. She researched the separation of ura-
nium isotopes and experimentally established nonconservation of parity in beta
decay and conservation of vector current in beta decay. At the time she received
her doctorate from Berkeley, in 1940, not one of the nation's top research univer-
sities had a female physics professor. She was hired as an instructor at Princeton
due to the shortage of male scientists during World War II. In 1944, she was
Wu, Chien-Shiung | 987
appointed a senior scientist at Columbia, where she helped develop sensitive radi-
ation detectors for the atomic bomb project. After the war ended and the Manhat-
tan Project was completed, she was asked to remain at Columbia, where she spent
the remainder of her career as a physics professor. Wu's research focused on radi-
ation detection equipment and, as she moved through the faculty ranks, she con-
ducted experiments to test the theories of Lee and Yang. The two scientists who
shared the Nobel Prize acknowledged Wu's role in the success of proving their
theory; Lee later said of Wu that she "was one of the giants of physics."
Born in Shanghai, Wu was the daughter of an elementary school principal who
founded a women's vocational school and impressed upon her the importance of edu-
cation. She studied English and science in high school and graduated with a physics
degree from the National Central University in Nanking. She did graduate-level study
and worked as a research assistant at Zhejiang University and at the Institute of
Physics of the Academia Sinica but, wishing to take her education further, Wu moved
to the United States to study at the University of California, Berkeley, where she
worked with professor Ernest Lawrence, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in
1939, while Wu was a student there. She worked as Lawrence's research assistant
and, after receiving her Ph.D. in 1940, continued as a lecturer at Berkeley, then taught
at Smith College and Princeton before moving to Columbia in New York.
Wu was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1958.
She received honorary degrees from several universities, including Princeton,
where, also in 1958, she was the first woman to receive an honorary doctorate in
science. She was the recipient of numerous awards, both in China and in the
United States, including an Achievement Award for the American Association of
University Women (1960), the Comstock Award of the National Academy of
Sciences (1964), an Achievement Award from the Chi-Tsin Culture Foundation
of Taiwan (1965), the Scientist of the Year Award from Industrial Research
Magazine (1974), the Bonner Prize of the American Physical Society (1975), the
National Medal of Science (1975), and the Wolf Prize in Physics in Israel
(1978). She was the first living scientist with an asteroid named after her (1990).
She was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and a member of the
American Physical Society (president, 1975), the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, and Academia Sinica, the Academy of Sciences in China.
Further Resources
McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch. 1993. Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles,
and Momentous Discoveries. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Pub. Group.
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
988 | Wu, Ying-Chu (Lin) Susan
Wu, Ying-Chu (Lin) Susan
b. 1932
Aerospace Engineer
Education: B.S., mechanical engineering, National Taiwan University, 1955;
M.S., aerospace engineering, Ohio State University, 1959; Ph.D., aeronautics,
California Institute of Technology, 1963
Professional Experience: engineer, Taiwan Highway Bureau, 1955-1956; senior
engineer, Electro-Optical Systems, 1963-1965; assistant professor, University of
Tennessee, 1965-1967, associate professor, 1967-1973, professor, aerospace
engineering, University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI), 1973-1988;
president and chief executive officer, Engineering Research Consulting, Inc.,
1988-
Concurrent Positions: laboratory manager, research and development laboratory,
University of Tennessee, 1977-1981, administrator, Energy Conversion Research
and Development Program, University of Tennessee, 1981-1988
Susan Wu is an aerospace engineer renowned for her research on the potential for
cleaner and more efficient methods of coal-fired power generation in the United
States through the use of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), which produce electric
power without the use of rotating machinery by passing a plasma through a mag-
netic field. This method of power generation is cleaner and more efficient than
the traditional power plant, and MHD generation is also used as a power source
for aircraft. Wu's field of research is an important one primarily because of
increasing mandates from the federal government to reduce emissions from coal-
fired power plants and to reduce the use of fossil fuels, such as coal, to preserve
them for future generations. After a productive career as an engineer and then
aerospace engineering professor, Wu founded her own company in 1988, Engi-
neering Research Consulting, Inc. Wu still serves as the company chairman, and
her oldest son, Dr. Ernie Wu, is the president and chief executive officer.
After she received her undergraduate degree in 1955, Wu found that engineer-
ing jobs for women were scarce in China. She moved to the United States, where
she received graduate degrees in aerospace engineering and aeronautics. She
became a professor at the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI), but left
academia after 23 years to found her own aerospace and energy research consult-
ing firm, ERC, Inc., now headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. ERC consults
for such agencies as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the
Department of Energy, and the Argonne National Laboratory, and for corporations
such as Boeing and McDonnell Douglas.
Wu, Ying-Chu (Lin) Susan | 989
Wu has been a member of the advisory board of the National Air and Space
Museum of the Smithsonian Institution since 1993 and has received several
awards, including the University of Tennessee's Chancellor's Research Scholar
Award (1978), Outstanding Educators of America Award (1973 and 1975), Soci-
ety of Women Engineers Achievement Award (1985), and Plasmadynamics and
Lasers Award of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1994).
She is a three-time recipient of the Amelia Earhart Fellowship (1958, 1959,
1962) from the women's advocacy organization, Zonta International, for women
in aerospace science and engineering. She is a fellow of the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
and a member of the Society of Women Engineers.
Further Resources
ERC Incorporated, http://erc-incorporated.com/comphistory.aspx.
Y
Yalow, Rosalyn Sussman
b. 1921
Medical Physicist
Education: A.B., Hunter College, 1941; M.S., University of Illinois, 1942, Ph.D.,
physics, 1945
Professional Experience: assistant, physics, University of Illinois, 1941-1943,
instructor, 1944; assistant engineer, Federal Telecommunications Laboratory,
1945-1946; lecturer and assistant professor, physics, Hunter College, 1946-1950;
physicist, assistant chief, chief, radioimmunoassay service, Veterans Administration
(VA) Hospital, Bronx, New York, 1950-1970, nuclear medical service, 1970-
1980; chair, clinical science, Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center, 1980-1985
Concurrent Positions: consultant, radioisotope unit, Veterans Administration
Hospital, 1947-1950; research professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1968—
1974, distinguished service professor, 1974-1979; distinguished professor at large,
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, 1980-1985; Solomon A.
Berson distinguished professor at large, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1986-
Rosalyn Yalow was a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in
1977, the second woman to win in that category (Gerty Cori had been the first, in
1947). She and her collaborators were pioneers in the new science of neuroendocri-
nology, a discipline that enables doctors to diagnose conditions caused by hormonal
changes. Yalow's work combined immunology, isotope research, mathematics, and
physics, and established the field of modern biomedical physics. She set up one of
the first radioisotope labs in the United States when she was hired in 1947 at the VA
Hospital in the Bronx. The initial plan was that radioisotopes would be a cheap alter-
native to radium for cancer treatment. With her engineering experience, she was able
to design her own equipment, as no commercial instrumentation existed at the time.
As a graduate student in physics at the University of Illinois, Yalow was
assigned to teach only pre-med students, as no female faculty taught male engi-
neering and science students. This changed, however, as more men were called
to war and women were called to fill teaching positions. After completing her
Ph.D., she became the first woman engineer at the Federal Telecommunications
991
992 | Yalow, Rosalyn Sussman
Physicist Rosalyn Yalow was co-recipient of the 1 977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for
her development of the radioimmunoassay (RIA) technique. (National Library of Medicine)
Laboratory for a year before returning to her alma mater, Hunter College, to teach.
In 1947, she began her long tenure with the VA Hospital and a fruitful collabora-
tion with physician Solomon Berson. Together, they invented radioimmunoassay
(RIA), or the method of using radioactively tagged substances to measure antibod-
ies produced by the immune system. By accident, they discovered that the insulin
obtained from animal sources had minor but important differences from human
insulin, namely that human insulin contains antibodies created by the immune
system. The result of their research was that manufactured insulin could be genet-
ically engineered to be precisely the same as human insulin. She and Berson did
not patent their discovery, and commercial laboratories have realized enormous
profits from performing RIA.
Yalow and Berson published numerous papers together, always alternating first
authorship, and earned numerous awards for their work. Although Berson
accepted a position at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1968, they continued
their work together until he died in 1972. It was already rumored at that time that
the two were candidates for a shared Nobel Prize, but Berson's premature death
Young, Anne Sewell | 993
in 1972 removed his name from consideration, as the prize is not awarded post-
humously. Yalow continued her research and was finally recognized with the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1977. She went on to teach at Mount
Sinai, at Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center, and at Albert Einstein College
of Medicine. She helped establish and direct the Solomon A. Berson Research
Laboratory at the Bronx VA Hospital and held the Berson Distinguished Profes-
sorship at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She retired from full-time research
in the 1980s, but retained positions as affiliated faculty at several schools and con-
tinued to use her office at the VA Hospital until 2002.
Yalow was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1975. She was the
first woman and first nuclear physicist to win the Albert Lasker Medical Research
Award (1976), and is also the recipient of a National Medal of Science (1988). She
was elected president of the Endocrine Society (1978-1979) and fellow of the
New York Academy of Sciences. She has been a member of the American Acad-
emy of Arts and Sciences, the Radiation Research Society, the American College
of Radiology, the Biophysical Society, the American Diabetes Association, and
the American Physiological Society.
Further Resources
Byers, Nina and Gary A. Williams. 2006. Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-
Century Women to Physics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch. 1998. Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles,
and Momentous Discoveries. Secaucus, NJ: Birch Lane Press.
Straus, Eugene. 1998. Rosalyn Yalow, Nobel Laureate: Her Life and Work in Medicine.
New York: Basic Books.
Young, Anne Sewell
1871 1961
Astronomer
Education: B.L., Carleton College, 1892, M.S., 1897; University of Chicago,
1898, 1902; Ph.D., astronomy, Columbia University, 1906
Professional Experience: instructor, mathematics, Whitman College, 1892-1893,
professor, 1893-1895; high school principal, 1897-1899; instructor to professor,
astronomy, and director, John Payne Williston Observatory, Mount Holyoke
College, 1899-1936
Anne Young was an astronomer recognized for her research on observations
of variable stars, measurement of astronomical photographs, and reduction of
994 | Young, Roger Arliner
occultation observations. She conducted an active program at Mount Holyoke on
sunspot observations, asteroid positions, comet orbits, and variable stars. Young
had an early interest in astronomy, and her uncle, Charles Young, was a renowned
professor of astronomy at Princeton University. After receiving her undergraduate
degree from Carleton College in 1892, she was an instructor and then professor of
mathematics at Whitman College for four years. She returned to Carleton for her
master's degree and was a high school principal for a year. She took additional
studies at the University of Chicago before receiving her doctorate in astronomy
from Columbia in 1906. Her doctoral research was based on the photographic
measurements of stars within the constellation of Perseus.
Young was appointed an instructor at Mount Holyoke in 1 899 and rose through
the ranks to professor, retiring in 1936. Throughout her tenure at Mount Holyoke,
she was also director of the Williston Observatory. She published numerous papers
in astronomical journals, and in 1900, she started a program of daily sunspot
observations at Mount Holyoke that led to a worldwide cooperative research
project. One of her contributions to the profession was that she promoted popular
interest in astronomy by writing a monthly column on astronomy for a local paper,
the Springfield Republican, and by providing a series of open nights at the
observatory for the public. She was beloved as a teacher and, in 1925, took an
entire class of students from Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts to Connecticut by
train to see the total eclipse of the sun that year.
Young was elected a fellow of the American Astronomical Society, the Royal
Astronomical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Sci-
ence, and was elected president of the American Association of Variable Star
Observers (1923).
Young, Roger Arliner
1899 1964
Zoologist
Education: B.S., Howard University, 1923; M.S., University of Chicago, 1926;
Ph.D., zoology, University of Pennsylvania, 1940
Professional Experience: instructor and interim department head, zoology, Howard
University, Washington, D.C., 1923-1936; researcher, Marine Biological Labora-
tory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts; assistant professor, biology, North Carolina
College for Negroes; instructor, biology, Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina;
instructor, Jackson State College, Mississippi; instructor, Paul Quinn College, Texas;
lecturer, biology, Southern University, Louisiana
Young, Roger Arliner | 995
Roger Arliner Young was a zoologist and marine biologist who was the first African
American woman to receive a doctorate in zoology. Her research focused on the
effects of radiation and ultraviolet light on sea urchin eggs, and hydration and salt
concentration in other organisms. She published an article in Science, "On the
Excretory Apparatus in Paramecium," before even receiving her master's degree.
She published several other scientific papers in the 1930s.
Young enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1916. Her family
was poor, and she was responsible for the care of her invalid mother, causing her
grades in school to suffer. For these reasons, it took seven years for Young to earn
her bachelor's degree from Howard. She originally intended to study music, but
took her first science course in 1921 with biology and zoology professor Ernest
Everett Just, who became an important mentor for Young and encouraged her to
pursue graduate work in the sciences. After receiving her degree from Howard in
1923, she went on to attend the University of Chicago part-time. She received
her master's degree in 1926 and was invited by Just to work with him at the Woods
Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts during the summers. Young
began her work on marine embryology, fertilization, and the processes of hydra-
tion and dehydration. Just asked her to stand in for him as head of the zoology
department at Howard on several occasions when he made trips to Europe to seek
research funding.
Young returned to the University of Chicago in 1929 to pursue a doctorate
with another professor she had met at Woods Hole. She did not pass her quali-
fying exams, however, and returned to teach at Howard for several more years.
In 1936, she was fired by Everett Ernest Just for reasons that seemed to be both
political (pressures from the dean) and personal (a rift with Just over rumors about
the nature of their relationship). She left Howard and moved to the University of
Pennsylvania to resume work toward a doctorate, which she finally received in
1940 with a dissertation on "The Indirect Effects of Roentgen Rays on Certain
Marine Eggs." After 1940, she taught at colleges in North Carolina, Mississippi,
Louisiana, and Texas. She continued to care for her mother until her mother's
death in 1953 and lived on the brink of poverty, unable to retain a teaching position
very long. Her research using ultraviolet light had damaged her eyesight and, at
one point, she was admitted to the Mississippi State Mental Asylum due to poor
mental health. She died in New Orleans in 1964.
Further Resources
Manning, Kenneth R. 1983. Black Apollo of Science: The Life of Ernest Everett Just.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Warren, Wini. 1999. Black Women Scientists in the United States. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
z
Zoback, Mary Lou
b. 1952
Geophysicist
Education: B.S. geophysics, Stanford University, 1974, M.S. 1975, Ph.D., 1978
Professional Experience: National Research Council postdoctoral fellow, Heat
Flow Studies, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 1978-1979, research scientist,
Earthquake Hazards Team, USGS, 1979-1999, chief scientist, Western Earthquake
Hazards Team, 1999-2003, senior research scientist and program coordinator,
Northern California Earthquake Hazards Program, 2003-2006; vice president,
Earthquake Risk Applications, Risk Management Solutions (RMS), 2006-
Concurrent Positions: visiting scholar, Geophysical Institute, Karlsruhe,
Germany, 1990-1991
Mary Lou Zoback is an internationally recognized geophysicist who specializes in
plate tectonics and earthquakes. She has researched and mapped plate stresses, in
particular focused on the San Andreas fault system which runs through California.
She led the World Stress Map Project (1986-1992) of the International Lithosphere
Program, a coalition of scientists from 30 countries who compiled geologic data on
worldwide active tectonics and stress for environmental scientists and government
risk assessments. Zoback earned three degrees in geophysics from Stanford Univer-
sity and has spent nearly 25 years at the USGS Office of Earthquake Studies. She
left the USGS in 2006 to become vice president of Earthquake Risk Applications
at RMS in Newark, California. At RMS, she provides scientific data for purposes
of assessing earthquake risk, risk-reduction plans, insurance needs, and disaster
management and response. In 2006, she helped found the 1906 Earthquake
Centennial Alliance to commemorate the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 and
raise public awareness about earthquake safety. Zoback is also committed to
science education and has been involved with Expanding Your Horizons, a national
program to encourage young girls in science, math, and technology careers.
Zoback has served on numerous scientific and government committees, including
for the National Science Foundation, National Research Council, National Aeronau-
tics and Space Administration (NASA), and several universities. She was elected to
997
998 | Zoback, Mary Lou
the National Academy of Sciences in 1995. She is a fellow of the Geological Society
of America (GSA) (president, 1999-2000) and American Geophysical Union, and a
member of the American Geological Institute, Seismological Society of America,
and Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. She has received the Macelwane
Award of the AGU (1987), the USGS Gilbert Fellowship Award for a visiting schol-
arship in Germany (1990-1991), Meritorious Service Award of the Department of
Interior (2002), Bownocker Medal of Ohio State University (2003), Innovation and
Exemplary Practice in Earthquake Risk Reduction Award from the Earthquake
Engineering Research Institute (2006), and Arthur L. Day Medal (2007) and Public
Service Award (2007) of the GSA.
Further Resources
National Academy of Sciences. 2003. "Interviews: Mary Lou Zoback, Geophysics."
http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=INTERVIEWS Mary Lou
Zoback.
Women Nobel Prize Winners
in the Sciences
Physics
1903 Marie Curie
1963 Maria Goeppert-Mayer
Chemistry
1911 Marie Curie
1935 Irene Joliot-Curie
1964 Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
2009 Ada E. Yonath
Physiology or Medicine
1947 Gerty Cori
1977 Rosalyn Yalow
1983 Barbara McClintock
1986 Rita Levi-Montalcini
1988 Gertrude B. Elion
1995 Christiane Niisslein-Volhard
2004 Linda B. Buck
2008 Francoise Barre-Sinoussi
2009 Elizabeth H. Blackburn
2009 Carol W. Greider
Economic Sciences
2009 Elinor Ostrom
999
Scientists by Discipline
Aerospace & Astronautics
Berger, Marsha J.
Brill, Yvonne (Claeys)
Cleave, Mary L.
Cobb, Geraldyne M.
Collins, Eileen
Cowings, Patricia Suzanne
Darden, Christine V. Mann
Dunbar, Bonnie J.
Fisher, Anna L.
Flugge Lotz, Irmgard
Hamilton, Margaret
Jemison, Mae Carol
Johnson, Barbara Crawford
Johnston, Mary Helen
Kurtzig, Sandra L. (Brody)
Leveson, Nancy G.
Long, Irene (Duhart)
Lucid, Shannon (Wells)
Ocampo, Adriana C.
Ochoa, Ellen
Resnik, Judith A.
Ride, Sally Kristen
Seddon, Margaret Rhea
Simon, Dorothy Martin
Stoll, Alice Mary
Sullivan, Kathryn D.
Thornton, Kathryn (Cordell)
Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes
Whitson, Peggy A.
Widnall, Sheila (Evans)
Wu, Ying-Chu (Lin) Susan
Animal Sciences
Altmann, Jeanne
Altmann, Margaret
Fossey, Dian
Grandin, Temple
Moss, Cynthia Jane
Poole, Joyce
Saif, Linda
1001
1002 | Scientists by Discipline
Anthropology & Archaeology
Aberle, Sophie Bledsoe
Archambault, JoAllyn
Bateson, Mary Catherine
Beall, Cynthia
Benedict, Ruth Fulton
Bricker, Victoria (Reifler)
Buikstra, Jane Ellen
Cole, Johnnetta (Betsch)
Colson, Elizabeth Florence
De Laguna, Frederica Annis
Ellis, Florence May Hawley
Haas, Mary Rosamond
Harrison, Faye Venetia
Hawkes, Kristen
Helm, June
Hrdy, Sarah C. (Blaffer)
Leacock, Eleanor (Burke)
Linares, Olga Frances
Lubic, Ruth (Watson)
Lurie, Nancy (Oestreich)
Marcus, Joyce
Martin, Emily
Mead, Margaret
Medicine, Beatrice A.
Parsons, Elsie Worthington Clews
Reichard, Gladys Amanda
Semple, Ellen Churchill
Shipman, Pat
Slye, Maud Caroline
Sudarkasa, Niara
Thompson, Laura Maud
Watson, Patty Jo (Andersen)
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Bahcall, Neta
Burbidge, (Eleanor) Margaret
Cannon, Annie Jump
Cordova, France Anne-Dominic
Elmegreen, Debra Meloy
Faber, Sandra (Moore)
Furness, Caroline Ellen
Geller, Margaret Joan
Gill, Jocelyn Ruth
Hammel, Heidi
Hoffleit, (Ellen) Dorrit
Intriligator, Devrie (Shapiro)
Leavitt, Henrietta Swan
Lippincott, Sarah Lee
Makemson, Maud Worcester
Maury, Antonia Caetana de Paiva
Pereira
McFadden, Lucy-Ann Adams
Meinel, Marjorie Pettit
Payne Gaposchkin, Celelia Helena
Prince, Helen Walter Dodson
Prinz, Dianne Kasnic
Roemer, Elizabeth
Roman, Nancy Grace
Rubin, Vera (Cooper)
Shoemaker, Carolyn (Spellmann)
Scientists by Discipline | 1003
Sitterly, Charlotte Emma Moore
Small, Meredith F.
Smith, Elske (van Panhuys)
Tinsley, Beatrice Muriel (Hill)
Young, Anne Sewell
Biochemistry
Banfield, Jillian F.
Benesch, Ruth Erica (Leroi)
Blackburn, Elizabeth
Briscoe, Anne M.
Brown, Barbara B.
Brown, Rachel Fuller
Chilton, Mary-Dell (Matchett)
Cohn, Mildred
Cori, Gerty Theresa Radnitz
Daly, Marie Maynard
Delmer, Deborah
Edwards, Cecile Hoover
Elion, Gertrude Belle
Emerson, Gladys Anderson
Fink, Kathryn Ferguson
Fuchs, Elaine V.
Greider, Carol W.
Gross, Elizabeth Louise
Guttman, Helene Augusta (Nathan)
Hamilton, Alice
Haschemeyer, Audrey E. V.
Hay, Elizabeth Dexter
Hollinshead, Ariel Cahill
Horning, Marjorie G.
Hubbard, Ruth (Hoffman)
Jones, Mary Ellen
Kaufman, Joyce (Jacobson)
Klinman, Judith (Pollock)
Macy-Hoobler, Icie Gertrude
Maling, Harriet Mylander
Miller, Elizabeth Cavert
Morgan, Agnes Fay
Neufeld, Elizabeth (Fondal)
Osborn, Mary Jane (Merten)
Petermann, Mary Locke
Ratner, Sarah
Richardson, Jane S.
Rolf, Ida P.
Seibert, Florence Barbara
Shockley, Dolores Cooper
Shotwell, Odette Louise
Simmonds, Sofia
Singer, Maxine (Frank)
Stadtman, Thressa Campbell
Stanley, Louise
Stearns, Genevieve
Steitz, Joan (Argetsinger)
Stubbe, JoAnne
Tilghman, Shirley M.
Tolbert, Margaret Ellen (Mayo)
Vaughan, Martha
Vennesland, Birgit
Weisburger, Elizabeth Amy (Kreiser)
Whitson, Peggy A.
Wrinch, Dorothy Maud
1004 | Scientists by Discipline
Biomedical Sciences
Avery, Mary Ellen
Baetjer, Anna Medora
Bartoshuk, Linda
Benesch, Ruth Erica (Leroi)
Blackburn, Elizabeth
Bliss, Eleanor Albert
Briscoe, Anne M.
Broome, Claire Veronica
Brown, Rachel Fuller
Brugge, Joan S.
Buck, Linda B.
Cobb, Jewel Plummer
Cohn, Mildred
Colwell, Rita (Rossi)
Cori, Gerty Theresa Radnitz
Cowings, Patricia Suzanne
Daly, Marie Maynard
Dick, Gladys Rowena Henry
Dunbar, Bonnie J.
Elion, Gertrude Belle
Estrin, Thelma Austern
Evans, Alice Catherine
Farquhar, Marilyn (Gist)
Ferguson, Angela Dorothea
Fink, Kathryn Ferguson
Free, Helen (Murray)
Friend, Charlotte
Fuchs, Elaine V.
Gayle, Helene Doris
Giblett, Eloise Rosalie
Glusker, Jenny (Pickworth)
Gordon, Ruth Evelyn
Greider, Carol W.
Griffin, Diane Edmund
Gross, Carol A. (Polinsky)
Guthrie, Mary Jane
Guttman, Helene Augusta (Nathan)
Harris, Mary (Styles)
Hay, Elizabeth Dexter
Hazen, Elizabeth Lee
Hockfield, Susan
Hollinshead, Ariel Cahill
Horning, Marjorie G.
Horstmann, Dorothy Millicent
Huang, Alice Shih-Hou
Jones, Mary Ellen
Kaufman, Joyce (Jacobson)
Kenyon, Cynthia J.
King, Mary-Claire
Koshland, Marian Elliott
Krim, Mathilde (Galland)
Lancaster, Cleo
Lancefield, Rebecca Craighill
Leeman, Susan (Epstein)
Lesh-Laurie, Georgia Elizabeth
L'Esperance, Elise Depew Strang
Levi-Montalcini, Rita
Lewis, Margaret Adaline Reed
Lucid, Shannon (Wells)
Maling, Harriet My lander
Marrack, Philippa Charlotte
McSherry, Diana Hartridge
Mendenhall, Dorothy Reed
Micheli-Tzanakou, Evangelia
Scientists by Discipline | 1005
Mielczarek, Eugenie Vorburger
Miller, Elizabeth Cavert
Mintz, Beatrice
Murray, Sandra Ann
Neufeld, Elizabeth (Fondal)
New, Maria (Iandolo)
Osborn, Mary Jane (Merten)
Pearce, Louise
Pert, Candace Dorinda (Bebe)
Petermann, Mary Locke
Pitelka, Dorothy Riggs
Pittman, Margaret
Pool, Judith Graham
Profet, Margie
Quimby, Edith Hinkley
Ramaley, Judith (Aitken)
Ramey, Estelle Rosemary White
Ranney, Helen Margaret
Ratner, Sarah
Rowley, Janet Davison
Sabin, Florence Rena
Sager, Ruth
Saif, Linda
Scharrer, Berta Vogel
Sedlak, Bonnie Joy
Seibert, Florence Barbara
Shapiro, Lucille (Cohen)
Shaw, Jane E.
Shockley, Dolores Cooper
Simmonds, Sofia
Sinkford, Jeanne Frances (Craig)
Stoll, Alice Mary
Stroud-Lee, F. Agnes Naranjo
Taussig, Helen Brooke
Vaughan, Martha
Villa-Komaroff, Lydia
Vitetta, Ellen Shapiro
Waelsch, Salome Gluecksohn
Weisburger, Elizabeth Amy (Kreiser)
Wexler, Nancy Sabin
Wilhelmi, Jane Anne Russell
Williams, Anna Wessels
Witkin, Evelyn Maisel
Woods, Geraldine (Pittman)
Yalow, Rosalyn Sussman
Botany (Plant Sciences)
Bennett, Joan Wennstrom
Berenbaum, May Roberta
Braun, (Emma) Lucy
Britton, Elizabeth Knight
Charles, Vera Katherine
Chase, (Mary) Agnes Meara
Chilton, Mary-Dell (Matchett)
Chory, Joanne
Davis, Margaret Bryan
Delmer, Deborah
Earle, Sylvia Alice
Eastwood, Alice
Esau, Katherine
Farr, Wanda Kirkbride
1006 | Scientists by Discipline
Fedoroff, Nina Vsevolod
Ferguson, Margaret Clay
Gantt, Elisabeth
Gerry, Eloise B.
Goldring, Winifred
Gross, Elizabeth Louise
Hart, Helen
Leopold, Estella Bergere
Long, Sharon (Rugel)
Mathias, Mildred Esther
McClintock, Barbara
McCoy, Elizabeth Florence
Moore, Emmeline
Patrick, Ruth
Patterson, Flora Wambaugh
Rissler, Jane Francina
Roberts, Edith Adelaide
Shields, Lora Mangum
Sommer, Anna Louise
Sweeney, (Eleanor) Beatrice Marcy
Tilden, Josephine Elizabeth
Vennesland, Birgit
Walbot, Virginia Elizabeth
Westcott, Cynthia
Chemistry
Anderson, Gloria (Long)
Benerito, Ruth Rogan
Berkowitz, Joan B.
Brill, Yvonne (Claeys)
Carr, Emma Perry
Caserio, Marjorie Constance (Beckett)
Cox, Geraldine Anne (Vang)
Dicciani, Nance Katherine
Drake, Elisabeth (Mertz)
Fitzroy, Nancy (Deloye)
Flanigen, Edith Marie
Fox, Marye Anne (Payne)
Free, Helen (Murray)
Gast, Alice P.
Glusker, Jenny (Pickworth)
Good, Mary (Lowe)
Grasselli (Brown), Jeanette
Greer, Sandra Charlene
Hahn, Dorothy Anna
Harrison, Anna Jane
Hoffman, Darleane (Christian)
Jeanes, Allene Rosalind
Karle, Isabella Helen Lugoski
Kaufman, Joyce (Jacobson)
Kwolek, Stephanie Louise
Libby, Leona Woods Marshall
MacLeod, Grace
Marlatt, Abby Lillian
Michel, Helen (Vaughn)
Mitchell, Helen Swift
Nightingale, Dorothy Virginia
Patrick, Jennie R.
Payne, Nellie Maria de Cottrell
Pennington, Mary Engle
Prichard, Diana (Garcia)
Reichmanis, Elsa
Scientists by Discipline | 1007
Rose, Mary Davies Swartz
Savitz, Maxine (Lazarus)
Schwan, Judith A.
Sherman, Patsy O'Connell
Shotwell, Odette Louise
Shreeve, Jean'ne Marie
Simon, Dorothy Martin
Solomon, Susan
Stiebeling, Hazel Katherine
Stubbe, JoAnne
Taylor, Kathleen Christine
Tesoro, Giuliana (Cavaglieri)
Thomas, Martha Jane (Bergin)
Computer Science &
Bell, Gwen (Dru'yor)
Berezin, Evelyn
Berger, Marsha J.
Butler, Margaret K.
Conway, Lynn Ann
Davis, Ruth Margaret
Estrin, Thelma Austern
Goldberg, Adele
Goldwasser, Shafrira
Graham, Susan Lois
Granville, Evelyn (Boyd)
Greibach, Sheila Adele
Hamilton, Margaret
Hopper, Grace Murray
Hutchins, Sandra Elaine
Information Technology
Irwin, Mary Jane
Jones, Anita Katherine
Kempf, Martine
Kurtzig, Sandra L. (Brody)
Leveson, Nancy G.
Liskov, Barbara Huberman
Mc Sherry, Diana Hartridge
Mitchell, Joan L.
Pour-El, Marian Boykan
Reichmanis, Elsa
Sammet, Jean Elaine
Shaw, Mary M.
Turkle, Sherry
Williams, Roberta
Wright, Margaret H.
Crystallography
Donnay, Gabrielle (Hamburger)
Glusker, Jenny (Pickworth)
Karle, Isabella Helen Lugoski
Economics
Adelman, Irma Glicman
Hewlett, Sylvia Ann
Richardson, Jane S.
Wood, Elizabeth Armstrong
Kanter, Rosabeth (Moss)
Kreps, Juanita (Morris)
1008 | Scientists by Discipline
Krueger, Anne (Osborn)
Ostrom, Elinor
Pate-Cornell, (Marie) Elisabeth
Lucienne
Rivlin, Alice (Mitchell)
Stern, Frances
Stokey, Nancy
Tyson, Laura (D'Andrea)
Wallace, Phyllis Ann
Whitman, Marina (von Neumann)
Engineering
Abriola, Linda M.
Agogino, Alice M.
Baranescu, Rodica
Benmark, Leslie Ann (Freeman)
Berger, Marsha J.
Brill, Yvonne (Claeys)
Clarke, Edith
Cleave, Mary L.
Colmenares, Margarita H.
Conway, Lynn Ann
Conwell, Esther Marly
Darden, Christine V. Mann
Davis, Ruth Margaret
De Planque, E. Gail
Dicciani, Nance Katherine
Drake, Elisabeth (Mertz)
Dresselhaus, Mildred (Spiewak)
Edwards, Helen Thom
Estrin, Thelma Austern
Fitzroy, Nancy (Deloye)
Flugge Lotz, Irmgard
Garmire, Elsa (Meints)
Gast, Alice P.
Gilbreth, Lillian E. Moller
Goldwasser, Shafrira
Good, Mary (Lowe)
Graham, Susan Lois
Hamilton, Margaret
Hicks, Beatrice Alice
Hutchins, Sandra Elaine
Hwang, Jennie S.
Irwin, Mary Jane
Jackson, Shirley Ann
Johnson, Barbara Crawford
Johnston, Mary Helen
Jones, Anita Katherine
Kempf, Martine
Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf, Doris
Levelt-Sengers, Johanna Maria Henrica
Liskov, Barbara Huberman
Matthews, Alva T.
Mitchell, Mildred Bessie
Napadensky, Hyla Sarane (Siegel)
Nichols, Roberta J.
Ochoa, Ellen
Pate-Cornell, (Marie) Elisabeth
Lucienne
Patrick, Jennie R.
Peden, Irene (Carswell)
Pressman, Ada Irene
Scientists by Discipline | 1009
Rand, (Marie) Gertrude
Resnik, Judith A.
Roy, Delia Martin
Savitz, Maxine (Lazarus)
Schwan, Judith A.
Shaw, Mary M.
Taylor, Kathleen Christine
Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes
Widnall, Sheila (Evans)
Wu, Ying-Chu (Lin) Susan
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
Abriola, Linda M.
Ancker-Johnson, Betsy
Anderson, Mary P.
Baetjer, Anna Medora
Beattie, Mollie Hanna
Berenbaum, May Roberta
Berkowitz, Joan B.
Bonta, Marcia (Myers)
Braun, (Emma) Lucy
Braun, Annette Frances
Cady, Bertha Louise Chapman
Caldicott, Helen Mary (Broinowski)
Carson, Rachel Louise
Cleave, Mary L.
Colmenares, Margarita H.
Cox, Geraldine Anne (Vang)
Davis, Margaret Bryan
DeFries, Ruth
Drake, Elisabeth (Mertz)
Ehrlich, Anne (Fitzhugh) Howland
Grasselli (Brown), Jeanette
Hamerstrom, Frances (Flint)
Hamilton, Alice
Haschemeyer, Audrey E. V.
LaBastille, Anne
Leopold, Estella Bergere
Libby, Leona Woods Marshall
Lubchenco, Jane
Margulis, Lynn (Alexander)
Matson, Pamela Anne
McCammon, Helen Mary (Choman)
McCoy, Elizabeth Florence
McWhinnie, Mary Alice
Moore, Emmeline
Morgan, Ann Haven
Nichols, Roberta J.
Patch, Edith Marion
Patrick, Ruth
Ray, (Marguerite) Dixy Lee
Rissler, Jane Francina
Roberts, Edith Adelaide
Savitz, Maxine (Lazarus)
Scott, Juanita (Simons)
Shields, Lora Mangum
Shotwell, Odette Louise
Solomon, Susan
Stickel, Lucille Farrier
Taylor, Kathleen Christine
Tilden, Josephine Elizabeth
Weisburger, Elizabeth Amy (Kreiser)
1010 I Scientists by Discipline
Genetics
Adams, (Amy) Elizabeth
Altmann, Margaret
Bennett, Joan Wennstrom
Blackburn, Elizabeth
Carothers, (Estrella) Eleanor
Chilton, Mary-Dell (Matchett)
Fausto-Sterling, Anne
Fedoroff, Nina Vsevolod
Fuchs, Elaine V.
Fuchs, Elaine V.
Giblett, Eloise Rosalie
Greider, Carol W.
Harris, Mary (Styles)
Hoy, Marjorie Ann (Wolf)
Huang, Alice Shih-Hou
Hubbard, Ruth (Hoffman)
Jones, Mary Ellen
Kidwell, Margaret Gale
Kimble, Judith
King, Helen Dean
King, Mary-Claire
Krim, Mathilde (Galland)
Long, Sharon (Rugel)
Macklin, Madge Thurlow
Margulis, Lynn (Alexander)
McClintock, Barbara
Mintz, Beatrice
Nelkin, Dorothy (Wolfers)
Neufeld, Elizabeth (Fondal)
Pardue, Mary Lou
Rissler, Jane Francina
Rowley, Janet Davison
Russell, Elizabeth Shull
Sager, Ruth
Shapiro, Lucille (Cohen)
Singer, Maxine (Frank)
Steitz, Joan (Argetsinger)
Stroud-Lee, F. Agnes Naranjo
Tilghman, Shirley M.
Villa-Komaroff, Lydia
Waelsch, Salome Gluecksohn
Walbot, Virginia Elizabeth
Wexler, Nancy Sabin
Witkin, Evelyn Maisel
Geography
Baber, Mary Arizona "Zonia"
Bell, Gwen (Dru'yor)
Boyd, Louise Arner
DeFries, Ruth
Fischer, Irene (Kaminka)
Semple, Ellen Churchill
Tharp, Marie
Geology
Anderson, Mary P.
Banfield, Jillian F.
Bascom, Florence
Bunce, Elizabeth Thompson
Scientists by Discipline | 101 I
Davis, Margaret Bryan
Donnay, Gabrielle (Hamburger)
Dreschhoff, Gisela Auguste-Marie
Fowler Billings, Katharine Stevens
Gardner, Julia Anna
Goldring, Winifred
Herzenberg, Caroline Stuart
(Littlejohn)
Kieffer, Susan Werner
Knopf, Eleanora Frances Bliss
Lochman Balk, Christina
Loeblich, Helen Nina Tappan
Marvin, Ursula Bailey
Maury, Carlotta Joaquina
McCammon, Helen Mary (Choman)
McNutt, Marcia Kemper
Michel, Helen (Vaughn)
Navrotsky, Alexandra A. S.
Ocampo, Adriana C.
Ogilvie, Ida Helen
Owens, Joan Murrell
Palmer, Katherine Hilton Van Winkle
Peden, Irene (Carswell)
Romanowicz, Barbara
Roy, Delia Martin
Schwarzer, Theresa Flynn
Sullivan, Kathryn D.
Talbot, Mignon
Tharp, Marie
Wood, Elizabeth Armstrong
Zoback, Mary Lou
Mathematics
Bates, Grace Elizabeth
Berger, Marsha J.
Bertell, Rosalie
Butler, Margaret K.
Clarke, Edith
Cox, Gertrude Mary
Daubechies, Ingrid
Davis, Ruth Margaret
Fischer, Irene (Kaminka)
Flugge Lotz, Irmgard
Geiringer (Von Mises), Hilda
Granville, Evelyn (Boyd)
Greibach, Sheila Adele
Hazlett, Olive Clio
Hopper, Grace Murray
Karp, Carol Ruth (Vander Velde)
Kopell, Nancy J.
Luchins, Edith Hirsch
Menken, Jane Ava (Golubitsky)
Morawetz, Cathleen (Synge)
Partee, Barbara (Hall)
Pour-El, Marian Boykan
Rees, Mina Spiegel
Robinson, Julia Bowman
Rosenblatt, Joan (Raup)
Rudin, Mary Ellen (Estill)
Sammet, Jean Elaine
Taussky-Todd, Olga
Uhlenbeck, Karen (Keskulla)
Wheeler, Anna Johnson Pell
1012 | Scientists by Discipline
Wheeler, Mary F.
Wright, Margaret H.
Wrinch, Dorothy Maud
Medicine
Apgar, Virginia
Avery, Mary Ellen
Broome, Claire Veronica
Caldicott, Helen Mary (Broinowski)
Crosby, Elizabeth Caroline
Delgado, Jane L.
Densen-Gerber, Judianne
Dick, Gladys Rowena Henry
Elders, (Minnie) Joycelyn (Jones)
Ferguson, Angela Dorothea
Fisher, Anna L.
Gayle, Helene Doris
Graham, Frances (Keesler)
Harris, Jean Louise
Harrison-Ross, Phyllis Ann
Healy, Bernadine Patricia
Horstmann, Dorothy Millicent
Hyde, Ida Henrietta
Jackson, Jacquelyne Mary (Johnson)
Jemison, Mae Carol
Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth
Lancaster, Cleo
Leeman, Susan (Epstein)
LEsperance, Elise Depew Strang
Long, Irene (Duhart)
Love, Susan M.
Lubic, Ruth (Watson)
Macklin, Madge Thurlow
Mc Sherry, Diana Hartridge
Mendenhall, Dorothy Reed
New, Maria (Iandolo)
Nielsen, Jerri Lin
Northrup, Christiane
Novello, Antonia (Coello)
Pearce, Louise
Pert, Candace Dorinda (Bebe)
Pool, Judith Graham
Profet, Margie
Ramaley, Judith (Aitken)
Ramey, Estelle Rosemary White
Rand, (Marie) Gertrude
Ranney, Helen Margaret
Rolf, Ida P.
Rowley, Janet Davison
Sabin, Florence Rena
Seddon, Margaret Rhea
Shalala, Donna Edna
Sinkford, Jeanne Frances (Craig)
Spurlock, Jeanne
Taussig, Helen Brooke
Wattleton, (Alyce) Faye
Wilhelmi, Jane Anne Russell
Williams, Anna Wessels
Scientists by Discipline | 1013
Meteorology
Ackerman, Bernice
Austin, Pauline Morrow
Kalnay, Eugenia
Ledley, Tamara (Shapiro)
Neurosciences
Brown, Barbara B.
Crosby, Elizabeth Caroline
Diamond, Marian Cleeves
Estrin, Thelma Austern
Fromkin, Victoria Alexandria
(Landish)
Goldman-Rakic, Patricia
Graybiel, Ann Martin
Hockfield, Susan
Jameson, Dorothea A.
LeMone, Margaret Anne
Simpson, Joanne Malkus (Gerould)
Van Straten, Florence Wilhemina
Jan, Lily
Kanwisher, Nancy
Leeman, Susan (Epstein)
Levi Montalcini, Rita
Micheli-Tzanakou, Evangelia
Pert, Candace Dorinda (Bebe)
Spelke, Elizabeth
Treisman, Anne
Wexler, Nancy Sabin
Nutrition & Home Economics
Aberle, Sophie Bledsoe
Brody, Jane Ellen
Brooks, Carolyn (Branch)
Calloway, Doris (Howes)
Carey, Susan E.
Cori, Gerty Theresa Radnitz
Edwards, Cecile Hoover
Emerson, Gladys Anderson
Guttman, Helene Augusta (Nathan)
Leverton, Ruth Mandeville
MacLeod, Grace
Macy-Hoobler, Icie Gertrude
Marlatt, Abby Lillian
Mitchell, Helen Swift
Morgan, Agnes Fay
Pennington, Mary Engle
Roberts, Lydia Jane
Rose, Flora
Rose, Mary Davies Swartz
Stadtman, Thressa Campbell
Stanley, Louise
Stearns, Genevieve
Stern, Frances
Stiebeling, Hazel Katherine
Van Rensselaer, Martha
1014 | Scientists by Discipline
Ocean Sciences
Avery, Susan K.
Bunce, Elizabeth Thompson
Clark, Eugenie
Colwell, Rita (Rossi)
Crane, Kathleen
Earle, Sylvia Alice
Harvey, Ethel Browne
Haschemeyer, Audrey E. V.
Hibbard, Hope
La Monte, Francesca Raimond
Lubchenco, Jane
McCammon, Helen Mary (Choman)
McNutt, Marcia Kemper
McWhinnie, Mary Alice
Owens, Joan Murrell
Ray, (Marguerite) Dixy Lee
Romanowicz, Barbara
Sullivan, Kathryn D.
Sweeney, (Eleanor) Beatrice Marcy
Tharp, Marie
Tilden, Josephine Elizabeth
Young, Roger Arliner
Paleontology
Davis, Margaret Bryan
Edinger, Tilly
Gardner, Julia Anna
Goldring, Winifred
Leopold, Estella Bergere
Lochman Balk, Christina
Loeblich, Helen Nina Tappan
Maury, Carlotta Joaquina
Michel, Helen (Vaughn)
Owens, Joan Murrell
Palmer, Katherine Hilton Van Winkle
Shipman, Pat
Talbot, Mignon
Physics
Ajzenberg-Selove, Fay
Ancker-Johnson, Betsy
Anslow, Gladys Amelia
Blodgett, Katharine Burr
Chasman, Renate (Wiener)
Conwell, Esther Marly
De Planque, E. Gail
Dewitt-Morette, Cecile Andree Paule
Dreschhoff, Gisela Auguste-Marie
Dresselhaus, Mildred (Spiewak)
Edwards, Helen Thom
Gaillard, Mary Katharine (Ralph)
Garmire, Elsa (Meints)
Goeppert-Mayer, Maria
Goldhaber, Gertrude Scharff
Greene, Laura
Herzenberg, Caroline Stuart
(Littlejohn)
Scientists by Discipline | 1015
Jackson, Shirley Ann
Jan, Lily
Karle, Isabella Helen Lugoski
Keller, Evelyn Fox
Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf, Doris
Laird, Elizabeth Rebecca
Levelt-Sengers, Johanna Maria
Henrica
Libby, Leona Woods Marshall
Lubkin, Gloria (Becker)
Maltby, Margaret Eliza
Micheli-Tzanakou, Evangelia
Mielczarek, Eugenie Vorburger
Mitchell, Joan L.
Nickerson, Dorothy
Phillips, Melba Newell
Prichard, Diana (Garcia)
Quimby, Edith Hinkley
Ride, Sally Kristen
Sarachik, Myriam Paula
(Morgenstein)
Spaeth, Mary Louise
Stoll, Alice Mary
Thornton, Kathryn (Cordell)
Warga, Mary Elizabeth
Way, Katharine
Weertman, Julia (Randall)
Wu, Chien-Shiung
Yalow, Rosalyn Sussman
Primatology
Altmann, Jeanne
Fossey, Dian
Hrdy, Sarah C. (Blaffer)
Small, Meredith F.
Psychiatry & Psychology
Attneave, Carolyn (Lewis)
Bartoshuk, Linda
Brothers, Joyce Diane (Bauer)
Carey, Susan E.
Chesler, Phyllis
Cowings, Patricia Suzanne
Delgado, Jane L.
Densen-Gerber, Judianne
Downey, June Etta
Fromkin, Victoria Alexandria
(Landish)
Gibson, Eleanor Jack
Gilbreth, Lillian E. Moller
Gleitman, Lila R.
Goldman-Rakic, Patricia
Goodenough, Florence Laura
Gordon (Moore), Kate
Graham, Frances (Keesler)
Graham, Norma
Graybiel, Ann Martin
Harrison-Ross, Phyllis Ann
1016 | Scientists by Discipline
Hatfield, Elaine Catherine
Hollingworth, Leta Anna Stetter
Horner, Matina (Souretis)
Howard (Beckham), Ruth Winifred
Howes, Ethel Puffer
Jameson, Dorothea A.
Johnson (Masters), Virginia
(Eshelman)
Kanwisher, Nancy
Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth
Ladd Franklin, Christine
Maccoby, Eleanor (Emmons)
Mitchell, Mildred Bessie
Nice, Margaret Morse
Partee, Barbara (Hall)
Payton, Carolyn (Robertson)
Rand, (Marie) Gertrude
Reinisch, June Machover
Scarr, Sandra (Wood)
Spelke, Elizabeth
Spurlock, Jeanne
Treisman, Anne
Turkle, Sherry
Washburn, Margaret Floy
Weisstein, Naomi
Westheimer, (Karola) Ruth (Siegel)
Wexler, Nancy Sabin
Woolley, Helen Bradford Thompson
Zoology
Adams, (Amy) Elizabeth
Bailey, Florence Augusta Merriam
Berenbaum, May Roberta
Boring, Alice Middleton
Braun, Annette Frances
Brooks, Matilda Moldenhauer
Cady, Bertha Louise Chapman
Carothers, (Estrella) Eleanor
Carson, Rachel Louise
Clark, Eugenie
Guthrie, Mary Jane
Hamerstrom, Frances (Flint)
Harvey, Ethel Browne
Hibbard, Hope
Hoy, Marjorie Ann (Wolf)
Hughes Schrader, Sally (Peris)
Hyman, Libbie Henrietta
La Monte, Francesca Raimond
Lewis, Margaret Adaline Reed
McCracken, (Mary) Isabel
Morgan, Ann Haven
Moss, Cynthia Jane
Nice, Margaret Morse
Patch, Edith Marion
Payne, Nellie Maria de Cottrell
Peckham, Elizabeth Gifford
Peebles, Florence
Pitelka, Dorothy Riggs
Poole, Joyce
Ray, (Marguerite) Dixy Lee
Rudnick, Dorothea
Russell, Elizabeth Shull
Scientists by Discipline | 1017
Scharrer, Berta Vogel
Stickel, Lucille Farrier
Waelsch, Salome Gluecksohn
West-Eberhard, Mary Jane
Witkin, Evelyn Maisel
Young, Roger Arliner
Other
Angier, Natalie
Bunting (Smith), Mary Ingraham
Baca Zinn, Maxine
Jackson, Jacquelyne Mary (Johnson)
Kanter, Rosabeth (Moss)
Menken, Jane Ava (Golubitsky)
Nelkin, Dorothy (Wolfers)
Reskin, Barbara F.
Riley, Matilda (White)
Chronology
1902 Florence Sabin appointed the first female faculty member at Johns
Hopkins Medical School
1903 Marie Curie shares Nobel Prize in Physics with her husband, Pierre
Curie, and Antoine Henri Becquerel
1911 Marie Curie awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry
1919 Toxicologist Alice Hamilton appointed to faculty of Harvard Medical
School, the first female faculty member in any Harvard department
1920 American women gain the right to vote with passage of the Nineteenth
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
1921 Margaret Sanger founds American Birth Control League
1923 Chemist Louise Stanley becomes head of the Bureau of Home
Economics, the first woman to lead a division at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA)
1925 Florence Sabin is the first woman elected to the National Academy of
Sciences
1928 Anthropologist Margaret Mead publishes Coming of Age in Samoa
1935 Irene Joliot-Curie, daughter of Pierre and Marie Curie, shares Nobel
Prize in Chemistry with her husband, Frederic Joliot
1937 Mount Holyoke chemistry professor Fmma Carr is the first recipient of
the Garvan Medal of the American Chemical Society, awarded to a
woman chemist each year
1940 Elsie Clews Parsons named the first female president of the American
Anthropological Association
1019
1020 | Chronology
1942 The U.S. government begins secret project known as the Manhattan
Project to develop nuclear weapons, employing many female scientists,
engineers, and researchers
1943 Committee of the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board (FNB), chaired by
nutritionist Lydia Roberts and including several other female research-
ers, publishes new Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) guidelines
for nutrients and vitamins
1947 Biochemist Gerty Cori shares Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
with her husband, Carl F. Cori
1948 Electrical engineer and mathematician Edith Clarke is first
woman elected a fellow of the American Institute of Electrical
Engineers
1950 Physician, nutritionist, and anthropologist Sophie Aberle is first female
member of the National Science Board
Rachel Brown and Elizabeth Hazen develop the antibiotic nystatin
Beatrice Hicks helps found the Society of Women Engineers (S WE) and
serves as first president
1953 Physician Virginia Apgar publishes her Apgar scale, which becomes
standard test for assessing responses and health of babies at birth
1955 Chemist Patsy Sherman is co-inventor of Scotchgard Fabric Protector
for3M
1958 U.S. government creates National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA)
1960 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves a combined
hormone oral contraceptive ("the pill")
1962 Environmental biologist Rachel Carson publishes the book Silent Spring
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded to Francis
Crick, James Watson, and Maurice Wilkins for the discovery of DNA,
research to which British crystallographer Rosalind Franklin also
contributed
1963 Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tershkova is the first woman in space
Maria Goeppert-Mayer is co-recipient of Nobel Prize in Physics
Chronology | 1021
1964 British chemist Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin receives Nobel Prize in
Chemistry
U.S. Congress passes Civil Rights Act, which includes legislation against
sex and race discrimination in employment and federal programs
1965 Chemist Stephanie Kwolek develops Kevlar synthetic material for
DuPont
Engineer and industrial psychologist Lillian Gilbreth is first woman
elected to National Academy of Engineering
Endocrinologist Helen Taussig named first woman president of the
American Heart Association
1966 National Organization for Women (NOW) is founded
1968 Biological and environmental scientists Anne Ehrlich and Paul Ehrlich
publish the controversial book The Population Bomb
1970 Economist Marina v. N. Whitman is first woman named to the Presi-
dent's Council of Economic Advisors
1971 Mina Rees named first female president of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
1972 Title IX of the Educational Amendments to the Civil Rights Act prohibits
discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded educational pro-
grams
1973 The book Our Bodies, Ourselves is published by Boston Women's Health
Book Collective
1976 Margaret Burbidge is named first woman president of the American
Astronomical Society
1977 Economist Juanita Kreps is named first woman secretary of the U.S.
Department of Commerce
Rosalyn Yalow is co-recipient of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Psychologist Carolyn Payton is named first woman director of the Peace
Corps
1978 NASA opens astronaut program to first group of six women
Organic chemist Anna Harrison elected the first woman president of the
American Chemical Society
1022 | Chronology
1981 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control first identifies the HIV virus that
causes AIDS
NASA launches first space shuttle
1983 Sally Ride is first American woman in space
Julia Robinson is first woman elected president of the American
Mathematical Society
Geneticist Barbara McClintock receives Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine
1986 Neurologist Rita Levi-Montalcini is co-recipient of Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine
Nancy Fitzroy is first female president of American Society of Mechani-
cal Engineers
1987 Anthropologist Johnnetta Cole is first black woman president of Spelman
College, the United States' oldest historically black college for women
1988 Gertrude Elion is co-recipient of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1990 Pediatrician Antonia Novello is named first female (and first Hispanic)
U.S. Surgeon General
Hubble Space Telescope is launched
1991 Cardiologist Bernadine Healy is first woman to head the National Insti-
tutes of Health
1992 American Association of University Women (AAUW) publishes report
on How Schools Shortchange Girls
1993 Economist Alice Rivlin named first director of the new Congressional
Budget Office
Aeronautics engineer Sheila Widnall named Secretary of the U.S. Air
Force, the first woman to lead a branch of the military
Pediatrician Joycelyn Elders is second woman (and first African Ameri-
can) to be named U.S. Surgeon General
Ms. Foundation begins "Take Our Daughters to Work Day"
1995 German biologist Christiane Niisslein-Volhard is co-recipient of Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Chronology | 1023
Theoretical physicist Shirley Ann Jackson is first woman to serve as
chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
1998 Marine scientist Rita Colwell named first female director of the National
Science Foundation (NSF)
Jane Henney named first female Commissioner of the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA)
1999 Physicist Shirley Ann Jackson becomes first female president of
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
2000 Rodica Baranescu elected first woman president of the Society of Auto-
motive Engineers (SAE)
2001 U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) establishes Office of Women to
focus medical studies and research specific to women
Biologist Shirley M. Tilghman is named first female president of
Princeton University
Physicist Shirley Ann Jackson is first African American woman to be
elected to the National Academy of Engineering
2002 Peggy Whitson is first woman commander of the International Space
Station
2003 A draft of the full Human Genome Project is completed
2004 Neurobiologist Susan Hockfield is named first woman president of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Biologist Linda Buck is co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine
2005 Harvard University President Lawrence Summers delivers controversial
remarks at conference on "Diversifying the Science & Engineering
Workforce"
2006 Chemical engineer Alice P. Gast named first female president of Lehigh
University
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is made available for prevention
of cervical cancer
2007 Astrophysicist France Cordova is named first female president of Pur-
due University
1024 | Chronology
2008 French virologist Francoise Barre-Sinoussi is co-recipient of Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine
Karen LuJean Nyberg is the fiftieth American woman in space
Oceanographer Susan Avery is named first female director of the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution
2009 Marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco is named head of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Geophysicist Marcia McNutt is named head of the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS)
Biologists Carol Greider and Elizabeth Blackburn are co-recipients of
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Elinor Ostrom is co-recipient of Nobel Prize in Economics, the first
woman Nobel Laureate in that category
Israeli scientist Ada Yonath is co-recipient of Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Index
AAA. See American Association of
Anthropology
AAAS. See American Association for the
Advancement of Science
AAUW. See American Association
of University Women
Aberle, Sophie Bledsoe, 1020; anthropologist
and nutritionist, 179; career, 179 180;
education, 179; photo, 180; professional
associations, 180; professional
experience, 179
A Birding on a Bronco (Bailey), 212
Abriola, Linda M.: civil engineer, 181;
concurrent positions, 181; education, 181;
photo, 181; professional associations,
181 182; professional experience, 181
Academia: adjunct faculty, 29; affirmative
action for women, 33; Asian Americans, 56;
assistant or associate professor, 28;
astronomy, 76; biochemistry, 78 79; botany,
93; chemistry, 99; deans, 29; department
chairs, 29; discrimination on the job, 32 33;
economics, 109; female scientists, 93; few
women at highest level, 3 1 32; full
professor, 28 29; gender discrimination in
hiring, 31; geology, 128 129; instructors,
29; jobs for women scientists, 28 34; leaky
pipeline, 31 32; limitations of employment,
42 43; medicine, 137 138; names left off
faculty rosters, 30; problems hiring women,
30 31; provosts, 29; psychologists, 168;
publication pressures, 38; scientists
organized by scientific disciplines, 29;
sociologists, 172; status of women in,
surveys of, 30; tenure, 38; university and
college presidents, 29; women not
welcomed in, 43; women's numbers rising,
29; work/life balance problem, 32
Academic feminism, 13
Ackerman, Bernice: Argonne National
Laboratory, 143; career, 183; Cloud Physics
Laboratory, 143; education, 182; first
woman weather forecaster, 143;
meteorologist, 182; professional
associations, 183; professional
experience, 182
ACM. See Association of Computing
Machinery
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
(AIDS), 51
Acquiring Genomes: A Theory of the Origins
of Species (Sagan and Margulis), 657
ACS. See American Chemical Society
Acta Crystallographica, 436
Actae, A First Lesson in Natural History
(Agassiz), 83
Adams, (Amy) Elizabeth: career, 183 184;
concurrent positions, 183; courses taught by,
177; education, 183; professional
associations, 184; professional experience,
183; zoologist, 183
Ada programming language, 101
Adelman, Irma Glicman: career, 184 185;
concurrent positions, 184; economist, 184;
professional associations, 185; professional
experience, 184
l-l
1-2 | Index
Adjunct faculty, 29
Adolescents After Divorce (Maccoby,
Buchanan, and Dornbusch), 645
ADP Ribosylating Toxins and G Proteins:
Insights into Signal Transduction, 938
Advances in Mathematics, 910
Advances in Resist Technology and
Processing VI, 791
Advances in Understanding Genetic Changes
in Cancer, 820
The Adventure of the Stone Man
(Hamerstrom), 478
Adventures of a Physicist (Alvarez), 688
Aerodynamics, 61
Aeronomy of the Middle Atmosphere:
Chemistry and Physics of the Stratosphere
and Mesosphere (Solomon and
Brasseur), 879
Aerospace science, 61 65. See also Astronomy
and Astrophysics; Engineering; Physics;
astronomers, 64; astrophysicists, 64;
physiologists, 64; professional
organizations, 65; psychologists, 64; women
engineers and scientists, 63 64
A Feeling for the Organism: The Life of
Barbara McClintock, 568
African American families gender
expectations, 55
African American women, 54 56; advantages
and disadvantages, 55; early successes in
sciences, 54 55; issues facing
communities, 57
Agassiz, Elizabeth Cabot Cary, 128; Anderson
School of Natural History, 83; first president
of Radcliffe College, 83; naturalist, 83;
Thayer expedition to Brazil, 83
Agassiz, Louis, 83
Age and Structural Lag: Society's Failure to
Provide Meaningful Opportunities in Work,
Family, and Leisure, 801
Aging in Sub Saharan Africa, 687
Agogino, Alice M.: career, 186; concurrent
positions, 185; education, 185; mechanical
engineer, 185; professional associations, 186;
professional experience, 185
Agricultural sciences, women's numbers in, 42
Agricultural Strategies (Marcus and
Stanish), 654
Agriculture, 66; as women's work, 91 92
Agriculture related fields, 3
Agronomy, 91
AHEA. See American Home Economics
Association
AIDS. See Acquired immune deficiency
syndrome
AIDS: The Ultimate Challenge
(Kiibler Ross), 589
Air Force, training women as pilots, 63
Ajzenberg Selove, Fay: career, 187; concurrent
positions, 187; education, 187; nuclear
physicist, 187; professional experience, 187;
professional organizations, 187 188
Alchemy, 96
Alexander, Annie Montague, 156
The Algae and Their Life Relations
(Tilden), 918
Alice Eastwood's Wonderland:The Adventures
of a Botanist (Wilson), 362
All American Women: Lines That Divide, Ties
That Bind (Cole), 306
Allen, Frances, 103
All in a Lifetime (Westheimer), 962
Altmann, Jeanne, 16; anthropologist and
primatologist, 188; baboon genetics,
demography, and behavior, 166; career,
188 189; concurrent positions, 188; education,
188; photo, 189; professional associations,
189; professional experience, 188; public
education and preservation efforts, 177
Altmann, Margaret: animal science, 189;
biologist, 189; career, 190; concurrent
positions, 190; education, 189; professional
associations, 190; professional experience,
189 190
Alvarez, Luis, 129, 688
Alvarez, Walter, 574, 688, 726
AMA. See American Medical Association
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 76
American aerospace science industry and
astronaut training programs, 61
American Anthropological Association, 69,
71, 180
Index | 1-3
American Anthropologist journal, 950
American Antiquity journal, 950
The American Arbacia and Other Sea Urchins
(Harvey), 493
American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS), 1 2, 76, 92, 180; National
Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists
and Technical Professionals
(NOGLSTP), 58
American Association of Anatomists, 136
American Association of Anthropology
(AAA), 70
American Association of Medical
Colleges, 138
American Association of University
Professors, 30
American Association of University Women
(AAUW), 19
American Astronautical Society, 63
American Astronomical Society, 2, 73;
Committee on the Status of Women in
Astronomy, 76 77
American Birth Control League, 88 89
American Bryological and Lichenological
Society, 92
American Cancer Society, 89
American Capitalism and Global
Convergence, 968
American Chemical Society (ACS), 78, 97
American Crystallographic Association, 108
American Cyanamid Company, 44
American Dental Association, 2
American Economic Association (AEA)
Committee on the Status of Women in the
Economics Profession, 109
American Ferns: How to Know, Grow,
and Use Them (Roberts),
806 807
American Fisheries Society, 118
American Geological Union, 130
The American Geologist, 217
American Geophysical Union, 182
American Health for Women magazine, 503
American Heart Association, 15, 90, 140
American History and Its Geographic
Conditions (Semple), 848
American Home Economics Association
(AHEA), 149
American Indian Science & Engineering
Society, 58
American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics, 63, 65
American Institute of Nutrition, 149
American Institute of Physics, 162
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 845
American Journal of Human Genetics, 429
American Journal of Physical
Anthropology, 267
American Journal of Physiology, 973
American Journal of Psychology, 949
American Journal of Science, 332, 907
American Journal of Sociology, 172
American Malacological Union, 157
American Medical Association (AMA), 1, 135,
180; female president and vice president,
137; first female member, 4
American Medical Women's Association
(AMWA): statement on lesbian health
(1993), 58
American Meteorological Society, 143 144
American Museum of Natural History, 1 2, 69,
154, 177
American Physical Society, 2
American Physiological Society, 137
American Phytopathological Society, 94
American Plants for American Gardens: Plant
Ecology, the Study of Plants in Relation to
Their Environment, 806
American Psychiatric Association, 167
American Psychological Association, 167
American Psychologist journal, 697, 750
American Red Cross, 140
American Society for Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology (ASBMB), 78
American Society of Animal Science, 67
American Society of Biological Chemists, 78
American Society of Civil Engineers, 2
American Society of Geologists and
Naturalists, 130
American Society of Microbiology, 56
American Society of Plant Biologists, 94
American Society of Plant Taxonomists, 93 94
1-4 | Index
American Sociological Association (ASA), 172
American Sociological Review, 801
American Statistical Association, 133, 136
American Trade Policy: A Tragedy in the
Making (Krueger), 588
American Women Afield: Writings by
Pioneering Women Naturalists (Bonta), 244
American women in science: history of, 1 7
American Women in Science: 1950 to the
Present (Bailey), xxi xxii
American Women in Science: Volume 1
(Bailey), xxi xxii
American women's health movement, 140
AMWA. See American Medical Women's
Association
Anaerobic Bacteria and Their Activities in
Nature and Disease, 673
Analyst journal, 597
The Analytical Approach (Grasselli), 458
Analytical Biochemistry, 785
An Anthropologist on Mars (Sacks), 455
Anatomy, 81
Anatomy of Seed Plants (Esau), 377
The Ancient City (Marcus and Sabloff), 655
Ancker Johnson, Betsy: automotive industry's
role in global climate change, 119; career,
191; concurrent positions, 191; education,
190; environmental policy, 161; fuel
efficient car advocate, 161; professional
associations, 191 192; professional experi
ence, 190 191; solid state physicist, 190;
vice president of General Motors
Corporation, 44
Andean Civilization (Marcus and
Williams), 655
Anderson, Gloria (Long): career, 192 193;
chemist, 192; concurrent positions, 192;
education, 192; professional associations,
193; professional experience, 192
Anderson, John, 472
Anderson, Mary P.: career, 193 194;
concurrent positions, 193; education, 193;
geologist and hydrologist, 193; professional
associations, 194; professional
experience, 193
Andrews, Lori B., 710
Angier, Natalie: career, 195; concurrent
positions, 195; education, 194; professional
associations, 195; professional experience,
194 195; science writer, 46, 194
Animal biologists research on human health
and disease, 177
The Animal Mind, 948
Animal Pets: A Study in Character and Nature
Education (Cady), 276
Animals: care as helping profession, 66;
physical characteristics, behavior, and
evolution, 174
The Animals and Man, 674
Animal sciences: See also Biochemistry;
Environmental Sciences and Ecology;
Genetics; Nutrition; Zoology; careers, 66;
college programs, 65; farming and
commercial agriculture, 67; professional
organizations, 67; veterinary science, 65 66
Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries
of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior
(Grandin), 454
Anker, Suzanne, 710
Annals of Mathematics, 965
Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, 825
Anning, Joseph, 157
Anning, Mary, 633; British Association
for the Advancement of Science, 156;
fossil collector and paleontologist,
156 157
An Annotated Bibliography of Sources on
Plains Indian Art (Archambault), 200
An Annotated Catalog of the Spermatophytes
of Kentucky (Braun), 249
Annual Review of Environment and
Resources, 665
Anslow, Gladys Amelia: career,196 197;
concurrent positions, 196; education, 196;
physicist, 196; professional associations,
197; professional experience, 196
Antheil, George, 5
Anthropologists, 69 70
Anthropology, 68 72; associations, 70; gender
identity, 70; "Lucy" (Australopithecus
afarensis), 72; patriarchy, 70; sexual
Index | 1-5
orientation, 70; subfields or specialties, 68;
women's liberation movement, 70
Anthropology for the Eighties (Cole), 306
Anthropology for the Nineties: Introductory
Readings (Cole), 306
Anthropology Now, 66 1
Anthropology Today journal, 950
Anyone Can Grow Roses, 958
The Ape in the Tree: An Intellectual and
Natural History of Proconsul (Shipman
and Walker), 859
Apgar, Virginia, 1020; Apgar scoring system,
137, 139; career, 197 198; Columbia
University's medical school, 137; concurrent
positions, 197; education, 197; pediatrician,
197; photo, 139; professional associations,
198; professional experience, 197
Appalachian Autumn (Bonta), 244
Appalachian Spring (Bonta), 244
Appalachian Summer (Bonta), 244
Appalachian Winter (Bonta), 244
Applied Dietetics (Stern), 891 892
Applied Groundwater Modeling (Anderson
and Woessner), 194
Applied Motion Study (Gilbreth), 431
Applied sciences and mathematics, 131
Archaeological Explanation: The Scientific
Method in Archaeology, 950
Archaeologists: alternate female past, 70 71;
exotic peoples and cultures, 71; gendered
divisions of labor, 70; prejudices and
obstacles, 71; professional organizations,
71 72; stereotypes, 71; women as, 71;
women's economic contributions, 70;
women's material past, 70
Archaeology, 68 72, 155; established as
academic discipline (1930s), 71; husband
wife teams, 71
The Archaeology of Cook Inlet, Alaska
(De Laguna), 336
Archaeology of the Mammoth Cave Area
(Watson), 950
Archaeology of the Mariana Islands
(Thompson), 916
Archambault, JoAllyn: anthropologist, 199;
career, 199 200; education, 199; museum
program director, 199; photo, 199;
professional associations, 200; professional
experience, 199
Are You Your Garden's Worst Pest? , 958
Argetsinger, Joan Steitz, 890
Argonne National Laboratory, 37, 102,
143; women on slower promotion
track, 38
Arithmetica (Hypatia), 75
Armstrong, Neil, 318
ASBMB. See American Society for
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Asian Americans, 54; doctoral level scientists
and engineers, 56; overrepresentation
in sciences stereotype, 55
ASK Computer Systems, 45, 103
Ask Dr. Ruth, 962
Assistant professor, 28
Associate professor, 28
Association for Advancement of Women, 76
Association for Feminist Anthropology, 70
Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS), 130
Association for Women Geoscientists, 120,
130, 153
Association for Women in Mathematics, 134
Association for Women in Psychology, 170
Association for Women Veterinarians
(AVW), 67
Association of American Geographers, 125
Association of Computing Machinery
(ACM), 103
Association of Women Soil Scientists, 130
Associations for the Advancement for
Women, xix
Astronautics, 61 65. See also Astronomy and
Astrophysics; Engineering; Physics; Anna
Fisher, 63; Eileen Collins, 63; Judith Resnik,
63; Karen LuJean Nyberg, 64; Kathryn
Sullivan, 63; Margaret Rhea Seddon, 63;
Peggy Whitson, 63; professional
organizations, 65; Sally Ride, 62, 63;
Shannon Lucid, 63; Valentina
Tereshkova, 62
Astronauts, 140
Astronomers, 64
1-6 | Index
Astronomical and Astrophysical Society of
America, 2, 73
Astronomical Canon (Hypatia), 73, 75
Astronomy, 73 77; academia, 76; discoveries
and tools developed in pre modern era, 73;
doctorates, 76; greatest advances, 73; obser
vational, 73; professional organizations, 77;
smallest of disciplines, 75; spectroscope and
photography, 73; weather observations and
forecasting, 142
Astronomy at Yale (Hoffleit), 513
Astrophysical Journal, 772
Astrophysicists, 64
Astrophysics, 73 77
A Tale of "O" (Kanter and Stein), 561
Atlantic Monthly, 525
Atlas of Spectral Data and Physical Constants
of Organic Compounds, 458
An Atlas of the Medulla and Mid Brain
(Sabin), 830
Atmospheric Modeling, Data Assimilation
and Predictability (Kalnay), 559
Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables, 953
Atomic Energy Levels, 873
Atoms, 97
Attneave, Carolyn (Lewis): career, 201;
concurrent positions, 201; education, 200;
professional associations, 201 202;
professional experience, 200 201;
psychologist, 200
Audubon magazine, 212
Austin, Pauline Morrow: career, 202;
education, 202; meteorologist, 143, 202;
professional associations, 203; professional
experience, 202
Autism and women, 455
Autobiographies of Three Porno Women
(Colson), 311
Automobile Catalytic Converters (Taylor), 911
Automotive industry, 43
Avery, Mary Ellen, 498; career, 203; education,
203; pediatrician, 203; professional
associations, 203 204; professional
experience, 203
Avery, Susan K., 1024; atmospheric scientist
and oceanographer, 204; career, 204;
concurrent positions, 204; education, 204;
professional associations, 205; professional
experience, 204; Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institute, 45, 144, 152
Aviation Week magazine, 845
AVW. See Association for Women
Veterinarians
Axel, Richard, 266
Babbage, Charles, 101
Baber, Mary Arizona "Zonia":education, 207;
geographer, 207; geography curricula
pioneer, 125; professional associations, 207;
professional experience, 207
Baboon Mothers and Infants (Altman), 189
Baca Zinn, Maxine: career, 208 209;
concurrent positions, 208; education, 208;
professional associations, 209; professional
experience, 208; sociologist, 208
Bach, Emmon, 740
Baetjer, Anna Medora: career, 209 210;
education, 209; physiologist and
toxicologist, 209; professional associations,
210; professional experience, 209
Bahcall, John, 211
Bahcall, Neta: astrophysicist, 210; career, 211;
dark matter, study of, 75; education, 210;
galaxies, research on formation of, 75;
photo, 211; professional associations,
211 212; professional experience, 210 211
Bahr, Jean, 130
Bailey, Florence Augusta Merriam: career, 212;
natural history, wildlife, and birds, books on,
175; professional experience, 212;
professional organizations, 212
Bailey, Martha, xxi xxii; women not
professionally trained as scientists, xxii
Bailey, Vernon, 212
Balk, Christina Lochman, 157
Balk, Robert, 627
Ballard, Martha Moore, 637
Banfield, Jillian E: career, 213 214; concurrent
positions, 213; education, 213; geochemist,
213; professional associations, 214;
professional experience, 213
Baranescu, Rodica, 1023; career, 214 215;
Index | 1-7
education, 214; International Truck and
Engine Corporation, 44; mechanical
engineer, 214; professional associations,
215; professional experience, 214; Society
of Automotive Engineers International, 115
Barnard College, 3, 25, 159
Barre Sinoussi, Francoise: HIV (human
immunodeficiency virus), discovery of, 138;
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
(2008), 138, 999; Pasteur Institute, 138;
Regulation of Retroviral Infections
Unit, 138
Barron, Sean, 455
Bartoshuk, Linda: career, 215 216; education,
215; professional associations, 216;
professional experience, 215;
psychologist, 215
Bascom, Florence, 30, 728; career, 217;
education, 217; first woman scientist hired
at U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 35, 129;
geologist, 129, 217; professional experience,
217; professional organizations, 217
Bascom, John, 217
Basic Geodesy.The Geoid What's That?
(Fischer), 395
Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry
(Caserio), 286
Bates, Grace Elizabeth: algebra and probability
theory, 134; career, 218; education, 218;
mathematician, 218; professional
associations, 219; professional
experience, 218
Bateson, Gregory, 219, 220, 680, 681
Bateson, Mary Catherine, 681; career,
219 220; concurrent positions, 219;
cultural anthropologist and linguist, 219;
education, 219; photo, 220; professional
associations, 220; professional
experience, 219
Beall, Cynthia: anthropologist, 221; career,
221 222; concurrent positions, 221;
education, 221; photo, 221; professional
associations, 222; professional
experience, 221
Beattie, Mollie Hanna: career, 222 223;
education, 222; Endangered Species Act, 119;
forester, 222; government official, 222;
photo, 223; professional associations, 223;
professional experience, 222; U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 119
The Beauty of the Beastly: New Views on the
Nature of Life (Angier), 195
Beckham, Albert, 524
Becquerel, Antoine Henri, 159
Beecher, Catharine, 149
Behaviors, 121; differences between boys
and girls, 1 1
Bell, Gordon, 224
Bell, Gwen (Dru'yor): Association of
Computing Machinery (ACM), 103; career,
224; computerized geographic mapping
system, 126; computer museum founder,
224; education, 224; geographer, 224;
professional experience, 224; professional
organizations, 224
Bell Burnell, Susan Jocelyn, 74
Belles on Their Toes (Gilbreth and Carey), 432
Bell Telephone Laboratories, 107
Benedict, Ruth Fulton: anthropologist, 225;
career, 225 226; education, 225; Franz Boas
and, 69; professional associations, 226;
professional experience, 225
Benerito, Ruth Rogan: career, 226 227;
concurrent positions, 226; education, 226;
patents, 99; photo, 227; polymer chemist,
226; professional associations, 227;
professional experience, 226
Benesch, Reinhold, 228
Benesch, Ruth Erica (Leroi): biochemist, 228;
education, 228; professional associations,
229; professional experience, 228
Bengtson, Ida: U.S. Public Health Service, 35
Benmark, Leslie Ann (Freeman): career,
229 230; concurrent positions, 229;
education, 229; industrial engineer, 229;
professional associations, 230; professional
experience, 229
Bennett, Joan Wennstrom: career, 231;
concurrent positions, 231; education, 230;
plant geneticist, 230; professional
associations, 231; professional
experience, 230
1-8 | Index
Benson, Clara: Canadian chemist and food
scientist, 78
Berenbaum, May Roberta: bees, importance of,
177; concurrent positions, 232; education,
231; entomologist, 231; photo, 232;
professional associations, 233; professional
experience, 231
Berezin, Evelyn: career, 234; computer
scientist and physicist, 234; education, 234;
professional associations, 234; professional
experience, 234; Redactron, founder of, 45;
word processing, 102
Berg, Paul, 870
Berger, Marsha J.: career, 235; computer
scientist, 235; concurrent positions, 235;
education, 235; professional associations,
236; professional experience, 235
Bergere, Luna, 611
Bergere, Starker, 611
Berkowitz, Joan B.: career, 236 237;
concurrent positions, 236; education, 236;
environmental hazards expertise, 119;
physical chemist, 236; professional
associations, 236 237; professional
experience, 236
Berson, Solomon, 992 293
Bertell, Rosalie: biomathematics, 134, 237;
career, 238; concurrent positions, 238;
education, 237; professional associations,
238 239; professional experience, 237 238
The Best American Essays of 1994, 388
The Best American Science and Nature
Writings (Angier), 195
Betrayal of Science & Reason: How Anti
Environmental Rhetoric Threatens Our
Future (Ehrlich and Ehrlich), 367
Better Homes and Gardens, 431
Beyond Jupiter: The Story of Planetary
Astronomer Heidi Hammel (Bortz), 483
Beyond the Dot Coins: The Economic Promise
of the Internet, 805
Bibliography of Fishes, 600
"Big Bang" theory, 73
Billings, Marland Pratt, 405
Bioarchaeology: The Contextual Study
of Human Remains (Buikstra), 268
The Bioarchaeology of Tuberculosis: A Global
View on a Reemerging Disease
(Buikstra), 268
Biochemistry, 77 80, 98 99. See also Biology;
Biomedical Sciences; Chemistry; Genetics;
academia, 78 79; careers, 77 78; chemistry,
95; chemistry or biology, subfield of, 78;
Ph.D.s awarded to women, 78 79
Biochemists, 78
Bioengineers, 84 85
Biofeedback, 145
Biogenic Trace Gases: Measuring Emission
from Soil and Water, 665
Biogeochemistry, 665
Biography of Franklin Paine Mall (Sabin), 830
Biological Abstracts, 673, 748, 749
Biological and family demands, 50
Biological Bulletin journal, 283, 532
Biological Control of Agricultural IPM
Systems, 527
Biological Control of Pests by Mites, 527
Biological determinism, 81
Biological Physics, 69 1
Biological sciences, 83
Biological Woman: The Convenient Myth
(Hubbard), 531
Biologists, 84 85
Biology: See also Biochemistry; Biomedical
Sciences; Botany; Genetics; Medicine;
Neuroscience; Zoology; American women
represented in, 83; anatomy, 81; biological
determinism, 81; doctorates, 83; gender bias,
81; genetics, 121; natural history and, 83;
nutrition science, 148; scientific disciplines,
81 85; sex and gender importance of, 81;
social and cultural assumptions, 82; social
policy and attitudes, 81; stereotypes, 81;
subfields or specialties, 81, 83; zoology, 174
Biomathematics, 134
Biomedical sciences: See also Biochemistry;
Biology; Genetics; Medicine; Neuroscience;
biological functions and sources of disease,
86; human medical conditions, 86;
physiology, 86 87; subjects of research,
88 90; vaccines, development of, 86;
women as patients, 88 90
Index | 1-9
Biometrics Bulletin, 324
Biometric Society, 133
Biophysicists, 84 85
Biotechnology and Materials Science:
Chemistry for the Future (Good), 445
Bipolar Expeditions: Mania and Depression
in American Culture (Martin), 661
Bird Banding, 715
Birding with a Purpose (Hamerstrom), 478
Bird Kingdom of the Mayas (LaBastille), 595
Birds of New Mexico (Bailey), 212
The Birds of Oklahoma (Nice and Nice), 715
Birds of the Mayas (LaBastille), 595
Birds of Village and Field (Bailey), 212
Birds through an Opera Glass (Bailey), 212
Birth control pills, 49, 88
Blackberry Winter: My Earlier Years
(Mead), 681
Blackburn, Elizabeth H., 466, 1024; cancer
research, 87; career, 239 240; cell biologist,
239; education, 239; telomerase enzyme, dis
covery of, 84; Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine (2009), 84, 87, 999; photo, 240; pro
fessional associations, 240 241; professional
experience, 239; telosomeres research, 79
Black Families in Crisis: The Middle
Class, 884
Black Folks in Cities Here and There, 489
Black institutions, 3
Black Man of Zinacantan: A Central American
Legend (Hrdy), 528
Black Psychiatrists and American
Psychiatry, 884
Blackwell, Antoinette Brown, 137
Blackwell, Elizabeth, 137; first woman to earn
medical degree, 135; New York Infirmary
for Women and Children, 136; Women's
Medical College, 136
Blackwell, Emily, 137; New York Infirmary for
Women and Children, 136
Black Women in the Labor Force
(Wallace), 946
Blalock, Dr., 909
The Blazing World (Cavendish), 3
Bliss, Eleanor Albert: bacteriologist, 241;
career, 241 242; concurrent positions, 241;
education, 241; professional associations,
242; professional experience, 241; sulfa
drugs, 86
Blodgett, Katharine Burr: activated charcoal
research, 160; de icing airplane wings, 160;
education, 242; General Electric, employ
ment at, 160; military weather balloons, 160;
nonreflecting glass development, 44; photo,
243, 984; physicist, 242; professional asso
ciations, 243; professional experience, 242
Boas, Franz, 69, 225, 336
Bodley, Rachel: first female member of
American Chemical Society (ACS), 97
Body Bazaar: The Market for Human Tissue in
the Biotechnology Age (Nelkin and
Andrews), 710
Boice, Melinda: first calf by in vitro
fertilization, 67
Bond, Judith: ASBMB president, 79
Bonta, Marcia (Myers): career, 244; education,
244; naturalist, 244; professional
associations, 244; professional experience,
244; science writer and nature writer, 46
Book of the Jaguar Priest (Makemson), 651
Boring, Alice Middleton, 174; career, 245 246;
Chinese amphibians and reptiles, taxonomy
of, 175; education, 245; professional
experience, 245; zoologist, 245
Born Early (Avery), 203
Bortz, Fred, 483
Boston Dispensary Food Clinic, 148
Boston Women's Health Book Collective, 140
Botanical Society of America (BSA) female
presidents, 93 94
Botanists and U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), 93
Botany, 90 95. See also Biology;
Environmental Sciences and Ecology;
Genetics; academia, 93; as amateur pursuit,
92; gender bias, 81; language and
metaphors, 82; subfields or specialties, 91
Botany for Beginners (Phelps), 92
Boundless Horizons: Portrait of a Woman
Scientist (Macy Hoobler), 650
Boyd, Louise Arner: Arctic region
explorations, 126; career, 246 247;
1-10 I Index
education, 246; explorer and geographer,
246; International Geographical Congress
(1934), 126; professional experience, 246
Boys: different education than girls, 20;
neglecting physical and emotional needs of,
19; spatial reasoning and brain development,
11; vocational or technical courses, 19
Brain: damage and ancient cultures, 145; male
and female, 147; study of, 144
Brain and Language, 410
Brandegee, Mary Katharine Layne Curran, 92,
361; botanist, 362; California Academy of
Sciences, 93
Brandegee, Townshend
Brasseur, Guy, 879
Braun, Annette Frances: career, 247; education,
247; entomologist, 247; professional
associations, 248; professional experience,
247; research expeditions and preservation
efforts, 176
Braun, Lucy (Emma), 247; botanist, 93, 248;
Ecological Society of America, 118;
ecologist, 93; education, 248; mining, effect
on plant life, 118; plant preserver, 93;
professional associations, 249; professional
experience, 248; research expeditions and
preservation efforts, 176
Breast cancer research, 633
Breast feeding, social controversy over, 82
Bricker, Victoria (Reifler): anthropologist and
ethnologist, 249; career, 249 250;
concurrent positions, 249; education, 249;
professional associations, 250; professional
experience, 249
Bright Start Catalogue (Hoffleit), 513
Brill, Yvonne (Claeys): aerospace engineer and
chemist, 250; career, 251; education, 250;
professional associations, 251; professional
experience, 250 251
Briscoe, Anne M.: biochemist, 252; career,
252; education, 252; professional
associations, 252 253; professional
experience, 252
British Association for the Advancement
of Science, 156
British Royal Society, 84
British women: crystallography, 106;
paleontology, 156
Britton, Elizabeth Knight: botanist and
bryologist, 253; education, 253; New York
Botanical Society, founding of, 92;
professional associations, 253 254;
professional experience, 253; Sullivant Moss
Society, 92
Britton, Nathaniel, 253
Brody, Jane Ellen: career, 254 255; education,
254; nutrition and personal health columnist,
author, and media personality, 149;
nutritionist, 254; professional associations,
255; professional experience, 254; science
writer, 46, 254
Brookhaven National Laboratory, 37
Brooks, Carolyn (Branch): career, 256;
concurrent positions, 256; education, 256;
microbiologist, 256; professional
associations, 256 257; professional
experience, 256
Brooks, Matilda Moldenhauer: career, 257;
education, 257; physiologist, 257;
professional associations, 257; professional
experience, 257
Brooks, Summer Cushing, 257
Broome, Claire Veronica: career, 258 259;
concurrent positions, 258; education, 258;
epidemiologist, 258; professional
associations, 259; professional
experience, 258
Brophy, William S., 179
Brothers, Joyce Diane (Bauer), 169; career,
259 261; education, 259; family,
relationships, and sexuality, 170; mental
health and relationship advice, 46; photo,
260; professional associations, 259; profes
sional experience, 259; psychologist, 259;
television and radio personality, 259
The Brothers System for Liberated Love and
Marriage (Brothers), 260
Brown, Barbara B.: biofeedback research, 145;
career, 261 262; concurrent positions, 261;
education, 261; neurophysiologist and phar
macologist, 261; professional assoc
iations, 262; professional experience, 261
Index | I- 1 I
Brown, Nancy Marie, 390
Brown, Rachel Fuller, 1020; antifungal
antibiotics, 80, 84, 86; biochemist, 262;
career, 262 263; education, 262;
professional associations, 263; professional
experience, 262
Brown, Wade Hampton, 752
Brownell, Josephine D.: patented roses, 93
Brugge, Joan S.: cancer researcher and cell
biologist, 263; career, 264 265; education,
263; photo, 264; professional associations,
265; professional experience, 263 264
Bryn Mawr College, 3 4, 121, 123, 129, 133,
159, 174 175, 177
Bryologist journal, 254
Bryology, 92
BSA. See Botanical Society of America
Buchanan, Christy M, 646
Buck, Linda B., 942, 1023; biologist, 265;
career, 266 267; concurrent positions, 265;
education, 265; Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine (2004), 999; photo, 266;
professional associations, 267; professional
experience, 265; sense of smell research, 88
Buckley, Margaret Jeffrey, 828
Bugs in the System: Insects and Their Impact
on Human Affairs (Berenbaum), 233
Buikstra, Jane Ellen: anthropologist and
archaeologist, 267; career, 268; concurrent
positions, 267 268; education, 267; photo,
268; professional associations, 268 269;
professional experience, 267
BULB IE Gnass Spirit of Achievement
Award, 5
Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 253
Bunce, Elizabeth Thompson: career, 269 270;
education, 269; geophysicist, 269; marine
seismology and underwater acoustics, 130,
153; professional associations, 270;
professional experience, 269; Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institute, 130
Bunting, Mary Ingraham (Smith): career,
270 271; concurrent positions, 270;
education, 270; microbiologist, 84; photo,
271; professional associations, 270 271;
professional experience, 270
Burbidge, Geoffrey, 272 273
Burbidge, Margaret (Eleanor), 1021;
astronomer and astrophysicist, 272; career,
272 273; chemical elements, theory of
origin, 75; concurrent positions, 272;
education, 272; Hubble space telescope
design, 64; professional associations,
272 273; professional experience, 272
Bureau of Home Economics, 149
Bureau of Indian Affairs, 69
Bush, George H. W., 56, 140, 378, 903
Bush, George W., 460, 850, 977; photo,
313,389
Business: engineering jobs, 1 14; gender neutral
hiring practices, 42; government money, 42;
hiring and advancement criteria, 40; man
agement or profit related activities, 43;
women scientist jobs, 40 46; work/life
balance, 46
Business Week magazine, 867
Butler, Margaret K.: career, 274; computer
scientist and mathematician, 273; digital
computers, development of, 102, 132;
education, 273; professional associations,
274; professional experience, 274
Byron, Lord, 101
Cady, Bertha Louise Chapman: career,
275 276; concurrent positions, 275;
education, 275; entomologist, 275;
professional associations, 275; professional
experience, 275; research and teaching
interests, 177
Cady, Vernon Mosher, 275
Caldicott, Helen Mary (Broinowski):
antinuclear activist, 276; career, 276 277;
concurrent positions, 276; education, 276;
effects of radiation, 119; environmentalist
and pediatrician, 276; photo, 277;
professional associations, 277; professional
experience, 276
California Academy of Sciences, 93
California Institute of Technology, 65
Calkins, Mary Whiton: president of American
Psychological Association, 167
Calloway, Doris (Howes): career, 278 279;
1-12 I Index
concurrent positions, 278; education, 278;
food processing and packaging research,
149; nuclear radiation research, 149;
nutritionist, 278; professional associations,
279; professional experience, 278
Cambridge, 74, 97
Campbell, Elizabeth: husband wife teams, 71
Canadian Journal of Biochemistry, 557
Cancer Research, 692
Canino, Ian A., 884
Cannon, Annie Jump, 74, 513, 605, 750;
astronomer, 279; career, 279 280;
education, 279; photo, 280, 414;
professional associations, 280; professional
experience, 279
The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful
Basics of Science (Angier), 195
Cantor, Frank, 543
Capitalism and patriarchy, 109 "Carbon
footprint," 119
Careers: equality in, 19; social and institutional
constraints, 50
Careers for Women (Filene), 287, 581, 653,
747, 982
Caretaker role for humans, 117
CARE USA, 140
Carey, Ernestine G., 432
Carey, Susan E., 883; brain development of
infants, 147; career, 281; concurrent
positions, 281; education, 281; language and
knowledge, acquisition of, 147; professional
experience, 281; professional organizations,
281 282; psychology, 281
Carothers, Eleanor (Estrella): career, 282;
concurrent positions, 282; education, 282;
professional associations, 283; professional
experience, 282; zoologist, 282
Carr, Emma Perry, 263, 477, 1019; career, 283;
chemist, 283; education, 283; Garvan Medal
of American Chemical Society (ACS), 97;
Mount Holyoke, 97; Ph.D. in chemistry, 97;
photo, 96; professional associations, 283;
professional experience, 283
Carson, Rachel Louise, 633, 746, 1020; aquatic
biologist, 176; biologist and conservationist,
284; career, 284 285; education, 284;
humans, impact on nature, 118; marine
ecology and oceanography books, 154;
photo, 284; professional associations, 285;
professional experience, 284
Carter, Jimmy, 326, 585, 750
Caserio, Fred, 286
Caserio, Marjorie Constance (Beckett): career,
286; education, 285; organic chemist, 285;
professional associations, 286; professional
experience, 285 286
Catalogue of Stars (Herschel), 73 74
The Caterpillar, Marvelous Transformation
and Strange Floral Food (Merian), 175
Cave Life of Kentucky (Bailey), 212
Cavendish, Margaret Lucas, Duchess of
Newcastle upon Tyne, 3
CDC. See Centers for Disease Control
Celanese Corporation of America, 44
Cell Biology of Extracellular Matrix
(Hay), 498
Cell Heredity (Sager and Ryan), 831
Ce// journal, 412, 576, 852
Cellular biologists, 83 84
Cement and Concrete Research
journal, 822
Center for Work Life Policy, 111
Center for Work Life Policy Web site, 52
Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 85
The Century of the Gene (Keller), 569
CEO: Building a $400 Million Company from
the Ground Up (Kurtzig), 592
Cerebral Cortex journal, 146, 441
The $64,000 Challenge, 260
The Change Masters: Innovation for
Productivity in the American Corporation
(Kanter), 561
The Changing World of Mongolian Nomads
(Beall and Goldstein), 221
Charles, Vera Katherine, 747; career, 287;
education, 286; mycologist, 286;
professional experience, 287
Chase, Agnes Meara (Mary): botanist, 287;
career, 288; education, 287; professional
associations, 288; professional
experience, 288
Chasman, Edith, 289
Index | 1-13
Chasman, Renate (Wiener): career, 289;
education, 288; nuclear physicist, 288;
professional associations, 289; professional
experience, 289
Cheaper by the Dozen (Gilbreth and Carey),
50, 432
Chemical Anthropology: A New Approach to
Growth in Children (Macy Hoobler and
Kelly), 649
Chemical Aspects of Polypeptide Chain
Structure: An Introduction (Wrinch), 985
Chemical Aspects of the Structure of Small
Peptides: An Introduction (Wrinch), 985
Chemical Heritage Foundation's Women in
Chemistry project, 99
Chemical Senses, 216
Chemistry, 95 99. See also Biochemistry;
Crystallography; Nutrition; academia, 99;
biochemistry, 95; crystallography, 105;
European women, 96; geology, 95;
mathematics, 96; metallurgy, 95; nuclear
sciences, 95; nutrition science, 148; patents,
99; periodic table of elements, 97;
pharmacology, 95; physics, 95 96;
physiology, 95; scientific disciplines,
overlapping, 98; twentieth century, most
important discoveries of, 97; women as first
chemists, 96
Chemistry: A Search to Understand (Harrison
and Weaver), 488
Chemistry for Beginners (Phelps), 92
Chemotherapy, 633
Chesler, Phyllis, 957; Association for Women
in Psychology, 170; career, 290 291;
concurrent positions, 290; education, 290;
photo, 291; professional associations,
290 291; professional experience, 290;
psychological definition of femininity and,
170; psychologist, 290
Child Abuse and Neglect as Related to Parental
Drug Abuse and Other Antisocial Behavior
(Densen Gerber), 343
Childbearing: A Book of Choices, 637
Childcare, 48 49
Children above 180 I.Q., 516
Chilton, Mary Dell (Matchett): biochemist and
molecular biologist, 292; career, 292 293;
education, 292; genetic engineering of agri
cultural crops, 80, 124; professional associ
ations, 293; professional experience, 292
Chimpanzee, 165
Chinese alchemy, 96
Chipp, Rodney, 510
Chory, Joanne: career, 293 294; concurrent
positions, 293; education, 293; plant
biologist, 293; professional associations,
294; professional experience, 293
Chromosome Changes in Leukemia
(Rowley), 820
Chromosomes, 121
Chromosomes and Cancer: From Molecules to
Man, 820
Chromosomes journal, 532
The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns
of Japanese Culture (Benedict), 225 226
Circuit Analysis of A C Power Systems
(Clarke), 297
City and the Constitution (Shalala), 850
Civil Rights Act (1964), 6, 42, 114
Clark, Eugenie, 596; career, 295 296;
concurrent positions, 295; education, 294;
ichthyologist and zoologist, 294; marine
biologist, 154; photo, 295; professional
associations, 296; professional experience,
294 295; sharks, specializing in, 177
Clarke, Edith, 1020; academia, 113; ATT
and General Electric, 113; career, 297;
education, 296; electrical engineer, 296;
electric power systems, design of, 44; first
female electrical engineers in United States
(photo), 44; first woman to receive electrical
engineering degree, 113; professional
associations, 297; professional
experience, 297
Classes, 81
Classical Electricity and Magnetism, 762
Classroom, 18 20
Cleave, Mary L.: astronaut and environmental
engineer, 297; career, 298; education, 297;
photo, 298; professional associations, 298;
professional experience, 298
Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 72
1-14 I Index
Climate change and women, 117
Climatology, 141 142. See also Meteorology
Clinical and Experimental Use of
Sulfanilamide, Sulfapyridine, and Allied
Compounds (Bliss and Long), 241
Clinton, Bill, 140, 313, 369, 445, 564, 635, 677,
771, 805, 849, 850, 879; photo, 307
Clinton, Hillary Rodham: photo, 545
Cloth production, 91 92
The Cloud People: Divergent Evolution of the
Zapotec and Mixtec Civilizations (Marcus
and Flannery), 654
Cloud Structure and Distributions over the
Tropical Pacific Ocean (Simpson), 868
CNN, 291
The Coast of Northeast Greenland (Boyd), 247
Cobb, Geraldyne "Jerrie" M.: astronaut
consultant, 299; aviator, 299; career,
299 300; education, 299; physical fitness
tests for women, 62; professional associa
tions, 300; professional experience, 299;
requirements for astronauts, 62
Cobb, Jewel Plummer: career, 301; cell
biologist, 55, 301; concurrent positions, 301;
education, 301; professional associations,
302; professional experience, 301
COBOL programming language, 102
Cochran, William, 323
Co educational institutions, 3, 25; female
college professors, 30
Cohen, Stanley, 618
Cohn, Mildred: ASBMB's first female
president, 79; biochemist, 302; career,
303 304; concurrent positions, 302 303;
education, 302; photo, 303; professional
associations, 304; professional
experience, 302
Colden, Jane: first American woman
botanist, 91
Cold Sprint Harbor Laboratory, 44
Coldwell, Rita: medical, industrial, and
aquaculture resources, 154; University of
Maryland Biotechnology Institute
(UMBI), 154
Cole, Johnnetta (Betsch), 1022; Africans and
African Americans, work among, 70;
anthropologist, 304; career, 304 305;
concurrent positions, 304; education, 304;
photo, 305; professional associations, 306;
professional experience, 304
Cole, Robert, 305
College of New Jersey, 5 1
Colleges: co educational, 25; faculty members
role models, 26; female faculty, 4; science,
25 27; science classes, 26 27
Collins, Eileen: astronaut, 306; career,
307 308; first woman to pilot space shuttle,
63; photo, 307; professional associations,
308; professional experience, 306 307
Colmenares, Margarita H: career, 309;
concurrent positions, 309; education, 308;
environmental engineer, 308; professional
associations, 309 310; professional
experience, 309
Color for the Landscape: Flowering Plants for
Subtropical Climates (Mathias), 664
Colour and Colour Theories
(Ladd Franklin), 597
Colson, Elizabeth Florence: anthropologist,
310; career, 310 311; concurrent positions,
310; education, 310; professional
associations, 311; professional
experience, 310
Columbia University, 25, 26, 78, 132, 156, 174
Colwell, Jack, 313
Colwell, Rita (Rossi), 1023; career, 313;
concurrent positions, 312; education, 311;
marine microbiologist, 311; photo, 312;
professional associations, 313; professional
experience, 312
Comey, Arthur, 477
Coming of Age in Samoa (Mead), 680, 681
Coming of Age with Elephants (Poole), 768
Commissioner for Atomic Energy, 98
Committee on the Status of Women
in Anthropology, 70
Committee on Women in Neuroscience, 145
Communications of the Association for
Computing Machinery, 453
The Comparative Anatomy of the Nervous
System of Vertebrates, Including Man
(Crosby), 326
Index | 1-15
A Comparative and Analytical Study of Visual
Depth Perception (Gibson and Walk), 430
The Comparative Correlative Neuroanatomy of
the Vertebrate Telencephalon (Crosby), 326
Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
(Hyman), 537
A Comparison of the Oligocene of Western
Europe and the Southern United States
(Maury), 669
Composing a Life (Bateson), 220
Compositionality in Formal Semantics:
Selected Papers of Barbara Partee
(Partee), 740
Computability in Analysis and Physics (Pour El
and Richards), 769
Computational Geosciences journal, 966
Computers: development of, 101; digital
divide, 103 104; role of gender, 103; usage,
102; women's roles as workers and
consumers, impact on, 103
Computer sciences, 100 104; doctorate in, 100;
significant presence of women, 42
Computer technology: See also Engineering;
Mathematics
Conceptual Change in Childhood (Carey), 281
Conchology (study of shells), 128
Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing
Streaks Begin and End (Kanter), 562
Congenital Malformations of the Heart
(Taussig), 909
Consistent and Chromosomal Aberrations and
Oncogenes in Human Tumors, 820
Conversations: Straight Talk with America's
Sister President (Cole), 306
Conversations on Chemistry (Marcet), 96
Conway, Lynn Ann: career, 314 315; computer
scientist and electrical engineer, 314;
concurrent positions, 314; education, 314;
integrated computer circuit chips, 102;
professional associations, 315; professional
experience, 314
Conwell, Esther Marly: career, 316; concurrent
positions, 316; education, 315; head of
research departments, 161; physicist, 315;
professional associations, 316 317;
professional experience, 316
Copernicus, Nicolaus, 73
Cordova, France Anne Dominic, 1023;
astronomer and astrophysicist, 317; career,
317 318; education, 317; first university
president, 32; NASA and, 56; photo, 318;
president of Purdue University, 56; profes
sional associations, 318; professional
experience, 317
Cori, Carl Ferdinand, 303, 319, 973;
metabolism of glycogen, 79
Cori, Gerty Theresa Radnitz, 303, 973, 991,
1020; biochemist, 319; career, 319;
education, 319; glycogen, discovery of, 87;
how glycogen is metabolized in body, 79;
insights into diabetes, 87; Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine (1947), 79, 87, 999;
photo, 79; professional associations, 319;
professional experience, 319; Washington
University, 79
Cornell Countryman, 254
Cornell University, 112 113, 157, 173,
176 177
Corporations: advancement, 43; employment
or business leadership positions, 42;
family friendly and flexible work policies,
38; family leave and other policies, 46; glass
ceiling, 43; old boys' networks, 43; women
managers, 43
Correlation of the Cenozoic Formations of the
Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain and the
Caribbean Region, 418
The Correlative Anatomy of the Nervous
System (Crosby), 326
Cosmology: greatest advances in, 73
Courant, Richard, 700
Courant Institute of Mathematical Science
at New York University, 134
Court TV, 291
Covert Discrimination of Women in the
Sciences, 779, 877
Cowings, Patricia Suzanne: biofeedback,
64 65; career, 320 321; concurrent
positions, 320; education, 320; photo, 321;
physiologist and psychologist, 320;
professional associations, 321; professional
experience, 320
1-16 I Index
Cox, Geraldine Anne (Vang), 118; biologist
and environmental scientist, 322; career,
322; chemical industry policy guidelines for
disaster management, 119; concurrent
positions, 322; education, 322; professional
associations, 322 323; professional
experience, 322
Cox, Gertrude Mary: American Statistical
Association and Biometric Society, 133;
career, 323 324; education, 323;
mathematician and statistician, 323;
professional association, 323 324;
professional experience, 323
Crane, Kathleen: career, 325; concurrent
positions, 325; education, 324; NOAAs
Arctic Research Office, 153; oceanographer,
324; professional experience, 324 325
Creating a Life: What Every Woman Needs to
Know about Having a Baby and a Career
(Hewlett), 508
Creating the Future: The Massachusetts
Comeback and Its Promise for America
(Dukakis and Kanter), 562
Creative Women, 474
Crick, Francis, 327, 889; discovery of gene and
DNA, 80; Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine (1962), 106, 107, 123
Crimean War (1850s), 136
Crisis: Heterosexual Behavior in the Age of
AIDS (Masters, Johnson, and Kolodny), 554
Crosby, Elizabeth Caroline: brain researcher,
145; career, 326; education, 325; neuro
anatomist, 325; neuroanatomy and neuro
surgery textbook, 145; professional associa
tions, 326; professional experience, 326
Crumpler, Rebecca Lee: first African American
woman doctor, 136
Crystal Data (Donnay and Donnay), 350
Crystallography, 97, 105 108. See also
Biomedical Sciences; Chemistry; Geology;
Physics; British women, 106; careers, 105;
predominantly female field, 105;
professional associations, 108
Crystallography: Fifty Years ofX Ray Crystal
lography at the Geophysical Laboratory,
1919 1969 (Donnay), 350
Crystal Orientation Manual, 978
Crystals: physical structure of atoms or
molecules, 105
Crystals and Light: An Introduction to Optical
Crystallography, 978
Crystal Structure Analysis: A Primer (Glusker),
435
Crystal Structure Analysis for Chemists
and Biologists (Glusker), 436
CSPAN, 291
Cuban Missile Crisis (early 1960s), 5
Culturally Diverse Children and Adolescents
(Spurlock and Canino), 884
Culture in Crisis: A Study of the Hopi Indians
(Thompson), 916
The Culture of Our Discontent: Beyond
the Medical Model of Mental Illness
(Small), 876
Cummings, Clara Eaton, 94
Curie, Marie Sklodowska, xxiii; Curie
Laboratory in Radium Institute of University
of Paris, 159; Nobel Prize in Chemistry
(1911), 98, 159, 999; Nobel Prize in Physics
(1903), 98, 159, 999; Professor of General
Physics at Sorbonne, 159; radium and
polonium, discovery of, 159; Radium
Institute in Warsaw, 159; work on
radium, 159
Curie, Pierre, 98, 159
Current Opinion in Neurobiology,
Cognition, Journal of Neuroscience,
Journal of Experimental Psychology
journal, 563
Curtis, Winterton Conway, 472
Cytology, 91
Daly, Marie Maynard: biochemist, 327; career,
327 328; concurrent positions, 327;
education, 327; first African American
woman Ph.D. in chemistry (1948), 54, 99;
link between cholesterol and heart attacks,
99; professional associations, 328;
professional experience, 327
Dangerous Diagnostics: The Social Power
of Biological Information (Nebcin), 710
Daniel, Fluor, 322
Index | 1-17
Darden, Christine v. Mann: aeronautical
engineer, 328; aircraft design and supersonic
flights, 114; career, 328 329; computer
software program simulating sonic boom,
64; concurrent positions, 328; education,
328; Langley Research Center, 64; National
Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), 114; professional associations,
329; professional experience, 328
The Dark Crystal movie, 976
Darwin, Charles, 121, 128, 164; adaptation
and evolution theories, 174
DAST. See "Draw A Scientist Test"
Daubechies, Ingrid: career, 330; concurrent
positions, 330; education, 329;
mathematician, 329; photo, 330;
professional associations, 330 331;
professional experience, 330
Davis, Margaret Bryan: ancient pollen and
vegetation, 157 158; career, 332; ecologist,
paleoecologist, and palynologist, 331;
education, 331; photo, 332; professional
associations, 332 333; professional
experience, 331; taught in ecology and
evolution departments, 158
Davis, Ruth Margaret: career, 333 334;
computer scientist and mathematician, 333;
concurrent positions, 333; data encryption,
international standards, 103; education, 333;
professional associations, 334; professional
experience, 333
Dealing with Genes: The Language of Heredity
(Singer and Berg), 870
Deans, 29
The Death of Feminism: What's Next in the
Struggle for Women 's Freedom
(Chesler), 291
Decentralization Approach (Shalala), 850
Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America
(Braun), 249
Decolonizing Anthropology: Moving Further
toward an Anthropology for Liberation, 489
DeFries, Ruth: career, 335; concurrent
positions, 335; Earth's habitats and
ecosystems, effects of humans on, 126;
education, 334; environmental geographer,
334; human activities on physical
environment, impact on, 120; photo, 126;
professional associations, 335; professional
experience, 335
De Laguna, Frederica Annis: American
Anthropological Association, 71;
anthropologist and archaeologist, 336;
career, 336 337; concurrent positions, 336;
education, 336; professional associations,
337; professional experience, 336; working
alone in archaeology, 71
Delbriiek, max 548
Delgado, Jane L.: career, 338 339; concurrent
positions, 338; education, 337; Hispanic
health movement, 57; National Alliance for
Hispanic Health, 139 140; photo, 338;
professional associations, 339; professional
experience, 337 338; psychologist, 337
Delineator journal, 935
Dellaite, 130
Delmer, Deborah: career, 340; education, 339;
plant biologist, 339; professional
associations, 340; professional experience,
339 340
Demographic Research, 687
Dennis, Olive: civil engineering degree, 112
Densen Gerber, Judianne: addiction, 169;
career, 342 343; education, 342;
physician and psychiatrist, 342; professional
associations, 343; professional
experience, 342
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), 121 122;
double helix structure, 107
Department chairs, 29
De Planque, E. Gail: career, 341 342;
concurrent positions, 341; education, 341;
physicist, 341; professional associations,
342; professional experience, 341
A Desperate Passion (Caldicott), 277
Developing Talents: Careers for Individuals
with Asperger Syndrome and High
Functioning Autism (Grandin and
Dufy), 455
Developmental Biology journal, 576, 945
Developmental Cell, 412
Developmental Genetics journal, 576
1-18 I Index
Developmental Plasticity and Evolution
(West Eberhard), 960
Developmental Psychology, 282
Development of Hazards Classification Data on
Propellants and Explosives, 707
The Development of Sex Differences
(Maccoby), 645, 793
The Devonian Crinoids of the State of New York
(Goldring), 442
DeWitt, Bryce S., 344
DeWitt Morette, Cecile Andree Paule: career,
344 345; concurrent positions, 344; educa
tion, 343; professional associations, 345;
professional experience, 344; theoretical
physicist, 343
Diabetic Care in Pictures, 891
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM V), 455
Diamond, Marian Cleeves: brain,
environmental factors impact on
development of, 146; cerebral cortex,
physical structure of, 146; concurrent
positions, 345; education, 345;
neuroscientist, 345; professional
associations, 346; professional
experience, 345
Dicciani, Nance Katherine: career, 347 348;
chemical engineer, 347; education, 347;
professional associations, 348; professional
experience, 347
Dick, George, 348, 349
Dick, Gladys Rowena Henry: career, 348 349;
education, 348; microbiologist and
physician, 348; photo, 349; professional
associations, 349; professional experience,
348; scarlet fever, reduced incidence and
mortality rate of, 86
A Dictionary of Chemical Solubilities,
Inorganic (Hahn and Comey), 477
Die Fossilen Gehirne (Edinger), 363
Diesel Engine Reference Book, 215
Dietary standards, 148
Digital divide, 103 104
Dinosaur fossils, 155
Discontinuous and Optimal Control
(Flugge Lotz), 401
Discontinuous Automatic Control
(Flugge Lotz), 401
Discover magazine, 317, 483, 626
Discovery Health channel, 632
Discovery space shuttle, 64
Discrimination: based on sexual orientation,
57; private employment, 43
Diseases: hereditary, 122; sex based
differences in, 1 1
Diseases of the Newborn (Avery), 203
"Diversifying the Science & Engineering
Workforce" (2005), 8
Dividing the Child: Social and Legal Dilemmas
of Custody (Maccoby), 645
Dix, Dorothea Lynde, 168
DNA. See Deoxyribonucleic acid
The DNA Mystique: The Gene as a Cultural
Icon (Nelkin and Lindee), 710
DNA testing, 122
Donnay, Gabrielle (Hamburger): career,
349 350; concurrent positions, 349;
education, 349; first woman to earn Ph.D.
in crystallography, 106; geologist and
mineralogist, 349; professional associations,
350; professional experience, 349
Donnay, Jose D. H, 350
Dornbusch, Sanford M., 646
Downey, June Etta: career, 351; education, 350;
personality tests to assess character traits,
168; professional associations, 351;
professional experience, 351;
psychologist, 350
Dr. Brothers' Guide to Your Emotions
(Brothers), 260
Dr. Joan 's Mentoring Book.Straight Talk
about Taking Charge of Your Career
(Mitchell), 696
Dr. Ruth 's Encyclopedia of Sex
(Westheimer), 962
Dr. Ruth 's Guide to Good Sex
(Westheimer), 962
Dr. Ruth 's Guide to Safer Sex
(Westheimer), 962
Dr. Ruth 's Guide to Talking About Herpes
(Westheimer and Lehu), 962
Dr. Susan Love 's Breast Book (Love), 632
Index | 1-19
Dr. Susan Love's Menopause and Hormone
Book (Love), 632
The Dr. Joyce Brothers Show, 259
The Dr. Ruth Show, 962
Drake, Elisabeth (Mertz): career, 352 353;
chemical engineer, 352; concurrent positions,
352; education, 352; professional associa
tions, 353; professional experience, 352
Drake, Walter, 688
"Draw A Scientist Test" (DAST):
study of stereotypes and
images, 21 22
Dreschhoff, Gisela Auguste Marie: Antarctica,
surveys to locate radioactive materials,
130; career, 353 354; concurrent positions,
353; education, 353; geophysicist and
radiation physicist, 353; professional asso
ciations, 353 354; professional
experience, 353
Dresselhaus, Gene, 355
Dresselhaus, Mildred (Spiewak): career, 355;
concurrent positions, 355; education, 355;
electronic properties of materials, 161;
expertise on semimetals and
semiconductors, 114; professional
associations, 355 356; professional
experience, 355; solid state physicist, 355
Drugs, Sex, Parents, and You
(Densen Gerber), 343
DSM V. See Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders
Duffy, Kate, 455
Dukakis, Michael, 562
Dunbar, Bonnie J.: astronaut, biomedical
engineer, and ceramics engineer, 356;
concurrent positions, 356; education, 356;
effect of space flight on body, studies on,
115; National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), 114; photo, 357;
professional associations, 357; professional
experience, 356
DuPont industries, 43
Dutton, R. W., 659
Dynamic Genome: Barbara McClintock's
Ideas in the Century of Genetics
(Fedoroff), 390
Eagles, Juanita A., 817
EAOS. See Earth, atmospheric, and ocean
sciences
Earhart, Amelia, 62
Earle, Sylvia Alice, 903; career, 359 360;
concurrent positions, 359; education, 359;
environmentalist, marine botanist, and
oceanographer, 359; marine environments,
153; NOAA, 153; photo, 153; professional
associations, 361; professional
experience, 359
Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences
(EAOS), 152
Earth sciences: See Environmental Sciences
and Ecology; Geography; Geology;
Meteorology; Ocean Sciences; geology, 128;
meteorology, 142; physical geography, 125;
women's doctorates, 128; women's numbers
in, 42
East Coast women's colleges undergraduate
astronomy programs, 76
Eastman Kodak Company, 161
Eastwood, Alice: botanist, 361; California
Academy of Sciences, 93; career, 361 362;
education, 361; professional associations,
362; professional experience, 361
Ecofeminism, 116 117
Ecological botanists, 91
The Ecological Risks of Engineered Crops, 803
Ecological Society of America, 118
Ecology, 116 120. See also Biology;
Biomedical Sciences; Botany; Geography;
Geology; Ocean Sciences
Economic Fungi, 1A1
Economic Policy Reform and the Indian
Economy (Krueger), 588
Economics: See also Nutrition and Home
Economics; academia, 109; careers, 110;
gender and, 110; institutional model of, 109;
laissezfaire, 109; male dominated, 109;
radical theories, 109; subfields, 108 109;
Western thinking about, 109
The Economics of Inaction, 895
Ecosystems, 665
The Edge of the Sea (Carson), 285
Edgerton, Winifred, 132
1-20 | Index
Edinburgh Philosophical Society, 91
Edinger, Tilly:brain's evolution studied through
fossils, 156; career, 363; education, 363;
fossils of mammal brains, research on, 157;
paleontologist, 363; photo, 156; professional
associations, 363; professional experience,
363; Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, 157
Education: access to, xix xx; agriculture
related fields, 3; equal, 20; gender stereo
types, 20; sex based differences in ability, 20
Educational Times journal, 597
Edwards, Cecile Hoover: biochemist and
nutritionist, 363; career, 364; concurrent
positions, 364; education, 363; Howard
University, 150; professional associations,
364 365; professional experience, 364;
resources for low income people, 150
Edwards, Don, 365
Edwards, Helen Thom: accelerator physicist,
365; career, 365 366; education, 365;
professional associations, 366; professional
experience, 365
EEOC. See Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission
The Effects of Radiation on High Technology
Polymers, 790 791
Egyptians and alchemy, 96
Ehrlich, Anne (Fitzhugh) Howland, 1021;
author and environmental scientist, 366;
career, 366 367; concurrent positions, 366;
education, 366; overpopulation straining
Earth's natural resources, 118; photo, 367;
professional associations, 367 368;
professional experience, 366
Ehrlich, Paul R., 366, 527
Einstein, Albert, 425, 953
Elders, Joycelyn (Minnie) (Jones), 1022;
career, 368 370; concurrent positions, 368;
education, 368; endocrinologist and
pediatrician, 368; photo, 369; professional
associations, 370; professional experience,
368; Surgeon General, 56, 140
Electrical Studies on the Unanesthetized
Brain, 781
Electron Microscopic Structure
of Protozoa, 763
Elementary Dislocation Theory (Weertman
and Weertman), 954
Elementary Theory of Nuclear Shell Structure
(Goeppert Mayer and Mayer), 437
Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life
of an Elephant Family (Moss), 704
Elion, Gertrude Belle, 1022; biochemist, 370;
career, 370 371; chemotherapy for treating
cancer, 88; concurrent positions, 370;
education, 370; Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine (1988), 999; nucleotide derived
anticancer, antiviral drugs, 79; photo, 371;
professional associations, 371 372; profes
sional experience, 370
Ellis, Florence May Hawley: anthropologist,
372; archaeology, 71; career, 372 373;
concurrent positions, 372; education, 372;
professional associations, 372 373;
professional experience, 372
Elmegreen, Bruce, 374
Elmegreen, Debra Meloy: astronomer, 373;
career, 374; concurrent positions, 374;
education, 373; professional associations,
374; professional experience, 373 374
Emergence: Labeled Autistic (Grandin), 455
Emerson, Gladys Anderson: amino acids and
vitamins, 149; biochemist and nutritionist,
375; career, 376; concurrent positions, 376;
education, 375; isolated vitamin E, 80, 149;
photo, 375; professional associations, 376;
professional experience, 375 376
Emotional Contagion (Hatfield), 495
Employment: women's presence and
representation in, xxi
Encyclopedia of Baby and Child Care, 713
Encyclopedia of the Solar System, 675
Endangered Species Act, 119
Energy Levels of Light Nuclei (Ajzenberg
Selove), 187
Engels, Friedrich, 603
"Engineer Girl," 115
Engineering, 112 115. See also Computer
Sciences and Information Technology (IT);
bachelor's degrees, 25; branches of, 112;
encouraging girls and young women to
pursue, 7; minority presence in, 8;
Index | 1-21
perception as male fields, 21; specialties,
112; women, increases in numbers of, xx
Engineers: black female, 54; business and
industry, 29; companies refusing to hire
female, 114; revised direction and methods
of scientific inquiry, 15 16; types of, 112
"Engineer Your Life," 115
England: first woman scientists, 3
ENIAC, 101
Enlightenment and scientific revolution, 14
Entomological Society of America, 176
Entomology, 175, 176 177
Environmentalism, 117
Environmentalists, 117
Environmental Overkill (Ray and Guzzo), 786
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 118
Environmental sciences, 116 120. See also
Biology; Biomedical Sciences; Botany;
Geography; Geology; Ocean Sciences
Environmental scientists and current
issues, 116
Equal education, 20
Equal Employment Opportunity Act, 6
Equal Employment Opportunity and the AT&T
Case (Wallace), 946
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC), 31, 38
Equal opportunity legislation, 52
Equal Pay Act of 1963, 31
Errors as Linguistic Evidence (Fromkin), 410
Errors in Linguistic Performance: Slips of the
Tongue, Ear, Pen, and Hand (Fromkin), 410
Esau, Katherine: botanist, 376; career,
377 378; concurrent positions, 377;
education, 376; plant viruses, 93; president
of BSA, 93; professional associations, 378;
professional experience, 377
Escape to the Mountain (Bonta), 244
An Essay on Combustion (Fulhame), 96
Essays and Obsen'ations, Physical and
Literary (Colden), 91
Essentials of Histology, 779
Estrin, Gerald, 380
Estrin, Thelma Austern: biomedical engineer
and computer scientist, 378; career,
379 380; computer applications in brain
research, 103; computers in biomedical and
neurophysiological research, 84, 114, 146;
concurrent positions, 379; education, 378;
Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE), 114; photo, 115;
professional associations, 380; professional
experience, 378 379
Eugenics policy, 121
European medieval and Renaissance eras:
alchemy, 96
European scientists: World War II era
dislocation of, 6
Evans, Alice Catherine: career, 380 381;
education, 380; microbiologist, 84, 380;
photo, 381; professional associations, 381;
professional experience, 380; U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
research, 84
Evers, Charles, 544
Everything You Need to Know to Feel
Go(o)d, 759
Evocative Objects: Things We Think With, 928
The Evolution of Racism: Human Differences
and the Use and Abuse of Science
(Shipman), 859
The Evolution of Sex (Hrdy), 528
The Evolution of the Horse Brain
(Edinger), 363
Evolve!: Succeeding in the Digital Culture
of Tomorrow (Kanter), 562
Excavations at Cerro Azul, Peru: The
Architecture and Pottery (Marcus), 654
Exceptional Children (Goodenough), 446
Expanding the Role of Women in the
Sciences, 252
Experimental Designs (Cox and Cochran), 323
Experimental drugs, 633
Experimental Food Study (Morgan), 702
Experiments in Cellular Biodynamics
(Guttman), 474
Experiments with Crystals and Light, 979
Exploding the Gene Myth (Hubbard), 123
Exploding the Gene Myth (Hubbard
andWald), 531
Exploration of the Outer Solar
System, 540
1-22 | Index
Exploring the African American
Experience, 901
Exploring the Dangerous Trades
(Hamilton), 480
Faber, Sandra (Moore), 625; astronomer and
cosmologist, 383; career, 383 384;
concurrent positions, 383; education, 383;
galaxies, research on formation of, 75;
professional associations, 384; professional
experience, 383
Falling for Science: Objects in Mind, 928
Familiar Lectures on Botany (Phelps), 92
Familiar Lectures on Natural Philosophy
(Phelps), 92
Family: gender inequality, 111; private realm
of, 14; responsibilities, 50 51
Family Networks: Retribalization and Healing
(Attneave), 201
The Family (Parsons), 738
Faraday, Michael, 96
Farkas, Allen, 237
Farquhar, Marilyn (Gist): career, 385; cell
biologist and experimental pathologist, 384;
education, 384; professional associations,
385 386; professional experience, 384 385
Fair, Clifford, 386
Farr, Wanda Kirkbride: career, 386 387;
cellulose, discovery of, 43 44, 93;
concurrent positions, 386; cytologist, 386;
education, 386; professional associations,
387; professional experience, 386
Fatigue Study: The Elimination of Humanity's
Greatest Unnecessary Waste (Gilbreth), 43 1
Fausto Sterling, Anne: career, 387 388; con
current positions, 387; criticism of genetic
research, 82, 123; education, 387; embry
ologist, 387; photo, 82; professional associ
ations, 388; professional experience, 387
Fawcett, Don, 498
FDA. See U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Fear and Conventionality (Parsons), 738
Fedoroff, Nina Vsevolod: career, 389 390;
concurrent positions, 389; education, 388;
molecular biologist, 388; photo, 389;
professional associations, 390; professional
experience, 388 389; transposable elements
in plants, 124
Feeding the Family (Rose), 149, 817
Female Choices: Sexual Behavior of Female
Primates (Small), 876
Female faculty, 4; as mentors and
advisors, 33 34
Female primates, 165
Female role models: lack of, 20
Female scientists: academia, 93; marrying
another scientist, 5 1
Female students and women's colleges, 27
Feminism: academic, 13; caretaker role for
humans, 117; medical ethics, 17; rejecting
exclusion of women, 13; scientific ethics,
16 17; scientific research impact, 13 17;
women's health issues, 17
Feminist anthropologists, 70
Feminist archaeologists, 70 71
Feminist geography, 125
The Feminist Psychologist, 170
Feminists: genetics explaining sexual
orientation, 123; Marxist, 70; scientific
fields, 15; surrogacy, 49
Feminist sociologists, 172
Feminist task of late twentieth and twenty first
centuries, 14
Ferguson, Angela Dorothea: career, 391 392;
concurrent positions, 391; education, 390;
pediatrician, 390; professional associations,
392; professional experience, 390 391;
sickle cell anemia, 57
Ferguson, Margaret Clay: Botanical Society of
America (BSA), 93; botanist, 392; career,
392 393; concurrent positions, 392;
education, 392; professional associations,
393; professional experience, 392
Fermi, Enrico, 437, 621
Ferree, Clarence E., 782
Festschrift: Language, Speech and Mind:
Studies in Honor of Victoria A. Fromkin
(Fromkin), 410
Feynman, Richard P., 344
Fiber and Integrated Optics, 420
Field Book of Animals in Winter
(Morgan), 703
Index | 1-23
Field Book of Fresh Water Fishes of North
America, 600
Field Book of Ponds and Streams: An
Introduction to the Life of Fresh Water
(Morgan), 703
Field Manual of Prehistoric Southwestern
Pottery Types (Ellis), 373
Fijian Frontier (Thompson), 916
Filene, Catherine, 581, 653, 747, 982
Finding science gene, 8 12
Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My
Life (Jemison), 551
Fine Structure of the Developing Avian Cornea
(Hay), 498
Fink, Kathryn Ferguson: biochemist, 393;
career, 394; concurrent positions, 394;
education, 393; professional associations,
394; professional experience, 393 394
Fink, Robert, 394
The Fiord Region of East Greenland
(Boyd), 247
First Book on Grasses (Chase), 288
First Lady Astronaut Trainees
(FLATs), 63
The First Miracle Drugs: How the Sulfa Drugs
Transformed Medicine (Lesch), 242
Fischer, Irene (Kaminka): career, 395;
concurrent positions, 395; earth scientist in
geodesy, 134; education, 394; geodesist and
mathematician, 126, 394; National
Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), 126; professional associations,
396; professional experience, 395; U.S.
Army's Defense Mapping Agency
Topographic Center, 126
Fisher, Anna L.: astronaut and physician, 396;
astronautics, 63; career, 396 397; education,
396; photo, 397; professional associations,
397; professional experience, 396
Fisher, Esther G.: patented roses, 93
Fisher, William F, 396
The Fisherman 's Encyclopedia, 600
Fitzroy, Nancy (Deloye), 1022; career,
398 399; education, 398; engineer, 398;
professional associations, 399; professional
experience, 398
Flanigen, Edith Marie: career, 399 400;
education, 399; inorganic chemist, 399;
professional associations, 400; professional
experience, 399
Flannery, Kent, 654
FLATs. See First Lady Astronaut Trainees
Fleming, Williamina, 280, 513
Fletcher, Alice: Native American life and, 69
Flexible bodies: Tracking Immunity in
American Culture from the Days of Polio to
the Age of AIDS (Martin), 661
Flugge, Wilhelm, 401
Flugge Lotz, Irmgard: career, 401; education,
400; engineer, 400; professional associa
tions, 401; professional experience, 400
Food and Your Body, 89 1
Food Becomes You (Leverton), 616
Food development and production, 42
Food for the Worker, 891
Food Plant Catalogue of the Aphids of the
World (Patch), 741
Foods, Their Selection and Preparation
(Stanley), 887
Foraminfiera Genera and Their Classification
(Loeblich and Loeblich), 628
Ford, Jack, 300
Ford, Kent, 823
Ford Motor Company, 119
Forestry, 91
For Prayer and Profit: The Ritual, Economic,
and Social Importance of Beer in Gwembe
District 1950 1983 (Colson), 311
Fortune, Reo, 68 1
Fossey, Dian, 165; anthropologist, primatologist,
and zoologist, 402; career, 402 403;
concurrent positions, 402; education, 402;
mountain gorillas, study and protection of,
164; photo, 402; professional associations,
404; professional experience, 402; scientific
research combined with public education and
preservation efforts, 177
Fossil collecting expeditions, 155
Foster, Christian J., 318
The Foundations of Nutrition, 817
Foundations of Nutrition (Rose and
MacLeod), 648
1-24 | Index
Foundations of Secure Computation, 556
Fowler, William, 272
Fowler Billings, Katharine Stevens: career,
404 405; education, 404; geologist, 404;
North America and Gold Coast of Africa
expeditions, 130; professional associations,
405; professional experience, 404
Fox, Marye Anne (Payne): career, 406;
concurrent positions, 405; education, 405;
organic chemist and physical chemist, 405;
professional associations, 406 407;
professional experience, 405
Franklin, Rosalind, xxiii; coal and carbon,
structure of, 107; DNA, tobacco mosaic
virus, and polio virus, x ray images of, 106;
double helix structure of DNA, discovery of,
106 107, 123; gene and DNA,
discovery of, 80
Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, 74
Free, Alfred H„ 408
Free, Helen (Murray): career, 407 408; clinical
chemist, 407; concurrent positions, 407;
education, 407; professional experience, 407
Freud, Sigmund, 168, 928
Friend, Charlotte: career, 408 409; concurrent
positions, 408; education, 408; medical
microbiologist, 408; professional
associations, 409; professional
experience, 408
Fromkin, Victoria Alexandria (Landish):
career, 410; concurrent positions, 410;
education, 409; linguist and neurolinguist,
409; professional associations, 410 411;
professional experience, 410
Fruton, Joseph S., 865
Fuchs, Elaine V.: biochemist, cell biologist,
geneticist, and molecular biologist, 411;
concurrent positions, 411; education, 411;
photo, 412; professional associations, 413;
professional experience, 411
Fulhame, Elizabeth, 96
Full Circles, Overlapping Lives: Culture and
Generation in Transition (Bateson), 219
Fuller, Buckminster, 355
Fuller, Rachel Brown, 499
Full professor, 28 29
Fundamentals of Mathematics for Linguistics
(Partee), 740
The Fungus Fighters: Two Women Scientists
and Their Discovery, 263
Furness, Caroline Ellen: astronomer, 413;
career, 413 414; education, 413; photo, 414;
professional associations, 414; professional
experience, 413
"Gaia hypothesis," 116
Gaillard, Mary Katharine (Ralph): career,
415 416; concurrent positions, 415;
education, 415; professional associations,
416; professional experience, 415;
theoretical physicist, 415
Galactic Novae (Payne Gaposchkin), 749
Galaxies and Galactic Structure
(Elmegreen), 374
Galdikas, Birute Marija Filomena, 403;
Orangutan Foundation International, 165;
orangutan research station at Tanjung Puting
Reserve, 165; orangutans, authority on,
164 165
Galilei, Galileo, 159; heliocentric theory of
solar system, 73
Galloway, Eilene Marie Slack, 62; American
Astronautical Society, 63; American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
63; International Institute of Space
Law, 63; NASA, 63; National Aeronautics
and Space Act, 63; Women in
Aerospace, 63
Game Fish of the World, 600
Gantt, Elisabeth: botanist, 416; career, 417;
education, 416; photo, 417; plant physiology
and photosynthesis, 94 95; professional
associations, 417 418; professional
experience, 417
Gaposchkin, Cecilia Payne: doctorate in
astronomy from Radcliffe College, 74
Garden Enemies, 958
The Gardener' s Bug Book, 958
Gardner, Julia Anna: career, 418 419;
education, 418; geologist, 418;
Paleontological Society, 129, 157;
professional experience, 418; professional
Index | 1-25
organizations, 419; U.S. Geological
Survey, 129, 157
Garmire, Elsa (Meints): career, 419 420;
concurrent positions, 419; education, 419;
electrical engineer and physicist, 419; laser
and optical research patents, 161; photo,
161; professional associations, 420;
professional experience, 419
Gast, Alice P., 1023; career, 421; chemical
engineer, 420; education, 420; first
university president, 32; photo, 421;
professional associations, 421 422;
professional experience, 420 421
Gauge Theories in High Energy Physics, 415
Gay and lesbian issues, 57 58
Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
(GLMA), 58
Gayle, Helen Doris: CARE USA, 140
Gayle, Helene Doris: career, 422 423;
education, 422; epidemiologist and
pediatrician, 422; photo, 423; professional
associations, 423; professional
experience, 422
GE Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Data Books
(Fitzroy), 399
Geiringer, Hilda (Von Mises): career, 424 425;
concurrent positions, 424; education, 423;
genetics and other bio information, 134;
mathematician, 423; professional associa
tions, 425; professional experience, 424
Geller, Margaret Joan: astronomer,
astrophysicist, and cosmologist, 425; career,
426; concurrent positions, 425; education,
425; formation of galaxies, research on, 75;
photo, 426; professional associations, 426;
professional experience, 425
Gender: computers and, 103; condemnation
of discrimination, 8; economics and, 110;
social beliefs about, 11; stereotypes and
education, 20
Gender, Place, & Culture: A Journal of
Feminist Geography, 125
Gender and Society, 172
Gender bias, 17; biology and botany, 81;
mathematics, 132
Gender identity, 70
Gender roles, 6, 48
Gender Talk: The Struggle for Women 's
Equality in African American Communities
(Cole and Guy Sheftall), 306
Gender wage gap, xxi
General Biochemistry (Simmonds
and Fruton), 865
General Electric, 44
General Motors Corporation, 44, 103, 119, 161
General Zoology (Guthrie and Anderson), 472
Genes, 121
Genes, Chromosomes, and Cancer journal, 820
Genes and Cancer, 820
Genes and Development, All, 470
Genes and Gender II: Pitfalls in Research
on Sex and Gender (Hubbard), 53 1
Genes and Genomes: A Changing Perspective
(Singer and Berg), 870
Genetic Markers in Human Blood
(Giblett), 429
Genetics, 121 124. See also Biology;
Biomedical Sciences; Chemistry;
Crystallography; Medicine; breeding and
hybridization of plants, 121; environment,
effect of, 122; language and metaphors, 82;
medical, 124; plants, 124; scientific
discoveries, 123
Genetics in Hematology (Ranney), 784
Genetics in Relation to Insect
Management, 527
Genetics journal, 576
Genetics science, 121
Genetic Studies of Genius (Goodenough), 446
Geneva Medical College, 135
Genomics, 122
Geodesy: What's That? My Personal
Involvement in the Age Old Quest for the
Size and Shape of the Earth (Fischer), 395
Geography, 125 126. See also Economics;
Environmental Sciences and Ecology;
Geology; Meteorology; Ocean Sciences;
Sociology
The Geography of the Mediterranean Region:
Its Relation to Ancient History, 848
Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man
(Lyell), 128
1-26 | Index
Geological research, 127
Geological Society of America, 129, 130
Geological Society of London, 156
Geologists: Islamic world and China, 127
Geology, 127 130. See also Astronomy and
astrophysics; Environmental Sciences and
Ecology; Geography; Paleontology; Ocean
Sciences; academia, 128 129; chemistry,
95; earth sciences, 128; professional
associations, 130; structural, 127; subfields,
127; United States, 129
Geometry and Quantum Field Theory, 934
Geometry (Fischer), 395
Geosciences and minority women, 129
Gerry, Eloise B.: botanist, 427; career,
427 428; concurrent positions, 427;
education, 427; professional associations,
428; professional experience, 427; trees and
forest products, analysis of, 94; U.S. Forest
Service, 35
Giant Fishes of the Ocean (La Monte), 600
Giblett, Eloise Rosalie: career, 428 429;
concurrent positions, 428; education, 428;
geneticist and hematologist, 428; inherited
immune deficiencies, 124; professional
associations, 429; professional
experience, 428
Gibson, Eleanor Jack: career, 430; concurrent
positions, 429 430; education, 429; learning
and perception in young children, 168;
professional associations, 430; professional
experience, 429; psychologist, 429
Gibson, James, 430
Gifted Children (Hollingworth), 516
Gilbreth, Frank, 431
Gilbreth, Frank, Jr., 432
Gilbreth, Lillian E. Moller, 1021; career,
431 432; concurrent positions, 431;
education, 430; engineer and industrial
psychologist, 430; household efficiency
studies, 150; industrial management
engineer, 50; industrial psychology, 169;
mother of twelve, 50; photo, 47; professional
associations, 432; professional experience,
431; research of efficiency, 50; Society of
Mechanical Engineers, 112
Gill, Jocelyn Ruth, 813; astronomer, 432;
career, 433; education, 432; professional
associations, 433; professional experience,
432 433
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, 109
Girl friendly school environment, 19
Girls: all girl high schools, 22; computer liter
acy and education, 104; different education
than boys, 20; educational inequality, 18;
educational opportunities access, 19;
elementary and high school advantages, 20;
home economics, 19; labeling as smart, 21;
math and science in high school, 22; math
education of, 132; outperforming boys in
educational outcome, 18; portraying scien
tists as male, 21 22; science and technology
education, 18 23; self perceptions, 21;
wives and mothers, future roles as, 19
Girls, Inc., 21
Glass ceiling, xxi, 38; corporations, 43
Gleitman, Henry, 434
Gleitman, Lila R.: career, 434; concurrent
positions, 433 434; education, 433;
linguistics, 169; professional associations,
434; professional experience, 433;
psychologist, 433
GLMA. See Gay and Lesbian Medical
Association
Global Change Biology, 665
Global Mobilization for HIV Prevention:
A Blueprint for Action, 423
Glusker, Jenny (Pickworth): cancer causing
chemicals, or carcinogens, 107; cancer
researcher and crystallographer, 435; career,
435 436; concurrent positions, 435; educa
tion, 435; photo, 108; professional associa
tions, 436; professional experience, 435
Goeppert Mayer, Maria, 160, 1020; atomic
nuclei, structure of, 160; career, 436 437;
concurrent positions, 436; education, 436;
Nobel Prize in Physics (1963), 160, 999;
photo, 437; physicist, 436; professional
associations, 437 438; professional experi
ence, 436
Goldberg, Adele: Association of Computing
Machinery (ACM), 103; career, 438 439;
Index | 1-27
computer scientist and information
technologist, 438; education, 438; ParcPlace
Systems, 45; professional associations, 439;
professional experience, 438; programming
language for personal computer, 103
Goldhaber, Gertrude Scharff, 37; career,
439 440; concurrent positions, 439;
education, 439; physicist, 439; professional
associations, 440; professional
experience, 439
Goldhaber, Maurice, 37, 440
Goldin, Claudia: National Academy
of Sciences (NAS), 109
Goldman Rakic, Patricia: career, 441; Cerebral
Cortex journal, 146; education, 440; frontal
lobe of brain, 146; neurobiologist, 440;
professional associations, 441 442; profes
sional experience, 440 441
Gold Missus: A Woman Prospector in Sierra
Leone (Fowler Billings), 405
Goldring, Winifred: books on fossils for
general public, 157; career, 442 443;
education, 442; Paleontological Society,
129, 157; paleontologist, 442; professional
associations, 442 443; professional
experience, 442; state paleontologist of New
York, 156
Goldstein, M. C, 221
Goldstine, Adele: trained first group of women
programmers, 101; wrote technical
operator's manual for ENIAC, 101
Goldwasser, Shafrira: career, 443 444;
computer scientist and electrical engineer,
443; concurrent positions, 443; education,
443; professional associations, 444;
professional experience, 443
Good, Bill, 445
Good, Mary (Lowe): career, 445; education,
444; inorganic chemist and radiation
chemist, 444; professional associations, 445;
professional experience, 444
Goodall, Jane, xxiii, 165, 403, 596, 704, 767;
work with chimpanzees, 164
Goodenough, Florence Laura, 524; career,
446 447; education, 446; intelligence
testing in children, 168; professional
associations, 447; professional experience,
446; psychologist, 446
Good Health from Jane Brody's Kitchen, 255
Good Housekeeping magazine, 259, 260, 431
Good Morning America, 632, 720
Gordon, Kate (Moore): career, 447 448;
education, 447; professional associations,
448; professional experience, 447;
psychologist, 447
Gordon, Ruth Evelyn: bacteriologist, 448;
career, 448 449; education, 448;
professional associations, 449; professional
experience, 448
Gorilla, 165
Gorillas in the Mist (Fossey), 403, 404
Gosling, Raymond, 107
Governing the Commons: The Evolution of
Institutions for Collective Action, 732
Government: computer development, 37;
family friendly and flexible work policies,
38; focusing on research, 38; gender bias,
37; glass ceiling, 38; highest level national
appointments, 38 39; life scientists, 39;
physical scientists, 39; promotion and pay
policies, 38; publication pressures, 38;
research agenda, 38; salaries, 37; tenure,
37 38; women scientists, 29; women scien
tist jobs, 35 39; women's jobs, 36; work/life
balance, 37
Government Risk Sharing in Foreign
Investment, 968
Graduate school and science, 25 27
Graham, David, 450
Graham, Frances (Keesler): career, 450;
concurrent positions, 450;
professional associations, 450 45 1 ;
professional experience, 449 450;
psychophysiologist, 449
Graham, Norma: education, 451; professional
associations, 452; professional experience,
451; psychologist, 451
Graham, Susan Lois: career, 452 453;
computer scientist, 452; concurrent
positions, 452; education, 452; professional
associations, 452 453; professional
experience, 452
1-28 | Index
A Grammar of Mayan Hieroglyphs
(Bricker), 250
Grandin, Temple: animal behavior, 67; animal
scientist, 453; autism, 455; career, 454 455;
concurrent positions, 454; education, 453;
photo, 67; professional associations, 455;
professional experience, 454
The Granite State Geologist, 405
Granli, Petter, 768
Granville, Evelyn Boyd: career, 456 457;
computer scientist, 456; education, 456;
mathematician, 456; National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA), 133;
Ph.D. in mathematics (1949), 54, 132 133;
professional associations, 457; professional
experience, 456
Graphology and Psychology of Handwriting
(Downey), 351
Grasselli, Jeanette (Brown): analytical chemist
and spectroscopist, 457; career, 457 458;
education, 457; professional associations,
458 459; professional experience, 457
Graybiel, Ann Martin: career, 459 460;
concurrent positions, 459; education,
459; neuroscientist, 459; photo, 460;
professional associations, 461; professional
experience, 459
The Great Horned Owl and Its Prey in the
North Central States, 478
Greene, Laura: career, 462; concurrent
positions, 462; education, 461; physicist,
461; professional associations, 462;
professional experience, 461
Green technologies, 43, 117
Greer, Sandra Charlene: career, 463 464;
concurrent positions, 463; education, 463;
photo, 463; physical chemist, 463;
professional associations, 464; professional
experience, 463
Greibach, Emil, 465
Greider, Carol W., 239, 1024; cancer research,
87; career, 466 467; education, 466;
molecular biologist, 466; Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine (2009), 84, 87, 999;
photo, 467; professional associations, 467;
professional experience, 466; telomerase,
discovery of, 84; telosomeres,
research on, 79
Greibach, Sheila Adele: career, 464 465;
computer scientist and mathematician,
464; education, 464; photo, 465;
professional associations, 465; professional
experience, 464
Grice, Noreen, 483
Griffin, Diane Edmund: career, 468 469;
education, 468; microbiologist, 468; photo,
469; professional associations, 469
Gross, Carol A. (Polinsky): bacteriologist, 469;
career, 470; concurrent positions, 470;
education, 469; professional associations,
470; professional experience, 470
Gross, Elizabeth Louise: biochemist, 470;
career, 471; education, 470; photovoltaic
cells, 119; professional associations, 471;
professional experience, 471
Groundwater Contamination in the
United States, 746
Ground Water journal, 194
Guam and Its People (Thompson), 916
A Guide to Prairie Chicken Management, 478
Guthrie, Mary Jane: career, 472; created
in vitro ovaries, 177; cytologist and
zoologist, 47 1 ; education, 47 1 ; profes
sional associations, 472; professional
experience, 472
Guttman, Helene Augusta (Nathan):
biochemist and microbiologist, 472; career,
473 474; education, 472; professional
associations, 474; professional
experience, 473
Guy Sheftall, Beverly, 306
Guzzo, Louis R., 786
Haas, Mary Rosamond: anthropologist and
linguist, 475; career, 475 476; education,
475; professional associations, 476;
professional experience, 475
Hahn, Dorothy Anna: career, 476 477;
chemist, 476; education, 476; professional
associations, 477; professional
experience, 476
Hahn, Otto, 162
Index | 1-29
Hamerstrom, Frances (Flint): books and
autobiographies about observing habitats of
ground birds and birds of prey, 175; career,
478; education, 477; ornithologist and
wildlife biologist, 477; professional
associations, 478 479; professional
experience, 477
Hamerstrom, Frederick Nathan, Jr., 478
Hamilton, Alice, 1019; career, 479 480;
education, 479; industrial toxicologist, 479;
occupational and environmental health
studies, 118; photo, 118; professional
associations, 480; professional experience,
479; safety issues for handling toxic
chemicals, 118
Hamilton, Margaret: career, 48 1 ; computer
scientist and systems engineer, 480;
computer systems for Apollo command
module and lunar excursion vehicle, 64;
education, 480; Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), 64; professional
association, 481; professional
experience, 480
Hammel, Heidi: ASBMB president, 79;
astronomer, 482; career, 482 483;
concurrent positions, 482; education, 482;
Hubble space telescope, 64; photo, 483;
professional associations, 483; professional
experience, 482
Handbook of Birds of the Western United States
(Bailey), 212
Handbook of Child Psychology
(Goodenough), 446
Handbook of North American Indians, 504
Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 6,
Subarctic, 504
Handbook of Paleontology for Beginners and
Amateurs: Part I, The Fossils and Part 2,
The Formations (Goldring), 443
Handbook of Physiological Optics (von
Helmholtz), 597
A Handbook of the Trees of California
(Eastwood), 361
Hanna, Harriet, 223
Harrier, Hawk of the Marshes
(Hamerstrom), 478
Harris, Jean Louise: career, 484; concurrent
positions, 484; education, 484; M.D. and
mayor of her town, 55; physician, 484;
professional associations, 484 485;
professional experience, 484
Harris, Mary (Styles): African American health
issues, 57, 87; African American women's
health, 46; career, 486; concurrent positions,
485; education, 485; epidemiologist and gene
ticist, 485; Journey to Wellness, 139; profes
sional associations, 486 487; professional
experience, 485; sickle cell anemia, 87
Harrison, Anna Jane, 1021; career, 487 488;
chemist, 487; education, 487; photo, 487;
professional associations, 488; professional
experience, 487
Harrison, Faye Venetia: anthropologist, 488;
career, 489; concurrent positions, 488;
education, 488; people of African descent,
study of, 57; professional associations, 489;
professional experience, 488
Harrison Ross, Phyllis Ann: career, 490; con
current positions, 490; disability, 169; edu
cation, 490; pediatrician and psychiatrist, 55,
490; professional associations, 490 491;
professional experience, 490
Hart, Helen: American Phytopathological
Society, 94; career, 491; concurrent
positions, 491; education, 491; plant
pathologist, 491; professional associations,
491 492; professional experience, 491; rust
resistant wheat and other crops, 94
Harvard Observatory, 74
Harvard University, 157; Task Force on Women
Faculty and Women in Science and
Engineering, 33
Harvey, Edith: sea urchins, research on, 174
Harvey, Edmund Newton, 4920
Harvey, Ethel Browne: career, 492 493; cell
biologist, 492; concurrent positions, 492;
education, 492; professional associations,
493; professional experience, 492
Haschemeyer, Audrey E. V.: Antarctica,
research in, 154; biochemist and
environmental physiologist, 493; career,
493 494; concurrent positions, 493;
1-30 | Index
education, 493; professional associations,
494; professional experience, 493;
temperature change affecting biological
processes offish, 80, 154
Hassler Expedition, 83
Hatfield, Elaine Catherine: career, 495;
concurrent positions, 495; education, 494;
love, sex, and choices of marital partners,
studies on, 170; photo, 495; professional
associations, 495 496; professional
experience, 494; psychologist, 494
Hawkes, Graham, 360
Hawkes, Kristen: anthropologist, 496; career,
496 497; concurrent positions, 496;
education, 496; professional association,
497; professional experience, 496
Hay, Elizabeth Dexter: anatomist, cell
biologist, and embryologist, 497; career,
498 499; education, 497; professional
associations, 498 499; professional
experience, 497 498
Hazen, Elizabeth Lee, 262, 1020; antifungal
antibiotics, 80, 84, 86; career, 499;
education, 499; microbiologist, 499;
professional associations, 499 500;
professional experience, 499
Hazlett, Olive Clio: career, 501; early women
mathematicians, 132; education, 500;
mathematician, 500; professional
associations, 501; professional
experience, 500
Health advocacy groups, 139
Healthcare professionals, 135
Healy, Bernadine Patricia, 15, 1022; American
Heart Association, 15, 90, 140; American
Red Cross, 140; cardiologist, 501; career,
502 503; concurrent positions, 503;
education, 501; health administrator, 501;
National Institutes of Health, 15, 38, 90,
149; photo, 15; professional associations,
503; professional experience, 501 502
Heart disease, 633
Hedeman, Ruth, 772
Heezen, Bruce C, 913
Helm, June, 643; anthropologist and
ethnologist, 503; career, 503 504;
concurrent positions, 503; education, 503;
professional associations, 504; professional
experience, 503
Henrich, Ferdinand, 477
The Henry Draper Catalogue (Cannon), 280
The Henry Draper Extension
(Cannon), 280
Henson, Jim, 976
Hereditary diseases, 122
Heredity, 121
Herschel, Caroline: comets, discovery of, 73
Herzenberg, Caroline Stuart (Littlejohn):
career, 505 506; education, 505; physicist,
505; professional associations, 506;
professional experience, 505; testing lunar
samples, 65, 161
Hewish, Anthony: Nobel Prize in
Physics, 74
Hewlett, Sylvia Ann: career, 507 508; Center
for Work Life Policy, 52, 111; concurrent
positions, 507; economist, 506; education,
506; photo, 507; professional associations,
508; professional experience, 507
HGP. See Human Genome Project
Hibbard, Hope: career, 509; education, 508;
marine biologist and zoologist, 508; marine
invertebrates, tissue studies of, 175;
professional associations, 509; professional
experience, 508 509
Hicks, Beatrice Alice, 1020; career, 510;
education, 509; engineer, 509; professional
associations, 510; professional experience,
509; Society of Women Engineers
(SWE), 113
The Hidden Half: Studies of Plains Indians
Women, 683
Hidden Hunger (Macy Hoobler and
Williams), 649
High Field Transport in Semiconductors
(Conwell), 316
High school level science curricula, 19
Hilbert, David, 809
Hispanic Business, 310
Hispanics, 56
Hispanic women, 56
History Channel, 291
Index | 1-3 I
A History of the Department of Chemistry:
University of Missouri Columbia
(Nightingale), 719
Hitchcock, A. S., 288
Hitchings, George, 79; photo, 371
Hitler, Adolph, 424
HIV. See Human immunodeficiency virus
Hobart, Mary, 637
Hockfield, Susan, 1023; career, 511; education,
510; first university president, 32;
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), 147; neuroscientist, 510; pain and
nervous system, 147; photo, 511;
professional associations, 511 512;
professional experience, 511
Hodgkin, Dorothy Crowfoot, 107, 435;
crystallography, 97; education, 97;
International Union of Crystallography, 97;
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1964), 97 98,
106, 999; penicillin and insulin, con
firmed structure of, 97, 106; penicillin
and vitamin B12, molecular structure
of, 97, 106; Royal Society, 97; X ray
crystallography, 98
Hoffleit, Dorrit (Ellen): astronomer, 512;
career, 512 513; concurrent positions, 512;
education, 512; photo, 513; professional
associations, 513; professional
experience, 512
Hoffman, Darleane (Christian): career, 514;
education, 513; nuclear chemist, 513;
professional associations, 514 515;
professional experience, 514
Hoffman, Marvin, 514
Hollingworth, Harry L., 516
Hollingworth, Leta Anna Stetter, 446; career,
515 516; education, 515; professional
associations, 516; professional experience,
515; psychologist, 515; psychology and
education of women and children, 168
Hollinshead, Ariel Cahill: cancer researcher
and pharmacologist, 516; career, 517;
concurrent positions, 516; education, 516;
professional associations, 517; professional
experience, 516
Holmes, Mary Emilie, 129
Home economics, 19, 147 150. See also
Animal Sciences; Biochemistry; Biomedical
Sciences; Botany; Chemistry;Economics,
Nutrition
Home Improvement TV show, 917
The Home Maker and Her Job (Gilbreth), 431
Homosexuality, scientific understandings of, 58
Homosexuality in Perspective (Masters and
Johnson), 553
Hong Kong Naturalist, 245
Hoobler, Raymond, 649
The Hopi Way, 916
Hopper, Grace Murray: career, 518 519;
COBOL language, development of, 102,
132; computer scientist and mathematician,
517; concurrent positions, 518; digital
computers, military and government
development of, 132; education, 517; photo,
132; professional associations, 519;
professional experience, 518
Hormones, 10
Horner, Matina (Souretis): career, 519 520;
education, 519; professional associations,
520; professional experience, 519;
psychologist, 519
Horning, Evan, 521
Horning, Marjorie G.: biochemist and
pharmacologist, 520; career, 521; concurrent
positions, 520; drug transfer between
pregnant women and fetuses, 86; education,
520; professional associations, 521;
professional experience, 520
Horstmann, Dorothy Millicent: career, 522;
education, 521; epidemiologist, 521; photo,
522; professional associations, 522;
professional experience, 522
Horticulture as women's work, 91 92
Horticulturists, 91
House Beautiful magazine, 806
Household products technology, 42
Howard Beckham, Ruth Winifred: career,
523 524; concurrent positions, 523; educa
tion, 523; Ph.D. in psychology (1934), 54,
169; professional associations, 524; profes
sional experience, 523; psychologist, 523
Howard University, 150
1-32 | Index
Howell, J. T., 361
Howes, Ethel Puffer: career, 525; education,
525; professional associations, 526; profes
sional experience, 525; psychologist, 525
Howes, Ruth H, 506
How Fluids Unmix (Levelt Sengers), 614
How Schools Shortchange Girls (AAUW
1992), 19
How to Get Whatever You Want Out of Life
(Brothers), 260
How to Talk to Your Child about Sexuality
(Wattleton), 952
How to Teach Nutrition to Children, 891
Hoy, Marjorie Ann (Wolf): career, 526;
education, 526; entomologist and geneticist,
526; genetic engineering of agricultural
crops, 124; insect control in food crop
plants, 177; professional associations, 527;
professional experience, 526
Hoyle, Fred, 272
HPV. See Human papilloma viruses
Hrdy, Sarah C. (Blaffer): concurrent positions,
527; education, 527; evolutionary biologist
and primatologist, 527; gender, evolution,
and motherhood, 166; infanticide among
primates, 166; professional
experience, 527
Huang, Alice Shih Hou: American Society of
Microbiology, 56; career, 529; concurrent
positions, 529; education, 529; microbiolo
gist, 56, 529; professional associations,
529 530; professional experience, 529
Hubbard, Ruth (Hoffman): biochemist and
biologist, 530; career, 530 531; concurrent
positions, 530; education, 530; genetic
information, overreliance on, 123; photo,
531; professional associations, 531;
professional experience, 530
Hubble space telescope, 64
Huchra, John, 426
Hughes Schrader, Sally (Peris): career, 532;
concurrent positions, 532; education, 532;
professional associations, 532 533; profes
sional experience, 532; zoologist, 532
Human behavior: early studies, 167;
explanations for, 1 1
Human Ecology in Space Flight
(Calloway), 279
Human environments, 116
Human Ethology (Hrdy), 528
Human Genome Project (HGP), 122
Human geography, 125
Human Identification: Case Studies in Forensic
Anthropology (Buikstra), 268
Human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV), 51
Human nature and value judgment, 16 17
Human papilloma viruses (HPV), 138
Human Sexual Behavior (Hatfield), 495
Human Sexual Inadequacy (Masters and
Johnson), 553
Human Sexuality: A Psychosocial Perspective
(Westheimer and Lopater), 962
Human Sexual Response (Masters and
Johnson), 553
Hunter College, 92, 93
Huntington, George, 963
Hurvich, Leo, 547
Hutchins, Sandra Elaine: communications
engineer, 533; computer scientist, 533;
concurrent positions, 533; education, 533;
professional experience, 533; voice
recognition software, 103
Hutton, James, 127
Hwang, Jennie S.: career, 534 535; concurrent
positions, 534; education, 534; engineer and
materials scientist, 56, 534; professional
associations, 535; professional
experience, 534
Hyde, Ida Henrietta, 766; American
Physiological Society, 137; career, 536;
education, 536; professional associations,
536 537; professional experience, 536;
psychologist, 536
Hydrology, 142
Hyman, Libbie Henrietta: career, 537;
education, 537; professional associations,
537; professional experience, 537; Society
for Systematic Zoology, 174; zoologist, 537;
zoology textbooks, 174
Hypatia of Alexandria, 73, 75
Hysteria, 170
Index | 1-33
IAU. See International Astronomical Union
IBM. See International Business Machines
Icebound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for
Survival at the South Pole (Nielsen), 719
Ichthyosaur, 156
IEEE. See Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers
IFHE. See International Federation for Home
Economics
If You Love This Planet: A Plan to Heal the
Earth (Caldicott), 277
/ in the Wind (Slye), 875
The Impact of Family Planning Programs on
Women 's Lives, 687
Index to Grass Species (Chase), 288
The Indian: America 's Unfinished Business
(Brophy and Aberle), 179
The Indian Christ, the Indian King: The
Historical Substrate of Maya Myth and
Ritual (Bricker), 250
Indians of the Subarctic (Helm), 504
Industrial and Engineering
Chemistry, 648
Industrial Poisons in the United States
(Hamilton), 480
Industrial Research & Development, 445
Industrial Revolution and industries with needs
for scientists, 41
Industrial Toxicology (Hamilton), 480
Industry: demand for scientists, 40 41;
engineering jobs, 114; flexible hiring and
advancement criteria, 40; life scientists, 39;
management or profit related activities, 43;
physical scientists, 39; salaries, 37; women
scientist jobs, 40 46; work/life balance, 46
Infant Metabolism (Stearns), 888
Influences of Geographic, Environment, on the
Basis of Ratzel's System of Anthropo
Geography (Semple), 848
Information technology (IT), 100 104. See also
Engineering; Mathematics
The Infrared Solar Spectrum, 873
In Honor of Mary Haas, 476
The Inner History of Devices, 928
Innovation: Breakthrough Thinking at Du Pont,
GE, Pfizer, and Rubbermaid (Kanter), 562
In Praise of Imperfection: My Life and Work
(Levi Montalcini), 619
Insect Molecular Genetics, 527
Instantons and 4 Manifold Topology, 934
Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE), 1 14
Institute of Medicine of the National Academy
of Science: "Lesbian Health: Current
Assessment and Directions for the Future"
(Solarz), 58
Institute of Physics, 74
Institutional Incentives and Sustainable
Development: Infrastructure Policies
in Perspective, 732
Institutional model of economics, 109
Institutions of higher learning excluding
women, 2
Instructors, 29
Integrated Laboratory Sequence (Good), 445
Interacting with the Dead: Perspectives on
Mortuary Archaeology for the New
Millennium (Buikstra), 268
International Astronomical Union (IAU), 73
International Business Machines (IBM), 103
International Federation for Home Economics
(IFHE), 150
International Geographical Congress, 126
International Institute of Space Law, 63
International Journal of Women 's
Studies, 252
International Monetary Fund, 110
International Perspectives in Public
Health, 238
International projects and professional
networks, xxiii
International Union of Crystallography, 97, 108
International Year of Astronomy, 73
Internet, 103
Interpersonal Attraction (Hatfield), 495
Intervirology, 469
Intriligator, Devrie (Shapiro): astrophysicist
and space physicist, 539; career, 539 540;
education, 539; Pioneer spacecraft, analysis
of data, 65; professional associations, 540;
professional experience, 539
Introduction to Astrodynamics, 65 1
1-34 | Index
Introduction to Botany in a Series of Familiar
Letters (Wakefield), 92
Introduction to Groundwater Modeling
(Anderson and Wang), 194
An Introduction to Language, 410
Introduction to Mushroom Hunting
(Charles), 287
Introduction to VLSI Systems (Conway and
Mead), 315
Introductory Astronomy and Astrophysics, 877
The Invertebrates (Hyman), 537
Invisible Seas, 313
Invitation to Cognitive Science, Volume I
Language, 434
In vitro fertilization (IVF), 49
Iowa State University, 93
Iraqi women scientists, 824
Iron, Life 's Universal Element: Why People
Need Iron and Animals Make Magnets
(Mielczarek and McGrayne), 691
Irradiation of Polymeric Materials: Processes,
Mechanisms, and Applications, 791
Irwin, Mary lane: career, 541; computer
scientist, 540; concurrent positions, 541;
education, 540; professional associations,
541; professional experience, 540 541
Is My Baby All Right? (Apgar), 198
Is She Coming Too?: Memoirs of a Lady Hunter
(Hamerstrom), 478
IT. See Information technology
ITT Research Institute, 65
IVF. See In vitro fertilization
Jacklin, Carol Nagy, 645
Jackson, Jacquelyne Mary (Johnson): career,
543 544; concurrent positions, 543;
education, 543; minority aging and needs of
elderly African Americans documentary,
173; professional associations, 543 544;
professional experience, 543;
sociologist, 543
Jackson, Robert, 384
Jackson, Shirley Ann, 1023; career, 544 546;
concurrent positions, 544; education, 544;
first university president, 32; Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), 161; Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC), 161; photo,
545; physicist, 544; professional associa
tions, 546; professional experience, 544;
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 161
James, William: founder of modern American
psychology, 167
Jameson, Dorothea A.: career, 547; concurrent
positions, 547; education, 546; professional
associations, 547; professional experience,
546 547; psychologist, 546
Jan, Lily: career, 548; education, 548;
neurobiologist, 548; professional
associations, 548 549; professional
experience, 548
Jan, Yuh Nung, 548
Jane Brady's Good Food Book (Brody), 255
Jane Brody 's Guide to the Great Beyond
(Brody), 255
Jane Brady's Nutrition Book (Brody), 255
Jeanes, Allene Rosalind: career, 549; chemist,
549; education, 549; professional
associations, 550; professional
experience, 549
Jemison, Mae Carol: astronaut, 56; astronaut
and physician, 550; career, 550 55 1 ;
concurrent positions, 550; education, 550;
professional associations, 551; professional
experience, 550; Spacelab J (photo), 57;
weightlessness and motion sickness, study
of, 140
Jensen, Arthur, 364
Jensen, J. Hans D., 437
Jerrie Cobb, Solo Pilot (Cobb), 300
Jobs for women scientists: academia, 28 34;
business, 40 46; government, 35 39;
industry, 40 46; nonprofit research, 40 46
Joe Camel cartoon character, 723
Johanson, Donald, 72
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 136
Johns Hopkins University, 78, 129,
156 157, 176
Johnson, Barbara Crawford: aerospace
engineer, 551; career, 551 552; education,
551; professional associations, 552;
professional experience, 551
Johnson, Claudia Alta, 978, 980
Index | 1-35
Johnson, Harold, 191
Johnson, Lyndon B., 63, 980
Johnson, Treat B., 477
Johnson, Virginia (Eshelman): career, 553;
education, 552; photo, 553; professional
experience, 553; psychologist and sex
therapist, 552; sexual behavior, 170
Johnson Space Center, 64
Johnston, Mary Helen: career, 554 555;
education, 554; metallurgical engineer, 554;
professional associations, 555; professional
experience, 554
Joliot, Frederic, 98, 344
Joliot, Pierre, 98
Joliot Curie, Irene, xxiii, 159, 344; Commis
sioner for Atomic Energy, 98; director of
Radium Institute, 98; doctorate with thesis
on polonium, 98; Nobel Prize in Chemistry
(1935), 98, 999; radioactivity, work on, 98
Jones, Anita Katherine: career, 555 556;
computer scientist, 555; education, 555;
professional associations, 556; professional
experience, 555
Jones, Mary Ellen: ASBMB president, 79;
biochemist, 556; career, 557; education,
556; professional associations, 557 558;
professional experience, 556 557
Journal of American Folklore, 69, 226
Journal of Applied Meteorology, 203
Journal of Applied Psycholinguistics , 410
Journal of Bacteriology, 470, 673, 852
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 78,
785, 894
Journal of Cell Biology, 412
Journal of Chemical Physics, 111
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and
Metabolism, 713
Journal of Computers in Mathematics and
Science Teaching, 465
Journal of Cross Cultural Gerontology, 221
Journal of Economic Growth, Games and
Economic Behavior, 895
Journal of Economic Theory, 895
Journal of Experimental Medicine, 752
Journal of Genetic Psychology, 523
Journal of Geophysical Research, 395
Journal of Geophysical Research
Atmosphere, 606
Journal of Language Acquisition, 282
Journal of Minority Aging, 543
Journal of Molecular Biology, 852
Journal of Morphology, 283, 763
Journal of Morphology and Physiology, 577
Journal of Number Theory, 910
Journal of Nutrition, 376, 648, 817
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental
Therapeutics, 652
Journal of Political Economy, 895
Journal of Protozoology, 763
Journal of Psychology, 523
Journal of the American Chemical Society,
406, 477
Journal of the American College
of Surgeons, 845
Journal of the American Dietetic
Association, 648
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 956
Journal of Theoretical Biology, 646
Journal of Virology, 469
Journal of Vision, 452
Journal on Emerging Technologies in
Computing Systems, 541
A Journey in Brazil (Agassiz), 83
Journey to Wellness, 139, 486
Joycelyn Elders, M.D.: From Sharecropper's
Daughter to Surgeon General of the United
States of America (Elders), 370
Julia, A Life in Mathematics (Reid), 809
Just, Ernest Everett, 995
Kahneman, Daniel, 927; photo, 927
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, 162
Kalnay, Eugenia: career, 559 560; education,
559; global climate change, role of humans
in, 144; meteorologist, 559; photo, 560;
professional associations, 560; professional
experience, 559; weather predictions based
on ocean and atmospheric climates, 143
Kanter, Rosabeth (Moss): career, 561 562;
concurrent positions, 561; corporate culture,
management, and job performance, 173;
education, 560; management consultant and
1-36 | Index
sociologist, 560; professional associations,
562; professional experience, 561
Kanwisher, Nancy, 883; brain, functions of
parts of, 147; brain, social and evolutionary
development of, 147; career, 563; concurrent
positions, 562; education, 562;
neuroscience, 169; professional
associations, 563; professional experience,
562; psychologist, 562
Kappler, John, 659
Karle, Isabella Helen Lugoski, 37; American
Crystallographic Association, 107; career,
564; crystallographer, 564; education, 564;
Naval Research Laboratory, 106 107;
professional associations, 565; professional
experience, 564; synthetic materials,
development of, 107
Karle, Jerome, 37, 564; Naval Research
Laboratory, 106 107
Karp, Carol Ruth (Vander Velde): career,
565 566; education, 565; infinitary logic
theory, 134; mathematician, 565;
professional associations, 566; professional
experience, 565
Kassarjian, J. Barkev, 220
Kaufman, Joyce (Jacobson): career, 566 567;
chemist and pharmacologist, 566; education,
566; professional associations, 567;
professional experience, 566
Kay, Alan, 438
And Keep Your Powder Dry
(Mead), 681
Keller, Evelyn Fox: career, 568 569;
education, 567; genetic research criticism,
123; mathematical biologist, molecular
biologist, and physicist, 567; photo, 568;
professional associations, 569; professional
experience, 568
Kelly, H. J., 649
Kempf, Martine: career, 569; computer
scientist, 569; education, 569; professional
experience, 569; voice recognition software,
103, 114
Kenyon, Cynthia J.: age related diseases, 87;
career, 570 571; concurrent positions, 570;
education, 570; molecular biologist, 570;
photo, 571; professional associations, 571;
professional experience, 570
Kids: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way
We Raise Our Children (Small), 876
Kidwell, Margaret Gale: career, 572; education,
572; evolutionary biologist and geneticist,
572; fruit flies, transfer of genes in, 124;
professional associations, 573; professional
experience, 572
Kieffer, Susan Werner: career, 573 574;
concurrent positions, 573; education, 573;
geologist, mineral physicist, and
volcanologist, 573; professional
associations, 574 575; professional
experience, 573; volcanoes and crater
impacts on other planets, 129 130
Kies, Mary Dixon: first woman to receive
patent, 41, 112
Kimble, Judith: career, 575 576; concurrent
positions, 575; education, 575; geneticist,
575; nematodes (unsegmented worms), 124;
professional associations, 576; professional
experience, 575
King, Augusta Ada Byron, Countess
of Lovelace, 101
King, Helen Dean: career, 576 577;
geneticist, 576; heredity and breeding pure
generations of rats, 124; professional
associations, 577; professional
experience, 576
King, Mary Claire: BRCA1 gene, 124; breast
cancer research, 124; career, 577 578; edu
cation, 577; epidemiologist and geneticist,
577; photo, 578; professional associations,
578; professional experience, 577
King, William, Earl of Lovelace, 101
Kinsey, Alfred, 792
The Kinsey Institute New Report on Sex, 793
Kinships of Animals and Man: A Textbook of
Animal Biology (Morgan), 703
Klinman, Judith (Pollock): ASBMB president,
79; biochemist and physical organic
chemist, 579; career, 579; concurrent
positions, 579; education, 579; professional
associations, 580; professional
experience, 579
Index | 1-37
Klumpke Roberts, Dorothea, 483
Knopf, Adolph, 581
Knopf, Eleanora Frances Bliss: career,
580 581; concurrent positions, 580;
education, 580; geologist, 580; professional
associations, 581; professional experience,
580; USGS, 129
Knox, Robert S., 691
Kofalk, Harriet, 212
Kolodny, Robert, 554
Koop, C. Everett, 554
Kopell, Nancy J.: applied mathematician, 581;
career, 581 582; concurrent positions, 581;
education, 581; photo, 582; professional
associations, 582; professional
experience, 581
Koshland, Daniel, 583
Koshland, Marian Elliott: career, 583; cholera
vaccine, 86; concurrent positions, 583;
education, 582; immunologist, 582;
professional associations, 583; professional
experience, 582 583
Kreps, Juanita (Morris), 1021; career, 584 585;
economist, 584; education, 584; photo, 585;
professional associations, 585; professional
experience, 584; Secretary of
Commerce, 110
Krim, Mathilde (Galland): cancer, tuberculosis,
and HIV/AIDS research, 124; career,
586 587; concurrent positions, 586;
education, 585; geneticist and virologist,
585; photo, 586; professional associations,
587; professional experience, 585 586
Krueger, Anne (Osborn): career, 587 588;
economist, 587; education, 587;
International Monetary Fund, 110; National
Academy of Sciences (NAS), 109; photo,
110; professional associations, 588;
professional experience, 587;
World Bank, 110
Kiibler Ross, Elisabeth: anthropology and
sociology of death, 169; career, 589; con
current positions, 589; education, 588;
photo, 169; professional associations, 590;
professional experience, 588 589;
psychiatrist, 588
Kuhlmann Wilsdorf, Doris: career, 590 591;
concurrent positions, 590; education, 590;
metallurgist and physicist, 590; patents for
electrical brushes for machines and engines,
161; professional associations, 591; profes
sional experience, 590
Kurtzig, Sandra L. (Brody): aeronautical
engineer and computer scientist, 591; ASK
Computer Systems, 45, 103; career,
591 592; education, 591; professional
experience, 591
Kwolek, Stephanie Louise, 1021; career,
592 593; education, 592; Kevlar, invention
of, 43, 99; polymer chemist, 592;
professional associations, 593; professional
experience, 592
LaBastille, Anne: career, 595 596; con
current positions, 595; ecologist, 595;
education, 595; photo, 596; professional
associations, 596 597; professional
experience, 595; science writers, 46;
wildlife habitats of bird
species, 119
Laboratory Directions in General Zoology
(Guthrie and Anderson), 472
Laboratory Handbook for Dietetics (Rose and
MacLeod), 648, 817
Laboratory Identification of Pathogenic Fungi
Simplified (Brown), 499
A Laboratory Manual for Comparative
Vertebrate Anatomy (Hyman), 537
A Laboratory Manual for Elementary Zoology
(Hyman), 537
A Laboratory Outline of Neurology
(Crosby), 326
Laboratory Outlines of Physiology (Hyde), 536
La Civilizacion Zapoteca: Como Evoluciono
La Sociedad Urbana en el Valle de Oaxaca
(Marcus and Flannery), 654
Ladd Franklin, Christine: career, 597 598;
education, 597; photo, 598; professional
associations, 598; professional experience,
597; psychologist, 597
Ladies' Home Journal, 198, 934
The Lady and the Sharks (Clark), 296
1-38 | Index
Lady with a Spear (Clark), 296
Laird, Elizabeth Rebecca: career, 599;
concurrent positions, 599; education, 598;
physicist, 598; professional associations,
599; professional experience, 598 599;
Royal Canadian Air Force, 160; training
women in sciences, 159 160
Laissez faire economics, 109
Lamarr, Hedy (Hedwig Eva Maria
Kieslern), 5
Lambert, Marjorie Ferguson, 71
La Monte, Francesca Raimond: American
Museum of Natural History, 154; career,
600; education, 599; exhibits on marlin,
swordfish, and other species, 177;
ichthyologist, 177, 599; professional
associations, 600; professional
experience, 600
Lancaster, Cleo: career, 601; education, 601;
physiologist, 601; professional associations,
601; professional experience, 601
Lancefield, Rebecca Craighill: bacteriologist,
602; career, 602; education, 602;
professional associations, 602 603;
professional experience, 602
Land, Barbara, 755
Land grant colleges, 3, 25, 66; food sciences
and nutrition, 147 148
Langevin Joliot, Helene, 98
Langley Research Center, 64
Langmuir, Irving, 243
Language, Culture, and History (Haas), 476
Language, Speech, and Mind (Fromkin), 410
Language and Experience: Evidence from the
Blind Child, 434
Languages with Expressions of Infinite Length
(Karp), 565
Langurs of Abu: Female and Male Strategies
of Reproduction (Hrdy), 528
Large animal species, 177
Latin American Macroeconomic Reform:
The Second Stage, 588
Latina women: issues facing, 57
Latinos, 54
Lavender ceiling, 57
Lawrence, Ernest, 987
Leacock, Eleanor (Burke): career, 603 604;
concurrent positions, 603; cultural
anthropologist, 603; education, 603;
feminist anthropologist, 70; gendered
hierarchies, 70; professional associations,
604; professional experience, 603
Leaflets of Western Botany journal, 361
Leakey, Louis, 164 165, 403
Leakey, Mary, 164, 403
Leakey, Richard, 704, 767
Leaky pipeline, xx xxi, 6, 25; academia, 31 32
Learning to Be an Anthropologist and
Remaining "Native," 683
Leavitt, Henrietta Swan, 74, 280; astronomer,
604; career, 604 605; education, 604;
professional associations, 605; professional
experience, 604
Lectures on Set Theoretic Topology, 825
Lectures to Young Ladies (Phelps), 92
Ledley, Tamara (Shapiro): career, 606;
climatologist, 605; concurrent positions,
606; education, 605; polar regions role in
shaping climate, 143; professional
associations, 606 607; professional
experience, 606
Lee, Tsung Dao, 986 987
Leeman, Susan (Epstein): career, 607 608;
education, 607; endocrinologist and
physiologist, 607; photo, 607; professional
associations, 608; professional
experience, 607
Leetsma, David, 903
Lehu, Pierre A., 962
Lemisch, Jesse, 957
LeMone, Margaret Anne: career, 609;
concurrent positions, 608 609; education,
608; meteorologist, 608; professional
associations, 609; professional experience,
608; women in meteorology, education and
careers, 143
Leopold, Aldo, 120, 478, 611
Leopold, Estella Bergere: ancient environments
studies, 158; career, 610 611; concurrent
positions, 610; education, 610;
paleoecologist, 94, 610; photo, 610;
prehistoric organisms and environments.
Index | 1-39
120; professional associations, 611;
professional experience, 610
Lesbian women, 57 58
Lesch, John E., 242
Lesh Laurie, Georgia Elizabeth: career, 612;
developmental biology, 611; education, 611;
professional associations, 612; professional
experience, 612
L'Esperance, Elise Depew Strang: cancer, early
detection and treatment of, 137; career, 613;
concurrent positions, 613; education, 612;
pathologist, 612; professional associations,
613; professional experience, 612 613
A Lesser Life: The Myth of Women 's Liberation
in America (Hewlett), 508
Leta Stetter Hollingworth (Hollingworth), 516
Letters to a Young Feminist (Chesler), 291
Levelt Sengers, Johanna Maria Henrica: career,
614; concurrent positions, 614; education,
614; physicist, 614; professional associa
tions, 614 615; professional experience, 614
Leverton, Ruth Mandeville: career, 615 616;
concurrent positions, 615; education, 615;
nutritionist, 615; professional associations,
616; professional experience, 615
Leveson, Nancy G.: aerospace engineer and
computer scientist, 617; career, 617;
concurrent positions, 617; education, 617;
professional associations, 617 618;
professional experience, 617
Levi Montalcini, Rita, 1022; career, 618 619;
concurrent positions, 618; education, 618;
neuroembryologist, 618; Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine (1986), 999; photo,
619; professional associations, 619; profes
sional experience, 618
Levy, David, 861
Lewis, Edward B., 84
Lewis, Margaret Adaline Reed: career, 620;
concurrent positions, 620; education, 620;
embryologist, 620; professional
associations, 620 621; professional
experience, 620; in vitro mammalian tissue
cultures studying tumor growth, 177
Lewis, Warren H., 620
Libby, Leona Woods Marshall, 160; career,
621 622; concurrent positions, 621;
education, 621; photo, 622; physicist, 621;
professional associations, 623; professional
experience, 621
Libby, Williard Frank, 621
Life among the Cattle Owning Tonga: The
Material Culture of a Zambian Tribe
(Colson), 311
Life magazine, 243, 589
Life on the Line (Wattleton), 952
Life oti the Screen: Identity in the Age of the
Internet (Turkle), 928
Life sciences, 83; nature of sex and gender, 13
Life scientists: working outside
of academia, 39
Lifetime, 632
The Life Work of Nobel Laureate Willard Frank
Libby, 622
Linares, Olga Frances: anthropologist, 623;
career, 623 624; concurrent positions, 623;
education, 623; professional associations,
624; professional experience, 623
Lindee, M. Susan, 710
Linear Algebra and Its Applications journal,
134,910
Linnaeus, Carl, 174, 175; classes, 81, 82;
orders, 81; zoological terminology, 82
Lipmann, Fritz, 557
Lippincott, Sarah Lee, 384; astronomer, 624;
career, 624 625; concurrent positions, 624;
education, 624; extrasolar planets,
identifying, 75; professional associations,
625; professional experience, 624
Liskov, Barbara Huberman: career, 625 626;
computer scientist, 100, 625; education, 625;
professional associations, 626; professional
experience, 625
Living organisms or species: biological
interactions and interdependency
among, 116
Lloyd, Rachel: American Chemical Society
(ACS), 97
Lochman Balk, Christina: career, 627; concur
rent positions, 627; education, 626; geologist
and paleontologist, 626; invertebrate fossils,
129; meteor was responsible for
1-40 | Index
disappearance of dinosaurs research, 129;
professional associations, 627; professional
experience, 626 627
Loeblich, Al, 628
Loeblich, Helen Nina Tappan: career, 628;
education, 627; living and fossil plant
microorganisms research, 158;
paleontologist, 627; professional
associations, 628; professional
experience, 628
Long, Irene (Duhart): aerospace physician,
629; career, 629; Chief Medical Officer, 64;
education, 629; NASA, 64; Occupational
Medicine and Environmental Health Office,
140; professional associations, 629;
professional experience, 629; space flight
and weightlessness effect on blood oxygen,
85; women astronauts, 85
Long, Perrin H., 241
Long, Sharon (Rugel): career, 630 631;
concurrent positions, 630; developmental
biologist and molecular biologist, 630;
education, 630; legumes, genetics of, 124;
photo, 630; professional associations, 631;
professional experience, 630
Look magazine, 243
Loops, Floyd D., 503
Lopater, Sanford, 962
Los Alamos laboratory, 37
Los Angeles Times, 394, 664, 910
Louis Agassiz: His Life and Correspondence
(Agassiz), 83
Love, Sex, and Intimacy: Their Psychology,
Biology, and History (Hatfield), 495
Love, Susan M.: breast cancer research, 46, 87,
140; career, 632 633; concurrent positions,
632; education, 631; photo, 632;
professional associations, 633 634;
professional experience, 63 1 632;
surgeon, 631
Love and Sex (Hatfield), 495
Love Canal, 118
Lovelace, William Randolph, 62
Lovelock, James, 656
Lubchenco, Jane, 1024; career, 635; concurrent
positions, 634; conservation biologist and
marine ecologist, 634; education,
634; National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, 39, 120, 142, 152;
ocean ecosystems and global climate
change, 120; photo, 142; professional
associations, 635; professional
experience, 634
Lubic, Ruth (Watson): career, 636 637; care
of families with children, founding
organization to, 140; concurrent positions,
636; education, 636; nurse midwife, 636;
professional associations, 637 638; profes
sional experience, 636
Lubkin, Gloria (Becker): career, 638;
education, 638; physicist, 638;
Physics Today, 162; professional
associations, 638 639; professional
experience, 638
Luchins, Abraham, 640
Luchins, Edith Hirsch: concurrent positions,
639; education, 639; gender role learning
and teaching mathematics, 134;
mathematical psychology, 134;
mathematician, 639; professional
associations, 640; professional
experience, 639
Lucid, Shannon (Wells), 356; astronaut and
biochemist, 640; astronautics, 63; career,
641 642; education, 640; photo, 641;
professional associations, 642; professional
experience, 640 641
"Lucy" (Australopithecus afarensis), 72
The Lung and Its Disorders in the Newborn
Infant (Avery), 203
Lung cancer, 633
Lunn, James, 405
Lurie, Nancy (Oestreich): anthropologist, 642;
career, 643; concurrent positions, 642;
education, 642; professional associations,
643; professional experience, 642
Lyell, Charles, 127, 128
Lyell, Mary Elizabeth Horner: conchology
(study of shells), 128
Lynx Point People: The Dynamics of a
Northern Athapaskan Band (Helm), 504
Lyon, Mary, 283
Index | 1-41
Maccoby, Eleanor (Emmons), 793; career,
645 646; education, 645; gender differences
in developmental and social psychology of
young children, 168; professional
associations, 646; professional experience,
645; psychologist, 645; work on intelligence
tests, 168
Macklin, Madge Thurlow: career, 646 647;
education, 646; geneticist, 646; hereditary
diseases and family history, 124;
professional associations, 647; professional
experience, 646
MacLeod, Florence, 648
MacLeod, Grace: calcium, iron, and other
supplements, 149; career, 647 648;
concurrent positions, 647; education, 647;
energy metabolism of children, 149;
nutritionist, 647; professional associations,
648; professional experience, 647
MacNeish, Richard, 504
Macro molecules Regulating Growth and
Development (Hay), 498
Macy Hoobler, Icie Gertrude: American Insti
tute of Nutrition, 149; career, 649; chemist,
648; education, 648; nutrition, 80; nutrition
or malnutrition and birth defects, 149; preg
nant and lactating women, nutritional needs
of, 149; professional associations, 650; pro
fessional experience, 648 649; Recom
mended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for
vitamins, 80
Madison, Dolley, 41
MAES. See Society of Mexican American
Engineers and Scientists
Magic Trees of the Mind: How to Nurture Your
Child's Intelligence (Diamond), 346
The Maize Handbook, 945
The Makah Indians: A Study of an Indian Tribe
in Modern American Society (Colson), 311
Makemson, Maud Worcester: astronomer, 650;
career, 650 65 1 ; concurrent positions, 650;
education, 650; professional associations,
65 1 ; professional experience, 650
Making Sense of Life: Explaining Biological
Development with Models, Metaphors, and
Machines (Keller), 569
Male: female brains and, 147; veterinarians, 66
Male and Female (Mead), 680
Male employees work/life balance, 48
Male hormones (androgens), 10
Maling, Harriet Mylander: career, 652;
education, 651; pharmacologist, 651;
professional associations, 652; professional
experience, 652
Maltby, Margaret Eliza: Barnard College, 159;
career, 653; education, 652; physicist, 652;
professional associations, 653; professional
experience, 652; radioactivity and physics of
sound research, 159
Mama Poc: Story of the Extinction of a Species
(LaBastille), 595
Management in the Home (Gilbreth), 431
Manhattan Project, 6; women, 160 161
Manual of Grasses of the United States
(Chase), 288
A Manual of Home Making, 816, 935
The Man Who Found the Missing Link: Eugene
Dubois ' Lifelong Quest to Prove Darwin
Right (Shipman), 859
The Mapmakers (Wilford), 914
Marcet, Jane, 96
Marcus, Joyce, 71; archaeologist, 654; career,
654 655; education, 654; professional
associations, 655; professional
experience, 654
Margulis, Lynn (Alexander): career, 656 657;
cell biologist and microbiologist, 655;
concurrent positions, 656; education, 655;
"Gaia hypothesis," 116; photo, 656;
professional associations, 657; professional
experience, 655 646
Margulis, Thomas, 657
Maria Mitchell Association, 74
Marine Biological Laboratory, 154
Marine biology, 151
Marine botany, 91
Marine Game Fishes of the World
(La Monte), 600
Marine life, 151
Mark, Jesse Jarue, 93
Marlatt, Abby Lillian: career, 657 658;
education, 657; educator and home
1-42 | Index
economist, 657; professional associations,
658; professional experience, 657;
University of Wisconsin, 30, 150
Marrack, Philippa Charlotte: career, 659;
concurrent positions, 659; education, 658;
immunologist, 658; professional
associations, 659; professional
experience, 658
Marriage, 50
Marriage and Family among the Plateau Tonga
of Northern Rhodesia (Colson), 311
Marshall, Gloria, 900
Martin, Emily: anthropologist, 660; biological
process, inaccurate description of, 82;
career, 660 661; education, 660;
professional associations, 661; professional
experience, 660
Martin, Robert W., 867
Marvin, Thomas Crockett, 661
Marvin, Ursula Bailey: career, 661 662;
concurrent positions, 661; education, 661;
lunar rocks and meteorites, 130; planetary
geologist, 661; professional association,
662; professional experience, 661
Marx, Karl, 109
Marxist feminists, 70
Maryland Academy of Sciences, 92
Mary Swartz Rose: Pioneer in Nutrition
(Eagles), 817
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),
2, 64, 97, 106, 113, 118, 143, 147, 159, 161;
first female faculty member, 30
Mastectomies, 633
Masters, Betty Sue Siler: ASBMB president, 79
Masters William H., 553; photo, 553
Maternal leave policies, 50
Mathematical Methods in Linguistics, 740
Mathematical Models of Conception
and Birth, 687
Mathematical psychology, 134
Mathematicians, 54
Mathematics: See also Computer Sciences and
Information Technology; Engineering;
Physics; gender bias, 132; natural sciences,
applied sciences and social sciences,
foundation of, 131; perception as male
field, 21; women in higher level, under
representation of, 131; women with
doctorates, 133
Mathias, Mildred Esther: American Society of
Plant Taxonomists, 93 94; botanist, 663;
BSA, 93; career, 663 664; concurrent
positions, 663; education, 663; photo, 94;
professional associations, 664; professional
experience, 663
Math test scores: sex based difference, 18
Matson, Pamela Anne: career, 664 665;
education, 664; environmental scientist and
soil scientist, 664; land use changes role on
global warming, 120; photo, 665; profes
sional associations, 665 666; professional
experience, 664
A Matter of Choices: Memoirs of a Female
Physicist (Ajzenberg Selove), 187
Matthews, Alva T: career, 666 667; concurrent
positions, 666; education, 666; engineer,
666; professional associations, 667;
professional experience, 666
Mattuck, Arthur, 236
Maury, Antonia Caetana de Paiva Pereira, 74,
280, 750; astronomer, 667; career, 667 668;
education, 667; professional associations,
668; professional experience, 667
Maury, Carlotta loaquina: career, 668 669;
education, 668; paleontologist, 156, 668;
professional associations, 669; professional
experience, 668
Max Planck Institute of Developmental
Biology, 84
Mayer, Joseph, 436, 437
McCammon, Helen Mary (Choman): career,
669 670; education, 669; geologist and
marine biologist, 669; living invertebrates
and marine ecology research, 154;
professional associations, 670; professional
experience, 669
McClintock, Barbara, 389, 472, 568, 831, 944,
1022; career, 671; education, 670; genes
moving between chromosomes, 87 88, 123;
geneticist, 670; maize (corn) genetics, 85,
123; Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
(1983), 44, 80, 95, 123, 999; (photo), 45;
Index | 1-43
professional associations, 671; professional
experience, 670
McCormick, Katharine Dexter: reliable
contraception, 88; suffragist, 88
McCoy, Elizabeth Florence: career, 672 673;
education, 672; professional associations,
673; professional experience, 672; soil
microbiologist, 672
McCracken, Isabel (Mary): beetles and birds
genetics (Sierra Nevada mountains), 176;
career, 673 674; education, 673;
entomologist, 673; photo, 674; professional
associations, 674; professional
experience, 673
McFadden, Lucy Ann Adams: asteroids and
dead comets, 75; astronomer and geophysi
cist, 674; career, 675; concurrent positions,
675; education, 674; NASA's planetary
geology program, 130; photo, 77; profes
sional associations, 675; professional
experience, 674
McGrayne, Sharon Bertsch, 691
McMath, Robert, 772
McNutt, Marcia Kemper, 1024; Cabinet level
Secretary of the Interior, 39; career,
676 677; concurrent positions, 676; educa
tion, 676; marine geophysicist, 676; Monte
rey Bay Aquarium Research Institute,
44 45, 130, 152, 153 654; plate tectonics,
130, 154; professional associations, 677;
professional experience, 676; sea floor,
mapped and measured depth of, 154; USGS,
39, 152, 154
McSherry, Diana Hartridge: career, 678;
computer scientist and medical physicist,
677; concurrent positions, 678; education,
677; professional associations, 678;
professional experience, 677 678
McWhinnie, Mary Alice: biologist, 678; career,
679; education, 678; krill in ocean food
chain, studies of, 154; professional
associations, 679; professional experience,
679; wintering in Antarctica, 154
Mead, Carver, 315
Mead, Margaret, 16, 219, 225 226, 1019;
anthropologist, 680; career, 680 681;
concurrent positions, 680; education, 680;
Franz Boas and, 69; nonacademic audience,
70; photo, 680; professional associations,
681; professional experience, 680; sexuality
and sex roles, 70; Society for Applied
Anthropology, 69
Measurement of Intelligence by Drawings
(Goodenough), 446
Meat Marketing and Technology magazine, 455
The Mechanism of Mendelian Heredity
(Morgan), 283
Medical colleges, 3 4
Medical ethics, 17
Medical genetics, 124
Medical science: nature of sex and gender, 13
Medical studies: exclusion of female patients
from, 88 89
Medicine, 135 141. See also Biochemistry;
Biology; Biomedical Sciences; Genetics;
Neuroscience; Psychiatry and Psychology;
academia, 137 138; female representation
in, 137 138; women and, 5; as women's
work, 91 92
Medicine, Beatrice A.: anthropologist, 681;
career, 682 683; concurrent positions, 682;
education, 681; Native American women
and families, 57, 70; professional
associations, 683; professional
experience, 682
Meinel, Aden, 684
Meinel, Marjorie Pettit: astronomer, 683;
career, 684; concurrent positions, 684;
education, 683; professional associations,
684 685; professional experience, 684
Meitner, Lise, xxiii; nuclear fission, 162
Men: brains of, 10 11; depression, 170;
employed computers, 101; GI Bill for
education for returning veterans, 5; IQ
scores, 11; math scores on SAT, 10; mental
health disorders, 170; needing jobs more
than women, 41; object oriented, 10; teach
ing, 29 30; undergraduate college
degrees, 18
Men and Women of the Corporation
(Kanter), 561
Mendel, Gregor, 121
1-44 | Index
Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist's View of
Genetically Modified Foods (Brown and
Fedoroff ), 390
Mendenhall, Dorothy Reed: career, 685 686;
concurrent positions, 685; education, 685;
Hodgkin's disease, 136; infant health and
mortality, 136 137; medical researchers,
136; professional associations, 686;
professional experience, 685; research
physician, 685
Menge, Bruce A., 635
Menken, Jane Ava (Golubitsky): career, 687;
concurrent positions, 687; demographer and
sociologist, 173, 686; education, 686; photo,
173; professional associations, 687 688;
professional experience, 686 687
Mental health and relationship advice, 46
Mental Testing: Its History, Principles, and
Applications (Goodenough), 446
The Mental Traits of Sex (Woolley), 167, 981
Mentoring Physical Oceanography Women to
Increase Retention (MPOWIR), 153
Mentors, 43
Merian, Maria Sibylla, 175
Merriam, Clinton Hart, 212
Mesoamerican Writing Systems: Propaganda,
Myth, and History in Four Ancient
Civilizations (Marcus), 654
Metallurgy and chemistry, 95
Metaphysics, 163
Metcalf, Betsy, 41
Meteorology, 141 144. See also Astronomy
and Astrophysics; Environmental Sciences
and Ecology; Geology; Geography; Ocean
Sciences; hydrology, 142; National Weather
Service meteorologists, 142; professional
associations, 144; related to climatology,
141 142
Methods in Enzymology, 557
Mexican Americans, 56
Michael, Helen Abbott, 96
Michel, Helen (Vaughn): career, 688 689;
education, 688; meteor responsible for
disappearance of dinosaurs, 129; nuclear
chemist, 688; professional experience, 688
Micheli Tzanakou, Evangelia: biomedical
engineer, biophysicist, and neurophysicist,
689; career, 689 690; computer applications
in brain research, 103; concurrent positions,
689; education, 689; professional associa
tions, 690; professional experience, 689
Microbial Pathogenesis, 469
Microelectronics Technology: Polymers for
Advanced Imaging and Packaging, 791
Mid Atlantic Ridge, 130, 153
Middle Childhood: Practical Tips to Develop
Greater Peace and Cooperation for Parents
of Children Ages 7 12 (Brothers), 260 261
Midwest land grant colleges, 3
The Midwife's Tale, 637
Mielczarek, Eugenie Vorburger: biophysicist
and solid state physicist, 690; career, 691;
concurrent positions, 690; education, 690;
metal and biological compounds research,
162; professional associations, 691; profes
sional experience, 690
Milbank, Anne Isabella (Lady Byron), 101
Mildred Mathias: A Lifetime of Memories
video, 664
Miller, Elizabeth Cavert: biochemist, 691;
career, 692; concurrent positions, 692;
education, 691; professional associations,
692; professional experience, 691
Miller, James A., 692
Millikan, Robert A., 649
Mind, Life, and Universe: Conversations with
Great Scientists of Our Time (Margulis), 657
Mind and Nature (Bateson), 220
Minerals: isolation of, 148; Recommended
Daily Allowances (RDA), 148, 149
Minneapolis Tribune, 254 25
Minnesota Algae (Tilden), 918
Minorities in Aging (Jackson), 543
Minority women: African Americans, 54 56;
Asian Americans, 54 56; gay and lesbian
issues, 57 58; geosciences, 129; Hispanics,
56; Latinos, 54; Mexican Americans, 56;
national professional organizations, 58;
Native Americans, 54, 57; sciences, 54 58;
scientists, 57
Mintz, Beatrice: biologist, 84, 692; career, 693;
education, 692; mammalian genetics and
Index | 1-45
skin cancer, 84; photo, 693; professional
associations, 693 694; professional
experience, 693
Mirror, Mirror: The Importance of Looks in
Everyday Life (Hatfield), 495
Misfortunes as Blessings in Disguise: The Story
of My Life (Hoffleit), 513
Missile Envy (Caldicott), 277
MIT. See Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
Mitchell, Helen Swift: career, 694 695;
concurrent positions, 694; education, 694;
nutritionist, 694; professional associations,
695; professional experience, 694;
Recommended Daily Allowances
(RDA), 149
Mitchell, Joan L.: career, 695 696; concurrent
positions, 695; education, 695; JPEG image
compression format, 44; physicist, 695;
professional associations, 696; professional
experience, 695
Mitchell, Maria, xix, 92, 374, 513, 772;
American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
76; American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2, 76;
Association for the Advancement of
Women, xix, 76; discovering comet, 74, 76;
first American female astronomer, 76; first
professional female scientist, 74; Nantucket
Atheneum, 76; training young women, 76;
U.S. Coast Survey, 76; Vassar College, 2, 74;
Vassar College observatory, 76
Mitchell, Mildred Bessie: career, 697 698;
clinical psychologist, 696; education, 696;
professional associations, 698; professional
experience, 696 697
Modern Algebra, Second Course (Bates), 218
Modern Urine Chemistry, 408
Molecular biologists, 83 84
Molecular Biology of the Cell journal, 852
The Molecular Gaze: Art in the Genetic Age
(Nelkin and Anker), 710
Molecules, 97
Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way
You Feel (Pert), 759
Monosson, Emily, 51
Montagnier, Luc, 138
Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley, 86
Montalcini, Rita Levi: Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine (1986), 146; rapid
cell growth leading to cancer, 88
Monte Albdn (Marcus), 654
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute,
44, 130, 152 154
Moore, Emmeline: American Fisheries Society,
118; aquatic biologist, 698; career, 698 699;
education, 698; professional associations,
699; professional experience, 698; water
pollution on freshwater fish, 118
Moore, Ernest Carroll, 448
Moore, R. L., 825
Morawetz, Cathleen (Synge): applied
mathematician, 699; career, 699 701;
Courant Institute of Mathematical Science at
New York University, 134; education, 699;
photo, 700; professional associations, 701;
professional experience, 699
More Outbound Journeys in Pennsylvania
(Bonta), 244
Morgan, Agnes Fay: biochemist and
nutritionist, 701; career, 702; concurrent
positions, 701; education, 701; professional
associations, 702; professional experience,
701; University of California,
Berkeley, 149 150
Morgan, Ann Haven: career, 703; ecologist and
zoologist, 702; education, 702; freshwater
animals and insects, biology and ecology of,
175; professional associations, 703;
professional experience, 702
Morgan, Thomas Hunt, 122, 283
The Morning Star Rises (Makemson), 65 1
Morrill Act of 1862, 25, 66
Morris, Ann: husband wife teams, 71
Moss, Cynthia Jane, 767, 768; African elephant
expert, 119, 177; career, 704; concurrent
positions, 703; education, 703; professional
associations, 704; professional experience,
703; wildlife biologist, 703; world trade in
ivory, 177
Mossbauer, Rudolph, 506
Mother Care/Other Care (Scarr), 838
1-46 | Index
Mother Daughter Wisdom: Understanding the
Crucial Link between Mothers, Daughters,
and Health (Northrup), 720
Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory
(Monosson), 51
Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants
and Natural Selection (Hrdy), 528
Mothers on Trial: The Battle for Children and
Custody (Chesler), 291
The Mountain Gorilla: Ecology and Behavior
(Schaller), 403
Mountain Wolf Woman, Sister of Crashing
Thunder (Lurie), 643
Mount Holyoke, 3, 25, 97, 174; female science
faculty, 30; undergraduate science
programs, 4
Movement and Mental Imagery, 948
MPOWIR. See Mentoring Physical
Oceanography Women to Increase Retention
Ms. Foundation, 19
Ms. magazine, 928
Muir, John, 117
Mulliken, Robert, 621
Munson, Paul, 557
Murray, Sandra Ann: career, 705; cell biologist
and molecular biologist, 705; concurrent
positions, 705; education, 705; professional
associations, 706; professional
experience, 705
Mushrooms and Other Common Fungi
(Patterson and Charles), 747
Mycologia journal, 287
My Double Life: Memoirs of a Naturalist
(Hamerstrom), 478
"Mystery House" game, 975 976
My Summer in a Mormon Village (Bailey), 212
Myths of Gender: Biological Theories about
Women and Men (Fausto Sterling), 388
Nantucket Atheneum, 76
Napadensky, Hyla Sarane (Siegel): career, 707;
combustion engineer, 707; education, 707;
professional associations, 707; professional
experience, 707
Naples Zoological Station, 123
NAS. See National Academy of Science
NASA. See National Aeronautics and Space
Administration
National Academy of Engineering, xx,
181, 182
National Academy of Sciences (NAS), xx,
xxiii, 1, 2; Animal, Nutritional, and
Microbial Sciences section, 65; Behavioral
and Social Sciences section, 68 69;
Biomedical Sciences section, 86; Economics
section, 109; "Engineer Girl," 115; lesser
position of social sciences in, 69
National Academy of Sciences Web site, 22
National Aeronautics and Space Act, 63
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), xix, 61, 62, 64,
114, 126, 129, 130, 133; astronaut program,
149; creation, 63; satellite observatories
design, 75; scientists, 140; women engineers
and scientists, 63 64; women in astronaut
program, 37
National Aerospace and Space Act, 62
National Alliance for Hispanic Health, 140
National Assessment of Educational
Progress, 22
National Black Women's Health Project, 139
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 633
National Bureau of Standards, 161
National Council for Marine Resources and
Engineering Development, 152
National Geographic, 221 222, 296, 596, 768
National Institute of Standards and
Technology, 134
National Institutes of Health (NIH), 15, 35, 90,
122, 140; female subjects in government
funded medical and pharmacological
research proposals guidelines, 90, 139;
sources of research funding, 33; women in
national clinical trials, 89
National Museum of Ethiopia, 72
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), xix, 120, 142, 152
National Organization of Gay and Lesbian
Scientists and Technical Professionals
(NOGLSTP), 58
National professional organizations
for minority women, 58
Index | 1-47
National Research Council, 161, 182
National Science Board, 180
National Science Foundation (NSF), 21, 180;
family responsibilities and unemployment
(2006), 50; government jobs for women
scientists, 35; minority women (2006), 54;
sources of research funding, 33; Women in
Engineering Proactive Network, 115
National Society for Black Engineers, 58
National Weather Association, 144
National Weather Bureau: employing women
during and after World War II, 143
National Weather Service, 142
National Women's Health Network, 139
Native Americans, 54, 57
Native American Women: A Perspective, 683
Natural environments, 116
Natural Fertility, 687
Natural Health magazine, 721
Natural History and Evolution
of Paper Wasps, 960
Natural Obsessions: The Search for the
Oncogene (Angier), 195
Natural sciences: mathematics and, 131;
politics and religion, 17
Nature: role in physical as well as spiritual
well being, 117
Nature Guides for Schools, Volunteer
Organizations, Camps, and Clubs
(Cady), 276
Nature journal, 107, 162,497
Navajo Grammar, 789
Navajo Religion: A Study of Symbolism, 789
Naval Ordnance Laboratory, 161
Naval Research Laboratory, 37, 107
Naval Stores Handbook (Gerry), 428
Navrotsky, Alexandra A. S.: career, 708 709;
composition and thermal chemistry of Earth,
130; concurrent positions, 708; education,
708; geochemist and geophysicist, 708;
professional associations, 709; professional
experience, 708
Navy: training women as pilots, 63
The Neandertals: Changing the Image
of Mankind, 858
Neighborhood Governance (Shalala), 850
Nelkin, Dorothy (Wolfers): career, 709 710;
education, 709; New York University, 173;
professional associations, 710; professional
experience, 709; sociologist, 709
NerdGirls Web site, 21
Nerve cells (neurons), 145
Nerve growth factor (NGF), 146
Nervous system: study of, 144
Nesheim, Robert, 279
Network of Indian Psychologists
newsletter, 202
Neufeld, Elizabeth (Fondal): ASBMB, 79;
biochemist and geneticist, 710; career,
711 712; concurrent positions, 711;
education, 710; human genetic diseases,
124; photo, 711; professional associations,
712; professional experience, 711
Neuroscience, 144 147. See also
Biochemistry; Biology; Biomedical
Sciences; Genetics; Medicine; Psychiatry
and Psychology; higher degrees in, 145;
precursors to, 145; subdisciplines, 144
New, Maria (Landolo): career, 713 714;
concurrent positions, 713; education, 712;
pediatric endocrinology, 87; pediatrician,
712; professional associations, 714;
professional experience, 712 713
The New Butterick Cook Book, 816
"The Newcastle Circle" salon, 3
New England Female Medical College, 136
The New Explorers (Land), 755
A New Look at Love (Hatfield), 495
New Mexico Journal of Science, 858
New Mind, New Body: Bio Feedback, New
Directions for the Mind (Brown), 262
Newnham College, 107
The New Nuclear Danger (Caldicott), 277
Newsweek magazine, 781
Newton, Isaac, 159
New World, New Rules: The Changing Role
of the American Corporation, 968
New York Botanical Society, 92
New York Infirmary for Women and Children,
4, 136
New York Times, 195, 254 255, 672
New York University, 173
1-48 | Index
NGF. See Nerve growth factor
Nice, L. Blaine, 715
Nice, Margaret Morse: bird behaviors,
175 176; career, 714 715; concurrent
positions, 714; education, 714; ornithologist,
714; photo, 176; professional associations,
715; professional experience, 714
Nichols, Roberta J.: career, 716; education,
715; energy efficient vehicles, 119; environ
mental engineer, 715; professional associa
tions, 716; professional experience, 716
Nickerson, Dorothy: agricultural and
horticultural color graded standards, 160;
career, 717; education, 717; physicist, 717;
professional associations, 717; professional
experience, 717; U.S. Department of Agri
culture, 160
Nielsen, Jerri Lin (Cahill), 633; career,
718 719; education, 717; photo, 718;
physician, 717; professional experience, 717
Nielsen, Nancy: president of AMA, 137
Nightingale, Dorothy Virginia: career,
719 720; concurrent positions, 719;
education, 719; organic chemist, 719;
professional associations, 720; professional
experience, 719
Nightingale, Florence: American Statistical
Association, 136; Royal Statistical Society,
136; Women's Medical College, 136
Nightline, 291
NIH. See National Institutes of Health
Ninety Nine Gnats, Nits, and Nibblers
(Berenbaum), 233
Ninety Nine More Maggots, Mites, and
Munchers (Berenbaum), 233
Nixon, Richard, 786
NOAA. See National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Nobel Prizes, xxiii; women winners of, xx
Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives,
Struggles, and Momentous Discoveries
(Anker Johnson), 192
Noether, Amalie (Emmy): mathematician, 133
NOGLSTP. See National Organization of Gay
and Lesbian Scientists and Technical
Professionals
No Immediate Danger: Prognosis for a
Radioactive Earth (Bertell), 238
Nomads of Western Tibet: The Survival of a
Way of Life (Beall and Goldstein), 222
Nonprofit research centers and government
money, 42
Nonprofit research jobs for women scientists,
40 46
Nonscientist (or nonprofessional) men, 5 1
Normal Lives for the Disabled (Gilbreth), 432
North American Game Fishes
(La Monte), 600
Northrup, Christiane: African American
women's health, 46; career, 720 721;
education, 720; photo, 87; physician, 720;
professional associations, 721; professional
experience, 720; traditional and alternative
medicines, 87
Notes on Nursing (Nightingale), 136
Novello, Antonia (Coello), 368, 1022; career,
722 723; concurrent positions, 722;
education, 721; pediatrician, 721; photo,
722; professional associations, 723;
professional experience, 721 722; U.S.
Surgeon General, 38, 56, 140
No Woman Tenderfoot: Florence Merriam
Bailey, Pioneer Naturalist (Kofalk), 212
NRC. See Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear arms race, 37
Nuclear Madness: What You Can Do
(Caldicott), 277
Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer
(Caldicott), 277
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 161;
Committee on Gender Differences in
Careers of Science, Engineering, and
Mathematics Faculty, 182
Nuclear sciences, 160; chemistry, 95
Nursing as serious profession, 136
Nusslein Volhard, Christiane: Albert Lasker
Medical Research Award, 84; British Royal
Society, 84; Director at Max Planck Institute
of Developmental Biology, 84; genetics, 84;
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
(1995), 84, 999; U.S. National Academy
of Science, 84
Index | 1-49
Nutrition, 42, 147 150. See also Animal
Sciences; Biochemistry; Biomedical
Sciences; Botany; Chemistry; Economics;
biology, 148; chemistry, 148; ethnocentrism
of early reformers, 150
Nutrition and Chemical Growth in Childhood
(Macy Hoobler), 649
Nutrition and Health (Calloway), 279
Nutrition and Physical Fitness (Calloway), 279
Nutrition in Health and Disease (Mitchell), 695
Nutrition in Nursing (Mitchell), 695
Nutrition Reviews, 279
Nutrition Work with Children (Roberts), 807
Nyberg, Karen LuJean, 37; astronaut, 64;
deep sea training, 64; Environmental
Control systems Engineer, 64
Obama, Barack, xix, 152, 635, 677, 837, 930;
photo, 412, 820, 899
Oberlin College, 3, 25
Observational astronomy, 73
Observations of Variable Stars Made at Vassar
College, 414
Ocampo, Adriana C: career, 725 726;
education, 725; National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA), 129;
planetary geologist, 725; professional
associations, 726; professional
experience, 725
Oceanography, 151; doctorates, 152 153;
history of, 152; interdisciplinary nature, 152
Oceans, 151 152
Ocean sciences, 151 154. See also Biology;
Botany; Environmental Sciences and
Ecology; Geography; Geology;
Meteorology; Paleontology; Zoology;
marine biology, 151; oceanography, 151;
professional organizations, 152, 153
Ochoa, Ellen: astronaut, electrical engineer,
726; career, 727; education, 726; first
Hispanic astronaut, 56; photo, 727;
professional associations, 728; professional
experience, 726
Of Caves and Shell Mounds, 950
Office of Research on Women's Health, 90
Off Ramps and On Ramps: Keeping Talented
Women on the Road to Success
(Hewlett), 508
Ogilvie, Ida Helen, 129; career, 728 729;
concurrent positions, 728; education, 728;
geologist, 728; professional associations,
729; professional experience, 728
Ohama Plains Indians, 69
Oil acquisition and production, 119
Old, Black, and Alive movie, 543
Old boys' networks and corporations, 43
The Old Fashioned Woman (Parsons), 738
Olsen, Ken, 224
On Death and Dying (Kubler Ross), 589
One World or None: A Report to the Public on
the Full Meaning of the Atomic Bomb, 953
On the Beach (Shute), 276
On the Instincts and Habits of Solitary Wasps
(Peckham and Peckham), 754
On the Origin of Species (Darwin), 174
Operation SMART (Science, Math and
Relevant Technology) Web site, 21
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 762
Oprah magazine, 291, 812
Oprah Winfrey Show, 632, 720
Optical Society of America, 162
Optics Letters, 420
Oral contraceptives, 88, 89
Orangutan Foundation International, 165
Orangutans, 165
Orders, 81
Organic Chemistry, 406
The Origin of Concepts (Carey), 281
The Origin of Eukaryotic Cells (Margulis), 646
The Origins of Agriculture: An International
Perspective, 950
Orloff, Jack, 938
Ornithology, 175 176
Osborn, Mary Jane (Merten): ASBMB
president, 79; biochemist and molecular
biologist, 729; career, 729; education, 729;
photo, 730; professional associations, 730;
professional experience, 729
Ostrom, Elinor, 1024; career, 731 732;
concurrent positions, 731; economist, 731;
education, 731; Nobel Prize in Economic
Sciences (2009), 110, 999; photo, 731;
1-50 | Index
professional associations, 732 733;
professional experience, 731
Ostrom, Vincent, 732
Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and
Culture Shape the Way We Parent
(Small), 876
Our Bodies, Ourselves, 139, 140
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause, 140
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy
and Birth, 140
Ourselves Growing Older, 140
Outbound Journeys in Pennsylvania
(Bonta), 244
Outlawing discrimination, 6
Outlines of Experimental Physiology
(Hyde), 536
Owens, Joan Murrell: career, 733 734;
education, 733; marine geologist, 154, 733;
paleontologist, 733; professional
experience, 733
Oxford Encyclopedia of Evolution, 497
Pacific Discovery journal, 367
Palade, George, 385, 761
The Paleobiology of Plant Protists
(Loeblich), 628
Paleobotany, 91, 155
Paleoceanography, 155
Paleoclimatology, 155
Paleoecology, 120, 155
Paleogeography, 155
Paleontological Society, 129, 157, 158
Paleontology, 155 158. See also Anthropology
and Archaeology; Biology; Botany;
Geology; Zoology; British women, 156;
professional organizations, 158; stereotypes,
156; subfields, 155
Palmer, Katherine Hilton Van Winkle:
American Malacological Union, 157;
career, 735; concurrent positions, 735;
education, 735; mollusk fossils, 157;
paleontologist, 735; professional
associations, 735 736; professional
experience, 735
ParcPlace Systems, 45
Pardi, Leo, 960
Pardue, Mary Lou: career, 736 737; cell
biologist and geneticist, 736; concurrent
positions, 736; education, 736; insect
genetics, 124; professional associations,
737; professional experience, 736
Parents, attitudes about science, 21 22
Parrish, Judith, 130
Parsons, Elsie Worthington Clews, 789, 1019;
American Anthropological Association, 69;
anthropologist and sociologist, 737; career,
738; education, 737; Franz Boas, 69; Journal
of American Folklore, 69; professional asso
ciations, 738; professional experience, 738
Partee, Barbara (Hall): anthropologist and
linguist, 739; career, 739 740; concurrent
positions, 739; education, 739; linguistics,
169; photo, 739; professional associations,
740; professional experience, 739
Part time scientists and family
responsibilities, 50 51
Pasadena Recommendations for Gender
Equality in Astronomy, 77
Pasteur Institute, 138
Patapsco Female Institute, 92
Patch, Edith Marion: aphids, life histories and
ecology of migratory, 176; career, 741;
education, 740; Entomological Society of
America, 176; entomologist, 740;
professional associations, 741; professional
experience, 740
Pate Cornell, Elisabeth Lucienne (Marie):
career, 742 743; concurrent positions, 742;
education, 741 742; industrial engineer,
741; photo, 742; professional associations,
743; professional experience, 742
Patent Act of 1790, 41
Pathogenic Microorganisms Including Bacteria
and Protozoa: A Practical Manual for
Students, Physicians, and Health
Officers, 975
Pathways to Work: Employment among Black
Teenage Females (Wallace), 946
Patriarchy: capitalism and, 109; questioning
naturalness of, 70
Patriarchy: Notes of an Expert Witness
(Chesler), 291
Index | 1-51
Patrick, Jennie R.: career, 744; chemical
engineer, 743; concurrent positions, 744;
education, 743; professional associations,
745; professional experience, 744
Patrick, Ruth: algae in freshwater ecosystems,
95; botanist and limnologist, 745; career,
745 746; concurrent positions, 745;
education, 745; professional associations,
746; professional experience, 745
Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education
Act (2002), 31
Patterns of Culture (Benedict), 225
Patterns of Living in Puerto Rican
Families, 807 808
Patterson, Flora Wambaugh, 287; Bureau of
Plant Industry, 36; career, 747; education,
747; plant pathologist, 747; professional
association, 747; professional experience,
747; USDA's Division of Vegetable
Pathology, 93
Pauling, Linus, 435
Payne, Nellie Maria de Cottrell: agricultural
chemist and entomologist, 748; career,
748 749; concurrent positions, 748;
education, 748; professional associations,
749; professional experience, 748
Payne Gaposchkin, Cecelia Helena, 426;
astronomer, 749; career, 749 750; educa
tion, 749; Harvard Observatory, 30; photo,
29; professional associations, 750; profes
sional experience, 749
Payton, Carolyn (Robertson), 1021; career,
750; counseling and social work, 169;
education, 750; Peace Corps, 169;
professional associations, 750; professional
experience, 750; psychologist, 750
Peace Corps, 169
Peace Symbols, 207
Pearce, Louise: career, 752 753; concurrent
positions, 752; education, 752; pathologist,
752; professional associations, 753;
professional experience, 752
Peckham, Elizabeth Gifford, 176;
arachnologist and entomologist, 753;
career, 753 754; education, 753;
professional associations, 754;
professional experience, 753; social lives
of wasps, 177
Peckham, George Williams, 753
Peden, Irene (Carswell), 113; career, 755;
education, 754; electrical engineer and radio
scientist, 754; photo, 755; professional
associations, 755 756; professional
experience, 754
Pediatric Medicine (Avery), 203
Peebles, Florence, 472; career, 756 757;
education, 756; embryology of chicks, 177;
plants and animals tissue regeneration
research, 177; professional associations,
757; professional experience, 756;
zoologist, 756
Peking Natural History Bulletin, 245
Pennington, Mary Engle: career, 757 758;
chemist and food scientist, 757; education,
757; food research laboratory, 36;
poultry and egg production guidelines, 148;
professional associations, 758;
professional experience, 757;
USDA, 148
Pennsylvania Game News, 244
The People of the Denendeh: Ethnohistory
of the Indians of Canada 's Northwest
Territories, 504
Perceiving the Affordances: A Portrait of Two
Psychologists (Gibson), 430
Perception and Psychophysics, 216
Perils Amidst the Promise: The Ecological Risk
of Transgenic Plants in a Global Market,
802 803
The Permeability of Living Cells (Brooks and
Brooks), 257
Personality and Government (Thompson), 916
Perspectives in Computer Science, 556
Pert, Candace Dorinda (Bebe): brain chemicals
and emotions, connection between, 146;
brain's opiate receptors, 80, 145; career, 759;
concurrent positions, 758; education, 758;
endorphins, 146; neurophysiologist and
pharmacologist, 758; photo, 146;
professional associations, 759; professional
experience, 758; Women in Neuroscience
(WIN), 145
1-52 | Index
Petermann, Mary Locke: animal ribosomes, 80;
biochemist, 760; career, 760 761;
concurrent positions, 760; education, 760;
photo, 761; professional associations, 761;
professional experience, 760
Petrology, 127
Pettit, Edison, 684
Pettit, Hanna Steele, 684
Pfafflin, Sheila, 252
Pharmaceuticals, 43
Pharmacology: See Biochemistry; Biomedical
Sciences; Botany; Chemistry; Medicine;
chemistry and, 95
Phelps, Almira Hart Lincoln: American
Association for the Advancement of
Science, 92; botanist, 92; Maryland
Academy of Sciences, 92; Patapsco Female
Institute, 92
Philadelphia College of Pharmacology, 96
Phillips, Melba Newell: career, 762; concurrent
positions, 762; education, 761; physicist,
761; professional associations, 762 763;
professional experience, 761 762
Philosophical Letters: or, Modest Reflections
upon some Opinions in Natural Philosophy,
Philosophical and Physical Opinions
(Cavendish), 3
Philosophy, 145
Phrenology, 145
The Physical and Chemical Properties of
Ribosomes (Petermann), 761
Physical Foundations of Radiology, 778
Physical geography, 125
Physical sciences: knowledge and inquiry, 13;
politics and religion, 17
Physical scientists: working outside of
academia, 39
Physicians for Social Responsibility, 119
Physics, 158. See also Astronomy and
Astrophysics; Chemistry; Crystallography;
Engineering; Mathematics; chemistry, 95;
crystallography, 105; history, 159; important
discoveries of twentieth century, 97;
representation of women, 162 163
Physics and Chemistry of Earth Materials
(Navrotsky), 709
Physics Today, 162, 638
Physiologists, 64
Physiology, 86 87; chemistry and, 95
Phytopathology, 91
Phytopathology journal, 491
Pickering, Edward C, 605, 668
Pickett, Mary: industrial robots, 103
Pioneer Award of the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, 5
Pioneers in Home Economics, 816
Pitelka, Dorothy Riggs: cancer causing viruses,
177; career, 763 764; concurrent positions,
763; education, 763; professional associa
tions, 764; professional experience, 763;
zoologist, 763
Pittman, Margaret: bacteriologist, 764; career,
765; concurrent positions, 764; education,
764; professional experience, 764;
professional organizations, 765
Planck, Max, 162
Planetary geologists, 127
Planet Earth: The Latest Weapon of War,
A Critical Study into the Military arid the
Environment (Bertell), 238
Plant Anatomy (Esau), 377
Plant biology, 90
The Plant Doctor: The How, Why and When of
Disease and Insect Control in Your
Garden, 958
Plant Doctoring Is Fun (Westcott), 959
Plant genetics, 91, 124
Plant Physiology journal, 880
Plants: biochemical studies on, 91; breeding
and hybridization, 121; scientific study of,
90 95
Plants, Viruses, and Insects (Esau), 377
Plant sciences, 90. See also Botany
Plate tectonics, 128, 130
Playboy magazine, 963
The Pleasure Bond: A New Look at Sexuality
(Masters and Johnson), 553
PMS. See Premenstrual syndrome
Point to the Stars, 625
Polish Countrysides (Boyd), 247
Political Economy of Policy Reform in
Developing Countries (Krueger), 588
Index | 1-53
The Politics of Women 's Biology
(Hubbard), 531
Polymers in Microlithography : Materials and
Processes, 791
Pool, Judith Graham: blood coagulation, 86;
career, 766; concurrent positions, 766;
education, 765; hemophilia, 87;
physiologist, 765; professional associations,
766; professional experience, 766
Poole, Gray, 813
Poole, Joyce, 704; African elephant
endangered, 119; career, 767 768;
concurrent positions, 767; education, 767;
professional associations, 768; professional
experience, 767; wildlife biologist, 767;
world trade in ivory, 177
Poole, Lynn, 813
Pope, Kevin O., 726
Popenoe, Dorothy Hughes, 71
Popular Flora of Denver, Colorado
(Eastwood), 361
Popular Science magazine, 626
The Population Bomb (Ehrlich and Ehrlich),
118,367
The Population Explosion (Ehrlich and
Ehrlich), 367
Portraits in the Wild: Behaviour Studies of East
African Mammals (Moss), 704
Positive Plus: The Practical Plan to Liking
Yourself Better (Brothers), 260
Postdoctoral fellowship or position, 28
Postpartum depression, 170
Potter, Helen Beatrix: conservationist,
mycologist, and naturalist, 500
Pour El, Marian Boykan: career, 768 769;
computer scientist and mathematician,
768; concurrent positions, 768; education,
768; professional associations, 769;
professional experience, 768; theoretical
physics, 134
Power, Prayer, and Production: The Jola
of Casamance, Senegal, 623
Practical Spectroscopy Series, Vols. 1 3,
Infrared and Raman, 458
Prairie Years (Hollingworth), 516
Pregnancy, 50
Pregnancy Sickness: Using Your Body 's
Natural Defenses to Protect Your Baby
to Be (Profet), 774
The Prehistory of Languages (Haas), 476
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS), 170
Prenatal genetic testing, 122
Pressing Needs in School Sciences, 978
Pressman, Ada Irene: career, 769 770; control
systems engineer, 769; education, 769;
professional associations, 770; professional
experience, 769
Prichard, Diana (Garcia): career, 770 771;
chemical physicist, 770; education, 770;
photographic materials, 161; professional
associations, 771; professional
experience, 770
Primakoff, Henry, 303
Primate research centers, 164
Primatologists, 177; gender roles and biases
among humans, 165
Primatology, 164 166. See also Anthropology
and Archaeology; Biology; Biomedical
Sciences; Genetics; Paleontology;
Psychiatry and Psychology; Zoology;
relationship to other fields, 165; women
doctorates, 164 165
Prince, Helen Walter Dodson: astronomer, 771;
career, 772; concurrent positions, 772;
education, 771; professional associations,
772 773; professional experience, 771 772
Princeton University, Institute for Advanced
Study, 133
Principles of Geology (Lyell), 127 128
Principles of Physical Science, 762
Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem
Ecology, 665
Prinz, Dianne Kasnic: career, 773;
concurrent positions, 773; education, 773;
professional associations, 773 774;
professional experience, 773; solar
physicist, 773
Private employment and discrimination, 43
Private industry: advancement, 43; women
managers, 43; women scientists, 29, 42
Probability, Statistics, and Truth (Von Mises
and Geiringer), 425
1-54 | Index
Problems in Fresh Water Fisheries
(Moore), 698
Proceedings of the Entomological
Society, 283
Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences journal, 576
Proceedings of the Washington Academy
of Sciences, 393
Professional organizations, 1 2
Profet, Margie: biomedical researcher and
evolutionary biologist, 774; career, 774 775;
education, 774; professional associations,
775; professional experience, 774
Profitable Promises: Essays on Women,
Science, and Health (Hubbard), 531
Progesterone Function: Molecular and
Biochemical Aspects, 779
Programming Languages: History and
Fundamentals, 834
Properties, Types and Meaning, 740
Property Tax and the Voters (Shalala), 850
Prophecy and Power among the Dogrib
Indians, 504
Prosser, Inez, 523; African Americans in
psychology, 169
Protecting Your Baby to Be: Preventing Birth
Defects in the First Trimester (Profet), 774
Protein Chemistry journal, 797
Provosts, 29
Psychiatry, 167 774. See also Anthropology
and Archaeology; Neuroscience; Sociology
Psychoanalytic Politics (Turkle), 928
Psychological Norms in Men and Women
thesis, 981
Psychological Review, 282
Psychological Science, 282
Psychologists, 64, 167; academia, 168
Psychology, 145, 167 774. See also
Anthropology and Archaeology;
Neuroscience; Sociology; women, 42, 169
"Psychology Constructs the Female," 957
The Psychology of Beauty (Howes), 525
Psychology of Emotion (Hatfield), 495
The Psychology of Management (Gilbreth), 431
The Psychology of Sex Differences (Maccoby
and Jacklin), 645
The Psychology of Subnormal Children
(Hollingworth), 516
The Psychology of the Adolescent
(Hollingworth), 516
Psychosomatic Wellness: Healing Your Body
Mind CD (Pert), 759
Public colleges and women, 66
Pueblo Indian Religion (Parsons), 738
The Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, Their
Land, Economy, and Civil Organization
(Aberle), 179
Purdue University, 86
Pure mathematics, 131
Purine and Pyrimidine Nucleotide
Metabolism, 557
Quantification in Natural Languages (Partee
and Bach), 740
Quarterly Review of Biology, 775
Quasi stellar Objects (Burbidge and
Burbidge), 273
The $64,000 Question, 260
Quimby, Edith Hinkley: career, 777 778;
education, 777; professional associations,
778; professional experience, 777;
radiological physicist, 777
Quimby, Shirley L., 777
Race: scientific understandings of, 14; working
mothers and, 48
Race: Science and Politics (Benedict), 225
Race, Social Class, and Individual Differences
in IQ, 838
Racial bias, 17
Radcliffe College, 3, 74, 83, 173
Radiation, 97, 633
Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 342
Radical mastectomies, 633
Radioactive Isotopes in Clinical
Practice, 778
Radium Institute, 98
Rakic, Pasko, 441
Ramakrishnan, Venkatraman, 106
Ramaley, Judith (Aitken), 877; career,
779 780; education, 779; endocrinologist
and reproductive biologist, 779; professional
Index | 1-55
associations, 780; professional
experience, 779
Ramey, Estelle Rosemary White: career,
780 781; concurrent positions, 780;
education, 780; endocrinologist, 780;
professional associations, 781; professional
experience, 780
Ramwell, Peter, 853
Rand, Gertrude (Marie): career, 782; education,
782; professional associations, 782 783;
professional experience, 782;
psychologist, 782
Ranney, Helen Margaret: career, 783 784;
concurrent positions, 783; education, 783;
genetics and blood diseases, 87;
hematologist, 783; professional associations,
784; professional experience, 783; sickle
cell anemia, 57, 87
Ratner, Sarah: argininosuccinic acid, test for
identifying, 80; biochemist, 784; concurrent
positions, 785; education, 784; professional
associations, 785; professional experience,
784; protein metabolism and amino acids, 80
Ray, Dixy Lee: career, 786; concurrent
positions, 786; education, 785;
environmental policy, 154; governor of state
of Washington, 154; photo, 786;
professional associations, 787; professional
experience, 785 786; zoologist, 785
RDA. See Recommended Daily Allowances
R&D magazine, 879
RDS. See Respiratory distress syndrome
Reagan, Ronald, 805, 903
The Realities of Affirmative Action, 794
The Real Number System (Bates), 218
Recent Advances in Knowledge of the
Phytoseiida, 527
Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA),
148, 149
Recommended Hazard Classification
Procedures for In Process Propellant and
Explosive Material, 707
A Reconstruction of the Basic Jemez Pattern
of Social Organization (Ellis), 373
Recursive Methods in Economic
Dynamics, 895
Redactron, 45
Redcloud, Mitchell, Sr., 643
Rees, Mina Spiegel, 1021; career, 788;
education, 787; jet rocket propulsion and
high speed computers, 132; mathematician,
787; photo, 788; professional associations,
788 789; professional experience, 787 788
Reflections of Eden: My Years with the
Orangutans of Borneo (Galdikas), 165
Reflections of Interdependence: Issues for
Economic Theory and U.S. Policy, 968
Reflections on Gender and Science
(Keller), 569
"Reflections on the Present Condition of the
Female Sex, with Suggestions for Its
Improvement" (Wakefield), 109
Regeneration (Hay), 498
Rehmann, Elsa, 806
Reichard, Gladys Amanda: anthropologist,
789; career, 789; concurrent positions, 789;
education, 789; professional associations,
790; professional experience, 789
Reichmanis, Elsa: career, 790 791; computer
scientist and organic chemist, 790;
education, 790; materials used in integrated
circuits, 102; photo, 102; professional
associations, 791; professional
experience, 790
Reid, Constance, 809
Reinisch, June Machover: career, 792 793;
concurrent positions, 792; education, 791;
photo, 792; professional associations, 793;
professional experience, 791;
psychologist, 791
Rekindling Romance for Dummies
(Westheimer), 962
Religious Chastity (Parsons), 738
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 161
Research and Development magazine, 791
Reskin, Barbara R: career, 794 795;
concurrent positions, 794; education, 793;
professional associations, 795; professional
experience, 794; sexual and racial inequality
in workplace, 173; sociologist, 793
Resnik, Judith A., 642; astronaut and electrical
engineer, 795; career, 796; education, 795;
1-56 | Index
photo, 796; professional experience,
795 796
Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), 203
Restoring Fiscal Sanity: How to Balance the
Budget, 805
Reunion Under Mount Saint Elias, 336
Revel, Jean Paul, 498
Rewarding Careers for Women in Physics, 978
Rhythmic Phenomena in Plants, 904
Ribonucleic acid (RNA), 121
Richards, Ellen Swallow, 30, 890, 891;
environmental science, 118; industrial
pollution research, 117 118; Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), 2, 97
Richards, Ian, 769
Richardson, David, 797
Richardson, Jane S.: biochemist, 797; career,
797 798; concurrent positions, 797;
education, 797; mapping proteins, 107;
professional associations, 798; professional
experience, 797
Ride, Sally Kristen, 299, 642, 796, 844,
902 903, 1022; astronaut and physicist, 63,
798; career, 798 800; education, 798;
professional associations, 800; professional
experience, 798
Riley, Jack, 801
Riley, Matilda (White): aging and employment
opportunities for elderly, 173; career, 801;
concurrent positions, 801; education, 800;
professional associations, 801 802;
professional experience, 800 801;
sociologist, 800
Rissler, Jane Francina: bioengineering plants,
124; botanist, 802; career, 802 803;
education, 802; genetically modified food
plants, ecological impact of, 95; professional
associations, 803; professional
experience, 802
Rivlin, Alice (Mitchell), 1022; career,
804 805; concurrent positions, 804;
Congressional Banking Office, 110;
Congressional Budget Office, 38; economist,
803; education, 803; Federal Reserve Board,
110; photo, 804; professional associations,
805 806; professional experience, 803 804
RNA. See Ribonucleic acid
"Roberta Williams Anthology" games, 976
Roberts, Edith Adelaide: botanist, 806; career,
806 807; education, 806; professional
associations, 807; professional
experience, 806
Roberts, Lydia Jane, 1020; career, 807 808;
education, 807; nutritionist, 807;
professional associations, 808; professional
experience, 807; Recommended Daily
Allowances (RDA), 149; University of
Chicago, 30
Robinson, Julia Bowman, 1022; career,
808 809; education, 808; "Hilbert's Tenth
Problem," 134; mathematician, 808;
professional associations, 809; professional
experience, 808
Robinson, Raphael M., 808
Rockefeller Foundation, 133
Rocket science, 61
Roemer, Elizabeth: astronomer, 809; career,
810; comets, counting and tracking, 75;
education, 809; professional associations,
810; professional experience, 809
Role models for nonacademic employment, 43
Rolf, Ida P.: biochemist, 811; career, 811 812;
education, 811; physical therapist, 811;
professional experience, 811
Rolfing: The Integration of Human Structure
(Rolf), 812
Roman, Nancy Grace: astronomer, 812; career,
813; concurrent positions, 813; education,
812; National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), 75; professional
associations, 813; professional
experience, 812
Romanowicz, Barbara: career, 814; education,
814; geophysicist and seismologist, 814;
professional associations, 814; professional
experience, 814
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, Jr., 241
Root nodule Bacteria and Leguminous
Plants, 673
Rosabeth Moss Kanter on the Frontiers
of Management, 562
Rose, Anton, 817
Index | 1-57
Rose, Flora, 935; career, 815 816; Cornell
University, 30, 150; education, 815; home
economist, 815; photo, 815; professional
associations, 816; professional
experience, 815
Rose, Mary Davies Swartz, 647; career, 816;
chemist, 816; education, 816; nutritionist,
816; photo, 148; professional associations,
816; professional experience, 816; vitamins
and minerals research, 148
Rose, Richard, 817
Rosenblatt, Joan (Raup): career, 818;
education, 818; mathematical statistician,
818; National Institute of Standards and
Technology, 134; professional associations,
818 819; professional experience, 818
Roster of Women in the Geosciences
Professions, 662
Rothberg, Lewis, 317
Rowley, Janet Davison: career, 819 820;
cytogeneticist and geneticist, 819;
education, 819; photo, 820; professional
associations, 820 821; professional
experience, 819
Roy, Delia Martin: career, 821 822; education,
821; geochemist and materials scientist, 821;
materials, properties of, 130; professional
associations, 822; professional
experience, 821
Roy, Rustum, 822
Royal Astronomical Society and Institute
of Physics, 74
Royal Society of London, 3, 97
Royal Statistical Society, 136
Rubin, Vera (Cooper): astronomer and
cosmologist, 822; career, 823 824;
concurrent positions, 823; dark matter, 75;
education, 822; galaxies, formation of, 75;
photo, 823; professional associations, 824;
professional experience, 822 823
Rudin, Mary Ellen (Estill): abstract geometry,
134; career, 825 826; education, 825;
mathematician, 825; professional
associations, 826; professional
experience, 825
Rudin, Walter, 825
Rudnick, Dorothea: career, 826 827;
concurrent positions, 826; education, 826;
embryologist, 826; professional
associations, 827; professional
experience, 826
Rush College, 137
Russell, Elizabeth Shull: career, 827 828;
concurrent positions, 827; education, 827;
geneticist, 827; hereditary diseases, genetic
studies on, 124; professional associations,
828; professional experience, 827
Russell, William L., 828
Ruth Benedict: A Humanist in Anthropology
(Mead), 226
Ryan, Francis, 831
Ryle, Martin: Nobel Prize in Physics, 74
Sabin, Florence Rena, 949, 1019; American
Association of Anatomists, 136; anatomist,
829; career, 829 830; education, 829; John
Hopkins School of Medicine, 136; Johns
Hopkins School of Medicine, 2; National
Academy of Sciences, 2; photo, 2;
professional associations, 830; professional
experience, 829
Sabloff, Jeremy A., 655
Sacks, Oliver, 455
Sacred Bond: The Legacy of Baby
M (Chesler), 291
Safe Handling of Radioactive Isotopes
in Medical Practice, 778
Sagan, Carl, 657
Sagan, Dorion, 657
Sager, Ruth: career, 831; education, 830;
geneticist, 830; mammalian genetics, 87,
124; photo, 831; professional associations,
831 832; professional experience, 830;
tumor suppression in genes, 87
Saif, Linda: animal scientist and
microbiologist, 832; animal viruses, 67, 85;
career, 832 833; education, 832;
professional associations, 833; professional
experience, 832
Saif, Mo, 832
jSalud! A Latina 's Guide to Total Health
Body, Mind, and Spirit (Delgado), 338
1-58 | Index
The Samaritans ' Dilemma: The Political
Economy of Development Aid, 732
Sammet, Jean Elaine: Association of
Computing Machinery (ACM), 103; career,
834; computer programming languages,
103; computer scientist, 833; concurrent
positions, 833; education, 833; International
Business Machines (IBM), 103; professional
associations, 834; professional
experience, 833
Sanger, Margaret, 89, 951; American Birth
Control League, 88
Sarachik, Myriam Paula (Morgenstein), 824;
career, 835; concurrent positions, 835;
education, 835; physicist, 835; professional
associations, 835 836; professional
experience, 835
SARS. See Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome
Savitz, Maxine (Lazarus): career, 837;
education, 836; electrochemist and organic
chemist, 836; heating and lighting buildings,
batteries, and fuel efficient cars, standards
for, 119; professional experience, 836 837;
professional organizations, 837
Scarlet Fever (Dick), 349
Scarr, Sondra (Wood): career, 838 839;
concurrent positions, 838; education, 837;
professional associations, 839; professional
experience, 838; psychologist, 837
Schaller, George, 403
Scharrer, Berta Vogel: career, 839 840;
concurrent positions, 839; education, 839;
neuroendocrinologist, 177, 839; professional
associations, 840; professional experience,
839
Scharrer, Ernst, 839
Schiebinger, Londa, 13, 14, 82
Schrader, Franz, 532
Schwan, Judith A.: career, 841; chemical
engineer, 840; education, 840; professional
association, 841; professional experience, 840
Schwarzer, Theresa Flynn: career, 842;
education, 841; geologist and petroleum
geologist, 841; professional associations,
842; professional experience, 841 842
Science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM), xx, 131; encouraging
girls to change life with, 21; women
majoring in, xxi
Science and Animals: Addressing
Contemporary Issues, A1A
Science and technology education
and girls, 18 23
Science curricula: Cold War and, 19;
high school level, 19; weeding out
candidates, 26 27
Science degrees: business, industry, or
nonprofit organizations, 41; increases in
numbers of women, xx; self employment, 41
Science Digest, 797
Science doctorates, 4
Science education, 19
Science for the Airplane Passenger, 979
Science gene, finding, 8 12
Science journal, 852, 880, 995
Science magazine, 870
Science mandate, 4 5
Sciences: access to, xix xx; bachelor's degrees,
25; college, 25 27; educational and
professional opportunities, 8; female
teachers of, 3; gendered assumptions, 14;
girls and young women encouragement, 7;
graduate school, 25 27; importance of, xix;
language of, 16; leaky pipeline, xx xxi;
male discipline, 21, 117; minority women, 8,
54 58; negative socialization and
discrimination, 9; Nobel Prizes, xx;
objective data, 16; politics and religion,
16 17; professional culture of, 14; sex based
differences, 8 12, 18; sexism, 13; social and
cultural assumptions, 82; social beliefs and
goals, 16; social historical political context,
16; status hierarchy of fields, 26; subjective
interpretations, 16; surrogacy, 49; U.S. gov
ernment commitment to, 2; value neutral, 17;
women and, xix, xx, xxi; women's repre
sentation in, xx xxi; work/life balance
problem, 32
Scientific American, 259, 293
Scientific disciplines: aerospace science,
61 65; animal sciences, 65 67;
Index | 1-59
anthropology, 68 72; archaeology, 68 72;
astronautics, 61 65; astronomy, 73 77;
astrophysics, 73 77; biochemistry, 77 80;
biology, 81 85; biomedical sciences, 86 90;
botany, 90 95; chemistry, 95 99;
climatology, 100; computer sciences,
100 104; crystallography, 105 108; earth
sciences, 108; ecology, 116 120;
economics, 108 111; engineering, 112 115;
environmental sciences, 116 120; genetics,
121 124; geography, 125 126; geology,
127 130; home economics, 131, 147 150;
information technology (IT), 100 104;
listing of scientists in: aerospace and
astronautics, 1001; animal sciences, 1001;
anthropology and archaeology, 1002 1003;
astronomy and astrophysics, 1002;
biochemistry, 1003; biomedical sciences,
1004 1005; botany (plant sciences),
1005 1006; chemistry, 1006 1007;
computer science and information
technology, 1007; crystallography, 1007;
economics, 1007 1008; engineering,
1008 1009; environmental sciences and
ecology, 1009; genetics, 1010; geography,
1010; geology, 1010 1011; mathematics,
1011 1012; medicine, 1012; meteorology,
1013; miscellaneous, 1017; neurosciences,
1013; nutrition and home economics, 1013;
ocean sciences, 1014; paleontology, 1014;
physics, 1014 1015; primatology, 1015;
psychiatry and psychology, 1015 1016;
zoology, 1016 1017; mathematics,
131 134; medicine, 135 141; meteorology,
141 144; neuroscience, 144 147; nutrition,
147 150; ocean sciences, 151 154;
paleontology, 155 158; pharmacology, 158;
physics, 158; plant sciences, 164;
primatology, 164 166; psychiatry, 167 174;
psychology, 167 174; sociology, 171 173;
women's presence and representation in,
xxi; zoology, 174 178
Scientific ethics and feminism, 16 17
Scientific research: claims of objectivity, 17;
funding for, 33; impact of feminism on,
13 17
Scientific revolution: eighteenth century, 8;
enlightenment, 14; Margaret Lucas
Cavendish contribution to, 3
Scientist from the Santa Clara Pueblo, Agnes
Naranjo Stroud Lee, 898
Scientists: business and industry, 29; higher
education, 96; industrial demand for, 40 41;
professional identity, 1; women as assistants
or spouses of, 96
Scientists Who Work with Astronauts (Poole
and Poole), 813
Scott, Juanita (Simons): career, 843;
developmental biologist, 842; education,
842; professional associations, 843;
professional experience, 842; water
pollutants and toxins, 85
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 152, 153
The Sea Around Us (Carson), 154, 285
Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans
(Earle), 360
Sea Legs: Tales of a Woman Oceanographer
(Crane), 325
Search for the Great Sharks, 296
Seaside Studies in Natural History
(Agassiz), 83
The Second Self: Computers and the Human
Spirit (Turkle), 928
"Secret Communications System," 5
The Secret of Culture (Thompson), 916
The Secret Pleasures of Menopause
(Northrup), 720
Seddon, Margaret Rhea: astronaut and
physician, 844; astronautics, 63; career,
844 845; education, 844; professional
associations, 845; professional
experience, 844
Sedlak, Bonnie loy: career, 846; cell biologist
and developmental biologist, 845; education,
845; professional associations, 846;
professional experience, 845
Seeing the Forest and the Trees:
Human Environment Interactions
in Forest Ecosystems, 732
Sega, Ronald M., 357
The Segregation and Recombination of
Homologous Chromosomes as Found in Two
1-60 | Index
Genera of Acrididae (Orthoptera)
(Carothers), 282
Seibert, Florence Barbara: biochemist, 846;
career, 846 847; concurrent positions, 846;
education, 846; photo, 847; professional
associations, 847 848; professional
experience, 846; skin test for tuberculosis,
79, 86; University of Pennsylvania, 79
Seibert, Mabel, 847
Seismology, 130
Self employment, 45 46
Semple, Ellen Churchill: Association of
American Geographers, 125; career, 848;
concurrent positions, 848; education, 848;
geographer, 848; professional associations,
848 849; professional experience, 848
Sengers, Jan V., 614
Sensory Processes, 216
Sesame Street, 338
"Seven Sisters" East Coast women's colleges, 3
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS), 67, 85
Sex, Age, and Work: The Changing
Composition of the Labor Force
(Kreps), 584
Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive
Societies (Mead), 680
Sex based differences: in ability, 20; spatial
abilities, 9 10
Sex for Dummies (Westheimer), 962
Sex hormones and spatial reasoning, 10
Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the
Construction of Sexuality
(Fausto Sterling), 388
Sex in the Marketplace: American Women
at Work (Kreps), 584
Sexism, 17
Sex Segregation in the Workplace: Trends,
Explanations, Remedies, 794
Sexual Behavior in the Human Female
(Kinsey), 792
Sexual Behavior in the Human Male
(Kinsey), 792
Sexually Speaking show, 962
Shalala, Donna Edna: career, 850; concurrent
positions, 849; education, 849; photo, 849;
political scientist, 849; professional
associations, 850; professional
experience, 849
The Shape of Red: Insider/Outsider Reflections
(Hubbard), 531
Shapiro, Lucille (Cohen): career, 851 852;
education, 851; molecular biologist, 851;
photo, 851; professional associations, 852;
professional experience, 85 1
Shaw, Jane E.: career, 853; clinical
pharmacologist and physiologist, 852;
concurrent positions, 853; education, 852;
motion sickness, transdermal drug patches
for, 86; professional associations, 853 854;
professional experience, 853
Shaw, Mary M., 103; career, 854 855;
computer scientist, 854; concurrent
positions, 854; education, 854; photo, 854;
professional associations, 855; professional
experience, 854
Sherman, Patsy O'Connell, 1020; career, 856;
chemist, 856; education, 856; professional
associations, 856 857; professional
experience, 856
Shields, Lora Magnum: biologist, 857;
botanist, 57; career, 857; education, 857;
professional associations, 858; professional
experience, 857; uranium mining and
nuclear testing, effect of, 57
Shipman, Pat: ancient humans and physical
environments, 158; career, 858 859;
concurrent positions, 858; education, 858;
paleoanthropologist, 858; professional
associations, 859; professional
experience, 858
Shockley, Dolores Cooper: career, 860;
concurrent positions, 860; education, 859;
pharmacologist, 86, 859; professional
associations, 860; professional
experience, 859
Shoemaker, Carolyn (Spellmann), 675; career,
861 862; comets, counting and tracking, 75;
concurrent positions, 861; education, 860;
photo, 861; planetary astronomer, 860;
professional associations, 862; professional
experience, 861
Index | 1-61
Shoemaker, Gene, 675, 861
Shotwell, Odette Louise: career, 862 863;
concurrent positions, 862; education, 862;
organic chemist, 862; professional
associations, 863; professional
experience, 862
Shreeve, Jean'ne Marie: career, 863 864;
education, 863; inorganic chemist, 863;
photo, 864; professional associations,
864 865; professional experience, 863
Shull, Aaron Franklin, 828
Shute, Nevil, 276
Sierra Club, 117
Sierra On Line, 45
The Significance of the Dated Prehistory
of Chetro Ketl, Chaco Canyon,
N.M. (Ellis), 373
Signs journal, 209
Silent Spring (Carson), 118, 284, 285
Simmonds, Sofia: biochemist, 865; career,
865 866; education, 865; professional
associations, 866; professional
experience, 865
Simmons, Gail: biologist, 51; College of
New Jersey, 5 1
Simon, Dorothy Martin: career, 866 867;
education, 866; physical chemist, 866;
professional associations, 867; professional
experience, 866
Simpson, Joanne Malkus (Gerould):
American Meteorological Society, 143;
career, 868; concurrent positions, 868;
education, 867; forecaster for military in
World War II, 143; meteorologist, 867;
professional associations, 869; professional
experience, 867 868; women in
meteorology, 143
Simpson, Robert, 868
Simulation and Its Discontents, 928
Singer, Maxine (Frank), 824; biochemist and
geneticist, 869; career, 870; concurrent
positions, 869; education, 869; genetic code,
deciphering, 122; photo, 121; professional
associations, 870 871; professional
experience, 869; recombinant DNA
standards, 80
Sinkford, Jeanne Frances (Craig): career, 872;
concurrent positions, 871; education, 871;
physiologist, 871; professional associations,
872 873; professional experience, 871
Sitterly, Bancroft W., 873
Sitterly, Charlotte Emma Moore: astronomer
and astrophysicist, 873; career, 873 874;
education, 873; professional associations,
874; professional experience, 873
Skinner, B.F, 646
Sky & Telescope magazine, 513
Slee, Margaret Higgins Sanger: American Birth
Control League, 89; American birth control
movement, 89; Comstock Law of 1873, vio
lation of, 89
Slye, Maud Caroline: cancer researcher, 87;
career, 874 875; education, 874;
pathologist, 874; photo, 875; professional
associations, 875; professional
experience, 874
Small, Meredith F, 166; anthropologist and
primatologist, 875; career, 875 876;
education, 875; primates, mating and
childrearing, 166; professional associations,
876; professional experience, 875
Smalltalk 80: The Interactive Programming
Environment (Goldberg), 439
Smalltalk 80: The Language and Its
Implementation (Goldberg), 439
SmartGirl Web site, 21
Smith, Adam, 109
Smith, Elske (Van Panhuys): astronomer and
environmental scientist, 876; career, 877;
concurrent positions, 877; education, 876;
professional associations, 877; professional
experience, 876 877; sun, areas on sun, 75
Smith, Sam, 856
Smith College, 3 4, 25, 93
Smithsonian, 768
Smithsonian Institution, 69
Snyder, Solomon, 759
The Social Consequences of Resettlement: The
Impact of the Kariba Resettlement upon the
Gwembe Tonga (Colson), 311
Social Contexts of American Ethnology,
1840 1984, 504
1-62 | Index
Social Development (Maccoby), 645
Social Freedom (Parsons), 738
Social Life on the Navajo Indians
(Reichard), 789
Social policies, 121
Social Rule (Parsons), 738
Social sciences: academic feminism, 13;
mathematics and, 131
Society for Advancement of Chicanos and
Native Americans in Science, 58
Society for American Archaeology, 71
Society for Applied Anthropology, 69
Society for Marine Mammology, 153
Society for Plant Morphology
and Physiology, 94
Society for Sedimentary Geology, 158
Society for Systematic Zoology, 174
Society for the Psychology of Women, 170
Society for Women's Health Research, 90
Society of American Archaeology, 71
Society of Automotive Engineers
International, 115
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, 58
Society of Lesbian and Gay
Anthropologists, 70
Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1 12
Society of Mexican American Engineers and
Scientists (MAES), 58
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, 157, 158
Society of Women Engineers (SWE), 113
Society of Women Environmental
Professionals, 120
Sociologists, 172
Sociologists for Women in Society, 172
Sociology, 171 173. See also Anthropology
and Archaeology; Economics; Geography;
Psychology and Psychiatry; Women's
and Gender Studies programs
and departments, 172
Soil Science Society of America Proceedings
journal, 880
Solar Flares, 877
Solomon, Susan: atmospheric chemist, 878;
career, 878 879; chlorofluorocarbons
(CFC), 119; concurrent positions, 878;
education, 878; photo, 879; professional
associations, 879 880; professional
experience, 878
So Many Galaxies. . .So Little Time, 426
Some Firsts in Astronomical Photography
(Hoffleit), 513
Somerville College, 97
Sommer, Anna Louise: career, 880 881;
education, 880; plant nutritionist, 880;
professional associations, 881;
professional experience, 880; soil,
identified minerals in, 98
Songs and Solaces (Slye), 875
Sorbonne, 159
Southern African Journal of Demography, 687
Southworth, Effie: USDA, 93
Space program: women's entrance into, 62
Space race, 37, 61
Space Technology magazine, 845
Spaeth, Mary Louise: career, 881 882;
education, 881; physicist, 881; professional
experience, 881
Spatial abilities, sex differences in, 9 10
Spatial Vision, 452
Special Talents and Defects
(Hollingworth), 516
Species preservation effects, 175
Speech Errors as Linguistic Evidence
(Fromkin), 410
Spelke, Elizabeth, 11, 281, 563; career,
882 883; education, 882; infants, language
and knowledge, 147; neuroscience, 169;
professional associations, 883; professional
experience, 882; psychologist, 882
Springfield Republican newspaper, 994
Spurlock, Jeanne: career, 884; concurrent
positions, 884; education, 883; professional
associations, 884 885; professional
experience, 884; psychiatrist, 883
Stadtman, Earl, 886
Stadtman, Thressa Campbell: biochemist, 885;
career, 885 886; concurrent positions, 885;
education, 885; professional associations,
886; professional experience, 885
Standards for Data Collection from Human
Skeletal Remains (Buikstra), 268
Stanford University, 123, 176, 177
Index | 1-63
Stanish, Charles, 654
Stanley, Louise, 1019; career, 887; chemist and
home economist, 886; education, 886;
professional associations, 887; professional
experience, 887; USDA, 149; USDA's
Bureau of Home Economics, 36
Stars in the Making (Payne Gaposchkin), 749
Statistical Mechanics (Goeppert Mayer
and Mayer), 437
Statistics and women, 42
STATUS newsletter, 77
Stay at home fathers, 49
Staying Strong and Healthy from 9 to 99
(Healy), 503
Stearns, Genevieve: biochemist, 887; career,
888; education, 887; professional
associations, 888; professional
experience, 888
Stein, Barry, 561
Steitz, Joan (Argetsinger): biochemist and
molecular biologist, 888; career, 889 890;
concurrent positions, 889; education, 888;
professional associations, 890; professional
experience, 889
Steitz, Thomas A., 106, 890
STEM. See Sciences, technology, engineering,
and mathematics
Stem Cell, 412
Stephen Hawking 's Universe: On the Dark Side
TV show, 824
Stepping Stones: The Reminiscences of a
Woman Geologist in the Twentieth Century
(Fowler Billings), 405
Stern, Frances: concurrent positions,
891 892; dietitian and social worker,
890; education, 890; professional
associations, 892; professional
experience, 890 891; urban poor and
immigrants, 148
Stevens, Nettie Maria: chromosomes as
paired structures, 123; insects and
supernumerary chromosomes, 123; sex
determination, 121, 123
Stickel, Lucille Farrier: career, 892; education,
892; pesticides and chemical residues in
animal brain tissue, 176; professional
associations, 892 893; professional
experience, 892; zoologist, 892
Stickel, William F, 892
Stiebeling, Hazel Katherine: career, 893 894;
education, 893; food chemist and nutritionist,
893; government dietary guidelines, 149;
professional associations, 894; professional
experience, 893; Recommended Daily
Allowances (RDA), 149; U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), 149
Stokey, Nancy: career, 894 895; concurrent
positions, 894; economist, 894; education,
894; National Academy of Sciences (NAS),
109; photo, 895; professional associations,
895; professional experience, 894
Stoll, Alice Mary: biophysicist, 896; career,
896; concurrent positions, 896; education,
896; physical effects of extreme heat and
forces on body, 84; professional
associations, 897; professional
experience, 896
Stone, Lucy, 137
Stony Island: A Plea for its Conservation
(Baber), 207
Strang, May, 613
Stratigraphy, 127, 157
The Strength of Our Mothers: African and
African American Women and Families, 901
Streptococci in Relation to Man in Health and
Disease (Williams), 975
Stress and the Art of Bio feedback
(Brown), 262
Strictly for the Chickens (Hamerstrom), 478
Stroud Lee, F Agnes Naranjo: career,
897 898; chromosomes, birth defects, and
radiation therapy, 85; education, 897;
national research lab, 57; professional asso
ciations, 898; professional experience, 897;
radiation and human health, 57; radiation
biologist, 897
Structural geology, 127
Structural Petrology (Knopf), 580
Stubbe, Joanne: career, 898 899; chemist, 898;
concurrent positions, 898; education, 898;
photo, 899; professional associations,
899 900; professional experience, 898
1-64 | Index
Studies in African Linguistics, 410
Studies in the Life History of the Song Sparrow
(Nice), 715
Succeeding with Objects: Decision
Frameworks for Project Management
(Goldberg), 439
The Successful Woman: How You Can Have a
Career, a Husband, and a Family And Not
Feel Guilty about It (Brothers), 260
Sudarkasa, Niara: anthropologist, 900; career,
900 901; concurrent positions, 900;
education, 900; people of African descent,
57, 70; professional associations, 901;
professional experience, 900
Sullivan, Kathryn D.: astronaut and geologist,
63, 153, 901; career, 902 903; concurrent
positions, 902; education, 901; NOAA, 153;
photo, 902; professional associations, 903;
professional experience, 901 902
Sullivant Moss Society, 92
Summers, Lawrence, 8 9, 20; childcare
subsidies, 48; scientific research, lack of
funding for, 33; scientific research and
faculty positions, 47
Supermind, the Ultimate Energy
(Brown), 262
Supersonic Flow and Shock Waves
(Courant), 700
Supplement to Handbook of Middle American
Indians, 250
Surgery, 633
Surrogacy, 49
"Survey of Earned Doctorates," xx xxi
Swarthmore College, 3
SWE. See Society of Women Engineers
Sweeney, Beatrice Marcy (Eleanor): botanist,
904; career, 904; education, 904;
professional associations, 904 905;
professional experience, 904
Swimming Against the Tide: African American
Girls and Science Education, 55
Symbiosis in Cell Evolution
(Margulis), 646
Symbiotic Plant: A New Look at Evolution
(Margulis), 657
Synge, John, 700
Szostak, Jack, 239, 466; research on
telosomeres, 79
"Take Our Daughters to Work Day," 19
Taking Wing: Archaeopteryx and the Evolution
of the Bird Flight (Shipman), 859
Talbot, Mignon: career, 907 908; education,
907; geologist, 907; professional
association, 908; professional
experience, 907
The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Potter), 500
Task Force on Women Faculty and Women in
Science and Engineering, 33
Taussig, Helen Brooke, 136, 1021; career,
908 909; education, 908; endocrinologist,
908; photo, 908; professional associations,
909; professional experience, 908
Taussky Todd, Olga: algebraic number theory
and matrix theory, 134; career, 909 910;
concurrent positions, 909; education, 909;
mathematician, 909; professional associa
tions, 910; professional experience, 909
Taylor, Elizabeth, 587
Taylor, Kathleen Christine: career, 911;
catalytic converters, development of, 119;
chemical engineer, 910; concurrent
positions, 911; education, 910;
professional association, 911;
professional experience, 911
Taylor, Lucy Hobbs, 872
Taylor, Susan: ASBMB president, 79
Teaching: men and women, 29 30
Teaching Nutrition to Boys and Girls (Rose),
149, 817
Technology: importance of, xix; perception as
male field, 21
Teenage Sexuality, Pregnancy, and
Childbearing, 687
Temin, Howard, 529
Ten Lectures on Wavelets (Daubechies), 331
Tereshkova, Valentina, 300; first woman in
space, 62
Terman, Lewis, 446
Tesoro, Giuliana (Cavaglieri): career, 912;
concurrent positions, 912; education, 912;
polymer chemist, 912; professional
Index | 1-65
associations, 912 913; professional
experience, 912
Tewa Tales (Parsons), 738
Textbook of General Zoology (Curtis
and Guthrie), 472
Tharp, Marie: career, 913 914; education,
913; geologist, 913; maps of ocean floor,
153; professional associations, 914;
professional experience, 913;
underwater geology, 153
"The Functions of Allergy: Immunological
Defense against Toxins," 775
Their Day in the Sun: Women of the Manhattan
Project (Howes and Herzenberg), 506
Theodor Boveri: Life and Work of a Great
Biologist, 827
Theories of Organic Chemistry (Hahn and
Johnson), 477
Theory and Application of Mathematics for
Teachers (Granville), 457
Theory of Program structures: Schemes,
Semantics, Verification
(Greibach), 465
Theory of the Earth (Hutton), 127
These Rights They Seek (Jackson), 544
Thinking in Pictures and Other Reports from
My Life with Autism (Grandin), 455
The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth from
Space, 800
Thomas, Martha Jane (Bergin): analytical
chemist and physical chemist, 914; career,
914 915; concurrent positions, 914;
education, 914; professional associations,
915; professional experience, 914
Thompson, Laura Maud: anthropologist, 915;
career, 916; education, 915; professional
associations, 916; professional experience,
915 916
Thoreau, Henry David, 117
Thornton, Kathryn (Cordell): astronaut and
physicist, 916; career, 917; education, 916;
photo, 917; professional experience, 917
Tilden, Josephine Elizabeth: algae, ocean
ecosystem, and human health, 118; botanist,
154, 918; Canadian research station, 93;
career, 918 919; coastal and Pacific algae,
93, 154; education, 918; professional
associations, 919; professional
experience, 918
Tilghman, Shirley M., 1023; career, 920 921;
concurrent positions, 920; education, 919;
first university president, 32; molecular
biologist, 919; photo, 920; professional
associations, 921; professional experience,
919 920
Time magazine, 243, 271, 704, 772, 928
Tinsley, Beatrice Muriel (Hill): astronomer,
921; career, 921 922; education, 921;
professional associations, 922; professional
experience, 921
Tinsley, Brian, 922
Tiscano, William B., 321
Title VII of 1964 Civil Rights Act, 31
Today Show, 291,632, 720
Todd, John "Jack," 910
Tolbert, Margaret Ellen (Mayo): biochemist,
922; career, 923 924; education, 922;
professional associations, 924; professional
experience, 923
To My Sisters . . . A Gift for Life
documentary, 486
Top Talent: Keeping Performance Up When
Business Is Down (Hewlett), 508
To Space and Back, 800
To Tell the Truth, 269
To the Heart of the Nile: Lady Florence Baker
and the Exploration of Central Africa
(Shipman), 859
Toward a Science of Mankind
(Thompson), 916
Townes, Charles H., 420
Townsend, Marjorie Rhodes: aerospace
engineer and electronics engineer, 924;
astronomical and meteorological satellites,
64; career, 925; education, 924; professional
associations, 925; professional experience,
924 925
Trade and Employment in Developing
Countries, 588
Traits, 121
Transactions of the American Mathematical
Society, 501
1-66 | Index
Transactions of the American Microscopical
Society, 763
Transactions on Programming Languages and
Systems, 453
Transforming India 's Economic, Financial and
Fiscal Policies, 588
Transfusion journal, 429
Trashing the Planet (Ray and Guzzo), 786
A Treatise on Domestic Economy
(Beecher), 149
Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, 628
Tree Ring Analysis and Dating in the
Mississippi Drainage (Ellis), 373
Treisman, Anne: career, 926; concurrent
positions, 926; education, 926; photo, 927;
professional associations, 927; professional
experience, 926; psychologist, 926
Trends in Genetics journal, 852
T Rex and the Crater of Doom
(Alvarez), 574, 688, 726
Troy Female Seminary (New York), 92
Tufts University, 21, 97
Turkle, Sherry: career, 928 929; computer
shaping identities and behavior, 103, 173;
concurrent positions, 928; education, 928;
human relationship to computers, 169;
professional associations, 929; professional
experience, 928; psychologist and
sociologist, 928
Twentieth century conservation
movement, 117
20/20, 720
The Two Sexes: Growing Up Apart, Coming
Together (Maccoby), 646
Tyson, Laura (D' Andrea): career, 930 931;
concurrent positions, 930; dean of business
schools, 110; economic advisor to
presidents, 110; economist, 929; education,
929; photo, 930; professional associations,
93 1 ; professional experience, 930
Uhlenbeck, Karen (Keskulla): career, 933 934;
concurrent positions, 933; education, 933;
mathematician, 933; professional
associations, 934; professional experience,
933; theoretical physics, 134
Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher, 637
An Ultraviolet Multiples Table, 873
UMBI. See University of Maryland
Biotechnology Institute
Under Mount Saint Elias: The History and
Culture of the Yakutat Tlingit
(De Laguna), 336
Understanding Computers (Hopper), 519
Under the Sea Wind (Carson), 154, 285
United Nations Commission on the Status
of Women, 117
United States: astronauts, 61; environmental
studies and science, 117; farming and
animal care, 67; food production, 66;
geology, 129; medical schools, 135;
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), 61, 62; primate
research centers, 164; rural versus urban
population, 66; science education, 19;
scientific revolution of eighteenth century, 1
Universities: feminist economic theory,
110 111; first female presidents, 32; gender
and economics, 110; nepotism rules, 50;
professional museum development and
management, 69
University and college presidents, 29
University of British Columbia, 21, 165
University of California, 165
University of California, Berkeley, 56, 80,
150, 174
University of Chicago, 25, 78, 125, 143, 145,
149, 158, 174
University of Cincinnati, 93, 145, 169, 176
University of Erlangen, 133
University of Gottingen, 133, 159
University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute
(UMBI), 154
University of Michigan, 129
University of Minnesota, 93
University of Oxford, 97
University of Pennsylvania, 67, 79
University of Tubingen, 84
University of Vienna, 162
University of Wisconsin, 150
University of Wurzburg, 123
University of Zurich, 94
Index | 1-67
Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships
(Grandin and Barron), 455
The Uranium People, 623
Urban Anthropology, 489
Urinalysis in Clinical Laboratory Practice
(Free and Free), 408
U.S. Army's Defense Mapping Agency
Topographic Center, 126
U.S. Census Bureau and stay at home
fathers, 49
U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 51, 138
U.S. Coast Survey, 152
U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, 152
U.S. Congress and educational equity, 19
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 2, 6,
66, 142, 147, 160; botanists, 93; employers
of women scientists, 36, 67, 148; sources of
research funding, 33
U.S. Department of Defense: Ada
programming language, 101; largest
employer of women, 36
U.S. Department of Energy, 119, 182
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 182
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 119
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 88
U.S. Forest Service, 35
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), xix, 2,
129, 152, 157; first female scientist
hired at, 35
U.S. government: agricultural production, 147;
business and industry regulations, 118; Cold
War commitment to scientific research, 113;
dietary standards, 148; Manhattan Project,
160; National Council for Marine Resources
and Engineering Development, 152;
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), 152; Native
American, ethnographic studies of, 69;
science mandate, 4 5; scientific ocean
research and conservation, 152; scientific
priorities, 119
U.S. military science and technology research
programs, 37
U.S. National Academy of Science, 84
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 41
U.S. Public Health Service, 35
U.S. Weather Bureau, 142, 152
US Black Engineer & Information Technology
magazine, 546
USDA. See U.S. Department of Agriculture
USGS. See U.S. Geological Survey
Vaccines: development of, 86
Value neutral, 17
Vanishing Wilderness, 600
Van Rensselaer, Martha, 815 816; career, 935;
education, 935; home economist, 935;
photo, 936; professional associations, 936;
professional experience, 935; School of
Home Economics at Cornell University, 150
Van Straten, Florence Wilhemina: career,
936 937; concurrent positions, 936;
education, 936; meteorologist, 936;
professional associations, 937; professional
experience, 936; weather forecasting for
military operations, 143
Variable Stars and Galactic Structure
(Payne Gaposchkin), 749
Variable Stars (Payne Gaposchkin), 749
Vascular Differentiation in Plants (Esau), 377
Vassar, 3, 25; female science faculty, 30;
undergraduate science programs, 4
Vaughan, Martha: biochemist, 937; career, 938;
concurrent positions, 938; education, 937;
professional associations, 938; professional
experience, 937
Vennesland, Birgit: carbohydrate metabolism,
80; career, 939; concurrent positions, 939;
education, 938; enzymologist and plant
biologist, 938; professional associations,
939; professional experience, 938
Veterinary science, 65 66
The View, 720
Villa Komaroff, Lydia: biotechnology com
pany, 56; career, 939 941; cell biologist,
molecular biologist, neurobiologist, 56;
concurrent positions, 939; education,
939; insulin, development of, 80, 84; pro
fessional associations, 941; professional
experience, 939
Virology, 469
Viruses in Plant Hosts (Esau), 377
1-68 | Index
Virus Research, 469
Visual Pattern Analyzers (Graham), 452
Vitamins: Recommended Daily Allowances
(RDA), 148, 149
Vitetta, Ellen Shapiro: career, 942; concurrent
positions, 942; education, 941;
immunologist and microbiologist, 941;
professional associations, 942; professional
experience, 941
Von Helmholtz, Hermann, 597
Von Mises, Richard, 424
von Neumann, John, 968
Voyager: An Adventure to the Edge of the Solar
System, 800
Voyage to Greenland (De Laguna), 336
WAC. See Women's Army Corps
Waelsch, Salome Gluecksohn: blood cells and
chromosomal defects, 177; career, 943;
education, 943; geneticist, 943; mice,
genetic mutations, 177; professional
associations, 943 944; professional
experience, 943
Wage gap, xxi
Wakefield, Priscilla Bell, 92, 109
Walbot, Virginia Elizabeth: biologist and
plant geneticist, 944; career, 944 945;
concurrent positions, 944; education, 944;
photo, 945; professional associations, 945;
professional experience, 944; transposable
genes, 123
Wald, Elijah, 531
Wald, George, 530
Walden (Thoreau), 117
Walk, Richard D., 430
Walker, Alan, 859
Walk in My Shoes: An Odyssey into Womanlife
(Densen Gerber), 343
Walk When the Moon is Full
(Hamerstrom), 478
Wallace, Phyllis Ann: career, 946; concurrent
positions, 946; economist, 54, 945;
education, 945; professional associations,
946 947; professional experience, 946;
racial and sexual discrimination in
workplace, 111; Yale University, 111
The War against Parents: What We Can Do for
America's Beleaguered Moms and Dads
(Hewlett and West), 508
Warga, Mary Elizabeth: career, 947 948;
concurrent positions, 947; education, 947;
Optical Society of America, 162; physicist,
947; professional associations, 948;
professional experience, 947; teaching and
research, 162
Washburn, Margaret Floy: American
Psychological Association, 167; career,
948 949; education, 948; professional
associations, 949; professional experience,
948; psychologist, 948
Washington University, 79
WASPs. See Women's Air Force Service Pilots
Wasps Social and Solitary (Peckham), 754
The Watcher at the Nest (Nice), 715
Watson, James D., 80, 327, 511, 889; Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1962),
106, 107, 123
Watson, Patty Jo (Andersen): anthropologist
and archaeologist, 949; career, 950;
concurrent positions, 949; education, 949;
professional associations, 950; professional
experience, 949
Wattleton, Faye (Alyce): career, 950 952;
concurrent positions, 950; education, 950;
nurse midwife, 950; photo, 950; profes
sional associations, 952; professional
experience, 950
Way, Katharine, 160; atomic bomb, ethical
considerations of, 161; career, 953;
concurrent positions, 953; education, 952;
National Bureau of Standards and National
Research Council, 161; Naval Ordnance
Laboratory, 161; Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, 161; physicist, 952;
professional associations, 953;
professional experience, 952
The Way Life Begins: An Introduction to Sex
Education (Cady and Cady), 275
Weak Interactions, 415
The Wealth of Nations (Smith), 109
Weather observations and forecasting, 142
Weaver, Edwin, 488
Index | 1-69
Weaver, Sigourney, 404
Weertman, Johannes, 954
Weertman, Julia (Randall): career, 954;
education, 953; metallurgist and solid state
physicist, 953; metals, structure and
temperature resistance of, 107; professional
associations, 954 955; professional
experience, 954
Weisburger, Elizabeth Amy (Kreiser):
biochemist and toxicologist, 955;
carcinogenic (or cancer causing) effects of
chemicals, 99; career, 955 956; education,
955; professional associations, 956; profes
sional experience, 955
Weisburger, John H., 956
Weisstein, Naomi, 16; career, 957; concurrent
positions, 956; education, 956; professional
associations, 957 958; professional
experience, 956; psychological definition of
femininity, 170; psychologist, 956
Weld, William, 562
Wellesley, 3, 25, 93, 94, 174; female science
faculty, 30
We Mainline Dreams: The Odyssey House
Story (Densen Gerber), 343
West, Cornel, 508
Westcott, Cynthia: career, 958 929; concurrent
positions, 958; education, 958; plant
pathologist and writer, 45, 93, 958;
professional associations, 929; professional
experience, 958; rose diseases, 93
Westcott 's Plant Disease Handbook
(Westcott), 958
West Eberhard, Mary Jane: career, 960;
concurrent positions, 960; education,
959; entomologist, 959; paper wasps and
insects, social behavior of, 177; professional
associations, 960; professional
experience, 959
Westheimer, Ruth (Karola) (Siegel): career,
961 962; concurrent positions, 961;
education, 961; family, relationships, and
sexuality, 170; mental health and relation
ship advice, 46; photo, 961; professional
associations, 962 963; professional
experience, 961; psychologist, 961
Wet nursing: social controversy
over, 82
Wexler, Nancy Sabin: career, 963 964;
concurrent positions, 963; education, 963;
Huntington's disease, 124, 146 147;
neuropsychologist, 963; professional
associations, 964; professional
experience, 963
What Every Woman Ought to Know about Love
and Marriage (Brothers), 260
What Is Life? (Sagan and Margulis), 657
What Is Sex? (Sagan and Margulis), 657
What's Love Got to Do with It? The Evolution
of Human Mating (Small), 876
What's Up, Dr. Ruth?, 962
What Women Should Know about Men
(Brothers), 260
Wheeler, Anna Johnson Pell: career, 965;
education, 964; mathematician, 132, 964;
professional associations, 965; professional
experience, 965
Wheeler, Arthur, 965
Wheeler, Mary E: career, 966 967;
concurrent positions, 966; education, 966;
engineer and mathematician, 966;
professional associations, 967; professional
experience, 966
When the Bough Breaks: The Cost of
Neglecting Our Children (Hewlett), 508
Where the Galaxies Are, 426
Where Women Work: A Study of Yoruba
Women in the Marketplace and in
the Home, 900 901
White families gender expectations, 55
Whitehead, Mary Beth, 49
Whiting, Sarah, 280
Whitman, Marina (von Neumann), 1021;
career, 968; concurrent positions, 967;
economist, 967; education, 967; General
Motors Corporation, 44; professional
associations, 968 969; professional
experience, 967
Whitney, Mary, 413 414
Whitson, Peggy A., 1023; astronaut, 969; career,
969 970; concurrent positions, 969; educa
tion, 969; International Space Station, 63;
1-70 | Index
photo, 970; professional associations,
970 971; professional experience, 969
Who's Bashing Whom: Trade Conflict in High
Technology Industries (Tyson), 930
Who 's Who among the Microbes, 975
Widnall, Sheila (Evans), xx xxi, 1022;
aeronautical engineer, 971; career, 971 972;
concurrent positions, 971; education, 971;
leaky pipeline, xx xxi; photo, 39;
professional associations, 972; professional
experience, 971; Secretary of the U.S. Air
Force, 38 39
Widowed (Brothers), 260
Wieschaus, Eric, 84
Wigner, Eugene, 953
Wild Animals of Glacier National Park
(Bailey), 212
The Wilderness World of Anne LaBastille
(LaBastille), 596
Wildflower, 249
Wilford, John Noble, 914
Wilhelmi, Alfred Ellis, 973
Wilhelmi, Jane Anne Russell: career, 973;
education, 973; endocrinologist, 973;
professional associations, 974; professional
experience, 973
Wilkins, Maurice: Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine (1962), 107
Willard, Emma, 92
Williams, Anna Wessels: bacteriologist, 974;
career, 974 975; concurrent positions, 974;
education, 974; professional associations,
975; professional experience, 974
Williams, H. H., 649
Williams, Kenneth, 975, 976
Williams, Roberta: career, 975 976; computer
gaming industry, 103, 975; education, 975;
photo, 976; professional experience, 975;
Sierra On Line, 45
Williams, Ryan Patrick, 655
Williamson, Oliver, 732
The Will Temperament and Its Testing
(Downey), 351
Wilsdorf, Heinz G.F., 591
Wilson, Carol G., 362
Wilson, Edmund Beecher, 123, 532
WIN. See Women in Neuroscience
The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical
and Emotional Health and Healing during
the Change (Northrup), 720
With a Daughter's Eye (Bateson), 220
With Child: A Diary of Motherhood
(Chesler), 290
Witkin, Evelyn Maisel: bacteria, genetics of,
85; career, 977; concurrent positions, 977;
education, 977; geneticist, 977;
professional associations, 977;
professional experience, 977
"The Wizard and the Princess" game, 976
Wolf, David, 357
Wolfson, Sabina, 451
Woman: An Intimate Geography (Angier), 195
Woman in Space program, 62
The Woman in the Body: A Cultural Analysis of
Reproduction (Martin), 661
Woman into Space: The Jerrie Cobb Story
(Cobb), 300
The Woman Rebel (Slee), 89
Woman's Inhumanity to Woman (Chesler), 291
Woman 's Nature: Rationalizations of
Inequality (Hubbard), 531
The Woman That Never Evolved (Hrdy), 528
Women: acquired immune deficiency
syndrome (AIDS), 51; agriculture related
fields, 3; alchemists, 96; amateur science in
nineteenth century, 40; autism and, 455;
brains of, 10 11; care and treatment of sick,
135; chemists, 96; childcare, 48 49; climate
change and, 117; as computers, 101; com
puters, impact on, 103; depression, 170;
doctorates, 5; eclectic careers, xxii; educa
tion and Title IX, 3 1 ; employments suitable
for, 14; engineers, 114; engineers and scien
tists, 63 64; with family, 51; farming and
commercial agriculture, 67; field work, 71;
firsts in careers, xxii xxiii; food and, 147;
gender wage gap, xxi; glass ceiling, xxi;
government research projects careers, 5 6;
healthcare, patients and consumers of, 139,
170; health issues, 17; health movement,
140; helping professions, 20; herbal medi
cines, 86; higher education, xxii, 2, 4,
Index | 1-71
30 31; human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV), 51; institutional barriers, 14; IQ
scores, 11; issues that affect, 172 973;
language oriented, 10; liberation movement
and anthropology, 70; Manhattan Project,
160 161; math scores on SAT, 10; medical
colleges, 4; medicine, 5; mental health dis
orders, 170; Nobel Prize winners, xx; physi
cians, 137; pioneers, xxii; post World War II
era backlash, 42; professional organizations,
43; professional recognition for work, xxii;
professional recognitions, xx; psychological
theories about, 168; psychology, 169; public
colleges, 66; science and, xix, 25 27; sci
ence doctorates, 4; science outside of aca
demia, 2 3; scientific disciplines in
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
xxii; scientific professions, exclusion from,
13; scientific research, 33; social and insti
tutional barriers to, 12; social subordination,
116 117; space program, 62; STEM disci
plines and careers, xxi; succeeding in col
lege science courses, 27; supported scientific
work, xxii; taught science, 3; teaching,
29 30; technology and technology related
careers, 103 104; traditional fields for, 6;
undergraduate degrees, 18, 172; vaccines,
development and, 86; veterinary medicine,
66; work/life balance, xxi
Women, Minorities and Employment
Discrimination (Wallace), 946
Women and Aging, 489
Women and Economics: A Study of the
Economic Relation between Men and
Women as a Factor in Social Evolution
(Gilman), 109
Women and Madness (Chesler), 290
Women and Men at Work, 794
Women and the American Economy
conference, 585
Women and Wilderness (LaBastille), 596
Women in Aerospace, 65
Women in Engineering network, 115
Women in Engineering Proactive Network, 115
Women hi Industry: Their Health and
Efficiency (Baetjer), 209
Women in Neuroscience (WIN), 145
Women in science: history of, xix, 1 7;
statistics on, 6
Women in the Field: America 's Pioneering
Women Naturalists (Bonta), 244
Women Look at Biology Looking at Women
(Hubbard), 531
Women managers, 43
Women of Color in U.S. Society
(Baca Zinn), 209
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs), 62
Women's Army Corps (WAC), 160
Women 's Bodies, Women 's Wisdom
(Northrup), 720
Women scientists: anti nepotism rules, 37; bar
riers in scientific disciplines, xxii; climate
change, 117; co ed and black schools, 3;
discrimination and barriers, 7; European
researchers, xxiii; female support, 47; femi
nist perspective, 15; food development and
production, 42; geological and oceano
graphic expeditions, 37; government, 29;
government research agencies, xix; house
hold products technology, 42; job market, 5;
laboratory assistant positions, 29; nonaca
demic careers, 42; non tenure track lectur
ing and research, 29; nutrition, 42; popular
media careers, 45 46; positive outlook for,
4; private industry, 29; role models, 47; sci
entific inquiry, 15 16; self employment,
45 46; training new generation of, 4; U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), 36;
women's colleges, 3; work/life
balance, 47 52
Women Scientists from Antiquity to the Present
(Herzenberg), 506
Women's colleges, 3, 25; female
college professors, 30; female
students, 27
Women's Environmental Council, 120
Women's Interest Group, 72
Women's Medical College of New York, 96,
136, 137
Women's movement, 42, 52
Women 's Progress: Promises and
Problems, 884
1-72 | Index
Women 's Ritual in Formative Oaxaca:
Figurine Making, Divination, Death and the
Ancestors (Marcus), 654
Women's Veterinary Association, 67
Women 's Work, Men 's Work: Sex Segregation
on the Job, 794
Wood, Elizabeth Armstrong: American
Crystallographic Association, 107; career,
978 979; crystallographer, 978; education,
978; lasers, development of, 107;
professional associations, 979; professional
experience, 978
Woods, Geraldine (Pittman): career, 979 980;
education, 979; embryologist and science
consultant, 979; professional associations,
980; professional experience, 979
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, 45, 130,
144, 152, 153
Woodswoman (LaBastille), 596
Woodswoman II (LaBastille), 596
Woodswoman III (LaBastille), 596
Woodswoman IV (LaBastille), 596
The Woody Plants of Ohio (Braun), 249
Woolley, Helen Bradford Thompson: career,
981 982; education, 981; professional
associations, 982; professional experience,
981; psychologist, 981; woman scientists,
frustrations of, 167 168
Worcester Insane Asylum, 168
Worcester State Hospital, 168
Word processors, 102
Work, public world of, 14
Workers at Risk: Voices from the Workplace
(Nelkin), 709
Work/family conflict, 48
Working mothers, 48
Working with Your Woodland: A Landowner's
Guide (Beattie), 223
Work/life balance, xxi; biological and family
demands, 50; childcare, 48 49; combining
academic science career with family, 50 52;
conflict between work and family life, 48;
equal opportunity legislation, 52; family
responsibilities, 50 51; male employees, 48;
marriage, 50; maternal leave policies, 50;
pregnancy, 50; scientific research and
faculty positions, 47; women's movement,
52; working mothers, 48
Workplace, 48
World Bank, 110
World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global
Economy (Kanter), 561
The World Is Blue: How Our Fate and the
Ocean 's Are One (Earle), 360
World Population and U.S. Policy: The Choices
Ahead, 687
The World Trade Organization as an
International Organization (Krueger), 588
World War II: labor shortage, 36; shortage of
male workers, 113
World War I industries need for scientists, 41
Wormington, Hannah Marie: Society of
American Archaeology, 7 1
Wright, Margaret H: career, 983; computer
scientist and mathematician, 982; education,
982; professional associations, 983;
professional experience, 982 983
Wrinch, Dorothy Maud: biochemist, 983;
career, 984 985; education, 983; mapping
proteins, 107; photo, 984; professional
associations, 985; professional
experience, 984
Wu, Chien Shiung, 160, 289; career,
986 987; concurrent positions, 986; educa
tion, 985; elementary particle physics, 161;
nuclear physicist, 56, 985; photo, 986;
professional associations, 987;
professional experience, 985 986;
radiation detectors, 107, 161
Wu, Ernie, 988
Wu, Ying Chu (Lin) Susan: aeronautics engi
neer, 56; aerospace engineer, 988; career,
988; concurrent positions, 988; education,
988; professional associations, 989; profes
sional experience, 988
Wulf, William, 556
Xerox Corporation, 103
X ray, discovery of, 97
X ray crystallography, 98, 105
XY sex chromosome system, 123
Index | 1-73
Yale University, 148, 149
Yalow, Rosalyn Sussman, 1021; biomedical
physics, 161; career, 991 993; concurrent
positions, 991; education, 991; hormones,
effect on health and disease, 87; medical
physicist, 991; Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine (1977), 80, 161 162, 999; photo,
992; professional associations, 993;
professional experience, 991
Yang, Ning, 986 987
Yates, Josephine Silone: Natural Sciences at
Lincoln University, 3
Yellowstone, 117
Yonath, Ada E.: antibiotics, effect on bacteria,
106; bacterial ribosomes, 106;
crystallography, 106; Nobel Prize in
Chemistry (2009), 98, 106, 999; structural
biology, 106; U.S. National Academy of
Sciences, 106; Weizmann Institute of
Science, 106; X ray crystallography, 98
Yosemite, 117
Young, Anne Sewell: astronomer, 993; career,
993 994; education, 993; professional
associations, 994; professional
experience, 993
Young, Charles, 994
Young, Roger Arliner: career, 995; education,
994; professional experience, 994; sea
urchin eggs and other organisms, 175;
zoologist, 175, 994
Your Diabetes and How to Live with It, 616
Zakrzewska, Maria, 137; New York Infirmary
for Women and Children, 136
Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society
Evolved in Mexico 's Oaxaca Valley (Marcus
and Flannery), 654
Zeller, Edward, 354
Zinn, Maxine Baca: Latino families and
Mexican American women, 57, 173
Zoback, Mary Lou: career, 997;
concurrent positions, 997; education, 997;
geophysicist, 997; plate tectonics and
earthquake fault lines, 130; professional
associations, 997 998; professional
experience, 997
Zoologists: research on human health and
disease, 177
Zoology, 174 178. See also Animal Sciences;
Biology; Biomedical Sciences;
Environmental Sciences and Ecology;
Genetics; Ocean Sciences, Primatology;
biology, 174; classification and naming
(taxonomy) of plants and animals, 174;
popular field of study for women, 174
zur Hausen, Harald, 138
About the Author
TIFFANY K. WAYNE, Ph.D., is an independent scholar who resides in Santa
Cruz, California. A specialist in U.S. history and women's history, she is a former
Affiliated Scholar with the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Stan-
ford University. Dr. Wayne's previous books include Woman Thinking: Feminism
and Transcendentalism in Nineteenth-Century America, Encyclopedia of Tran-
scendentalism, and Women's Roles in Nineteenth-Century America.
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